Wild Card Games 2012

Red Sox Blast Braves, 9 To 4

Teams	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	Runs	Hits	Errors
Braves	0	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	0	4	11	1
Red Sox	0	0	0	4	3	1	1	0	X	9	11	1

Braves highlight: One homerun
Braves lowlight: One throwing error
Red Sox highlight: Three homeruns
Red Sox lowlight: One throwing error

My Comment: It was wonderful the way the Red Sox fans honored Kevin Youkilis with cheers and standing ovations today. I hope this is all premature, but knowing the way things work in baseball, Youk may not be with the Boston Red Sox next Sunday.
However, Boston has won the series with the Atlanta Braves and is four games over .500 for the first time this season. Similiar to the five runs of the Marlins, the Braves socre four runs in each of the three games (though the runs in the first game were enough for a win) - strange consistency and concidence. And the Red Sox end interleague play with a record of eleven wins and seven losses. Now it's back to just playing the American League (for now) with the arrival of the Toronto Blue Jays tomorrow.

ATLANTA: Starting Pitcher: Mike Minor; Losing Pitcher: Mike Minor
BOSTON: Starting Pitcher; Aaron Cook; Winning Pitcher: Aaron Cook (1)
ATLANTA: Homerun: Jason Heyward
BOSTON: Homeruns: Cody Ross (10, 11), Adrian Gonzalez (6)

Red Sox: Wins 38, Losses 34, Percentage: .528

Next games: Monday 25 June 2012, 4:10 p.m.PT/7:10 p.m.ET, Toronto Blue Jays, Fenway Park, Felix Doubront

Boston Red Sox logo from the website mlb.com

"Red Sox Box" logo created by Adrean Darce Brent

Red Sox Double Braves, 8 To 4

Teams	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	Runs	Hits	Errors
Braves	1	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	0	4	10	0
Red Sox	2	2	1	0	1	0	2	0	X	8	14	1

Braves highlight: Ten hits
Braves lowlight: Nine men left on base
Red Sox highlight: One homerun
Red Sox lowlight: One throwing error

ATLANTA: Starting Pitcher: Randall Delgado; Losing Pitcher: Randall Delgado
BOSTON: Starting Pitcher: Franklin Morales; Winning Pitcher: Franklin Morales (1)
BOSTON: Homerun: Will Middlebrooks (9)

Red Sox: Wins 37, Losses 34, Percentage: .521

Next game: Sunday 24 June 2012, 10:35 a.m.PT/1:35 a.m.ET, Atlanta Braves, Fenway Park, Aaron Cook

Boston Red Sox logo from the website mlb.com

"Red Sox Box" logo created by Adrean Darce Brent

Red Sox Restrained By Braves

Teams	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	Runs	Hits	Errors
Braves	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	0	1	4	13	0
Red Sox	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	3	0

Braves highlight: Thirteen hits
Braves lowlight: Eleven men left on base
Red Sox highlight: One run
Red Sox lowlight: Four men left on base

ATLANTA: Starting Pitcher: Jair Jurrjens; Winning Pitcher: Jair Jurrjens
BOSTON: Starting Pitcher: Jon Lester; Losing Pitcher: Jon Lester (5)
ATLANTA: Save: Craig Kimbrel

Red Sox: Wins 36, Losses 34, Percentage: .514

Next game: Saturday 23 June 2012, 4:15 p.m.PT/7:15 p.m.PT, Atlanta Braves, Fenway Park, Franklin Morales

Atlanta Braves logo from the website mlb.com

"Red Sox Box" logo created by Adrean Darce Brent

National League Division Series 2010

Well the two teams, the Cincinnati Reds and the Atlanta Braves, that I wanted to win their respective National League division series, lost to the Philadelphia Phillies and to the San Francisco Giants. The results of the two series are as follows:

Wednesday 6 October 2010–Philadelphia Phillies 4, Cincinnati Reds 0
Friday 8 October 2010–Philadelphia Phillies 7, Cincinnati Reds 4
Sunday 10 October 2010–Philadelphia Phillies 2, Cincinnati Reds 0

Philadelphia swept Cincinnati three games to none out of the five game series. The Phillies scored a total of thirteen runs over the three games, while the Reds scored a total of four. The total number of runs scored in the series was seventeen and the Phillies had 76.47% of those runs, while the Reds had 23.53%.

Thursday 7 October 2010–San Francisco Giants 1, Atlanta Braves 0
Friday 8 October 2010–Atlanta Braves 5, San Francisco Giants 4
Sunday 10 October 2010–San Francisco 3, Atlanta Braves 2
Monday 11 October 2010–San Francisco 3, Atlanta Braves 2

San Francisco beat Atlanta three games to one out of the five game series. The Giants scored a total of eleven runs over the four games, while the Braves scored a total of nine. The total number of runs scored in the series was twenty and the Giants had 55.00% of those runs, while the Braves had 45.00%.

Now, for the National League Championship Series, I’ll be rooting for the San Francisco Giants over the Philadelphia Phillies.


Images:
Left: Philadelphia Phillies logo is from the website mlb.com
Center: NLDS 2010 logo is from the website mlb.com
Right: San Francisco Giants logo is from the website mlb.com

Postseason Participants 2010

At the end of last year, I made a prediction as to who the participants in the 2010 postseason would be. My prediction turned out to be somewhat off the mark. I had predicted the following:

AL East – New York Yankees
AL Central – Minnesota Twins
AL West – Los Angeles Angels
AL Wild Card – Boston Red Sox

NL East – Atlanta Braves
NL Central – St. Louis Cardinals
NL West – Arizona Diamondbacks
NL Wild Card – Houston Astros

Two of the AL teams (the Twins and the Yankees) I predicted did make it this year and only one NL team (the Braves) did so. That is 50.00% for the AL, 25.00% for the NL, and 37.50% overall. The 2010 postseason is as follows:

AL East – Tampa Bay Rays
AL Central – Minnesota Twins
AL West – Texas Rangers
AL Wild Card – New York Yankees

NL East – Philadelphia Phillies
NL Central – Cincinnati Reds
NL West – San Francisco Giants
NL Wild Card – Atlanta Braves


Since the Boston Red Sox are not in the postseason, in the Divisional Series I will be rooting for the Minnesota Twins (playing the New York Yankees) and the Texas Rangers (playing the Tampa Bay Rays) in the AL and for the Cincinnati Reds (playing the Philadelphia Phillies) and the Atlanta Braves (playing the San Francisco Giants) in the NL


Images:
Left: ALDS 2010 logo is from the website mlb.com

Right: NLDS 2010 logo is from the website mlb.com

Atlanta Blasts Boston

BOSTON: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 1 5 1

ATLANTA: 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 x - 2 6 2

Outside my favorite New England sports living bar, I did a crossword puzzle while waiting for Andrew to arrive and open up the bar. It was a movie-themed puzzle. Films are another of my great interests, but that's for a different blog. Running late, Andrew arrived and I helped take down a few chairs from the tables. Also, Rich has returned from back East where he had been vacationing and attending his son's wedding. Rain was the theme of his visit. As for the Boston Red Sox - no sweep on Sunday was their theme. It was another pitching duel with the Atlanta Braves and unfortunately for Boston, Atlanta prevailed in this game. The series finale at Turner Field was won on homeruns by the Braves and insufficient hitting by the Red Sox. There was a bases-loaded opportunity in the fourth that didn't produce any runs. Boston hasn't hit in double digits since Tuesday's game against Washington. Time for more bat contact. This was the last game of Interleague play for Boston and they ended up winning eleven and losing seven Interleageue games. Now it's back to American League teams and the Red Sox head to Baltimore for the first time this season. Going into the three-game series with the Orioles, Boston will be coming off a series win, holding the best record in the American League, and leading the AL East. I know it's repetitive, but a mantra can be good for the soul and can be every Red Sox fan's theme going forward - "series win, best record, leading East" - repeat as needed!

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BOSTON: Starting Pitcher: Brad Penny, Losing Pitcher: Brad Penny (3)

ATLANTA: Starting Pitcher: Tommy Hanson, Winning Pitcher: Tommy Hanson

ATLANTA: Save: Mike Gonzalez

ATLANTA: Homeruns: Chipper Jones, Garret Anderson

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RED SOX: Wins: 46, Losses: 29, AL East Standings: Boston, New York, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Baltimore

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Next game: Monday 29 June 2009, 4:05 p.m. PT, Baltimore Orioles, Oriole Park, Jon Lester

Red Sox Blank Braves, 1 to 0

BOSTON: 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 - 1 6 0

ATLANTA: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 4 0

Deja vu. Another Saturday. Another pitching duel. Another shutout of the Atlanta Braves. Now if only all the Saturday games the Boston Red Sox played had the same result. Or all the days even. Jason Bay had a rest day and Julio Lugo went into play. Although I prefer a hitting game, I do appreciate the elegance of a matchup between pitchers and keeping batters off base. Fortunately, Boston had sufficient hitting in Turner Field today to get one batter all the way around the bases. Tomorrow Boston goes for the sweep and the Red Sox usual standings remain the same - series win, best AL record, lead over Yankees in East. And finally, here is my haiku celebrating the shutouts:

Saturday shutouts.

Young ace Beck plus old ace Wake,

Pitch summer glory.

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BOSTON: Starting Pitcher: Tim Wakefield, Winning Pitcher: Tim Wakefield (10)

ATLANTA: Starting Pitcher: Javier Vazquez, Losing Pitcher: Javier Vazquez

BOSTON: Save: Jonathan Papelbon (18)

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RED SOX: Wins: 46, Losses: 28, AL East Standings: Boston, New York, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Baltimore

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Next game: Sunday 28 June 2009, 10:30 a.m. PT, Atlanta Braves, Turner Field, Brad Penny

Red Sox Bust Braves, 4 to 1

BOSTON: 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 0 - 4 7 1

ATLANTA: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 1 8 0

Oh Terry, why didn't you let Beckett stay in the game so that he could have another complete game shutout against the Atlanta Braves, as he did on Saturday? Complete games are good. Anyway, congrats on your eight hundredth managerial win! To continue, the Boston Red Sox have started well at Turner Field in this three-game series against the Braves. Would have preferred that a homerun was not given up to the Braves in the ninth inning. Let's hope the Red Sox improve over the last Boston and Atlanta series and they leave on Sunday with a sweep.

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BOSTON: Starting Pitcher: Josh Beckett, Winning Pitcher: Josh Beckett (9)

ATLANTA: Starting Pitcher: Jair Jurrjens, Losing Pitcher: Jair Jurrjens

BOSTON: Homerun: David Ortiz (8)

ATLANTA: Homerun: David Ross

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RED SOX: Wins: 45, Losses: 28, AL East Standings: Boston, New York, Toronto, Tampa Bay, Baltimore

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Next game: Saturday 27 June 2009, 1:00 p.m. PT, Atlanta Braves, Turner Field, Tim Wakefield

Red Sox Bomb Braves, 6 to 5

ATLANTA: 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 - 5 14 1

BOSTON: 3 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 - 6 10 0

It's Sunday, the Summer Solstice, and I'm at my favorite New England sports living bar watching the rubber match of the Interleague series between the Boston Red Sox and the Atlanta Braves. As usual, Andrew opened the bar and the bar's owner, Jim, made a brief pre-game appearance. There was some drama at Fenway Park on this first day of Summer. Almost half the total runs in the game were scored in the first inning. In different innings in the game, both teams had the bases-loaded, but it was Boston that capitalized on the opportunity. Three members of the Braves were ejected in the bottom of the seventh inning. They argued with the home plate umpire over a called ball that kept J. D. Drew at bat; who promptly got a single and another Red Sox run scored. The best drama of the day was the two homeruns - Ortiz's two-run blast which put the Red Sox ahead and Green's solo walk-off which, by definition, gave Boston the win. The Red Sox win the series, have the best record in the American League, and have a four game lead over the Yankees. Yes, summer has arrived with a bang. Happy Summer Solstice!

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ATLANTA: Starting Pitcher: Jair Jurrjens, Losing Pitcher: Jeff Bennett

BOSTON: Starting Pitcher: Tim Wakefield, Winning Pitcher: Jonathan Papelbon (1)

BOSTON: Homeruns: David Ortiz (6), Nick Green (4, walk-off)

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RED SOX: Wins: 42, Losses: 27, AL East Standings: Boston, New York, Toronto, Tampa Bay, Baltimore

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Next game: Tuesday 23 June 2009, 4:05 p.m. PT, Washington Nationals, National Park, Brad Penny

Boston Red Sox logo is from the website mlb.com

Boston Blanks Atlanta, 3 to 0

ATLANTA: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 5 1

BOSTON: 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 x - 3 7 0

Starting pitcher Josh Beckett of the Boston Red Sox throws a complete game shutout against the Atlanta Braves. Thank you Terry for letting Beckett take the game to the end and make it his own! Former Red Sox pitcher Derek Lowe started for the Atlanta Braves and was warmly greeted by the fans in Fenway Park. Memory is long in Boston and appreciation for the past remains. On the subject of pitchers, Daisuke Matsuzaka has officially been pulled from the rotation and a medial evaluation of the starter will take place. No six-man rotation for the time being. Tomorrow knuckleballer Tim Wakefield will start for the Red Sox. This Interleague series is tied at one game apiece and Boston goes for the series win.

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ATLANTA: Starting Pitcher: Derek Lowe, Losing Pitcher: Derek Lowe

BOSTON: Starting Pitcher: Josh Beckett, Winning Pitcher: Josh Beckett (8)

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RED SOX: Wins: 41, Losses: 27, AL East Standings: Boston, New York, Toronto, Tampa Bay, Baltimore

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Next game: Sunday 21 June 2009, 10:35 a.m. PT, Atlanta Braves, Fenway Park, Tim Wakefield

Atlanta Attacks Boston

ATLANTA: 2 0 0 2 2 0 1 0 1 - 8 11 1

BOSTON: 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 - 2 2 1

Either the Boston Red Sox have forgotten how to hit or they have encountered exceptional opponent pitching during the past two days. Although Boston has had only three hits and three runs in these last two games, I'll go with the later option. If so, then the corollary is that the Boston pitching has not been exceptional, in a positive sense. Interleague play continued today against a new opponent - the Atlanta Braves. The usually friendly Fenway Park has not been such for the Red Sox at the end of the last series and at the beginning of this three-game series. Also Boston will have to make a decision regarding Dice-K, whose next turn in the rotation (Thursday 25 June) has been scheduled to go to John Smoltz - have a six-man rotation, move to the bullpen, or have a minor league assignment? Answers should be forthcoming next week.

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ATLANTA: Starting Pitcher: Kenshin Kawakami, Winning Pitcher: Kenshin Kawakami

BOSTON: Starting Pitcher: Daisuke Matsuzaka, Losing Pitcher: Daisuke Matsuzaka (5)

ATLANTA: Homerun: Nate McLouth

BOSTON: Homerun: Jason Bay (18)

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RED SOX: Wins: 40, Losses: 27, AL East Standings: Boston, New York, Toronto, Tampa Bay, Baltimore

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Next game: Saturday 20 June 2009, 4:10 p.m. PT, Atlanta Braves, Fenway Park, Josh Beckett

Atlanta Annoys Boston

BOSTON: 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 - 3 8 1

ATLANTA: 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 - 4 9 0

The current four game winning streak ended today for the Boston Red Sox in the city of Lake Buena Vista. It was the Atlanta Braves who stopped Boston from winning a fifth game in a row, but it took them ten innings to accomplish the victory. The highlight for the Red Sox was the two-run homerun in the top of the fifth inning by Rocco Baldelli.

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BOSTON: Starting Pitcher: Daisuke Matsuzaka, Losing Pitcher: B. Cox

ATLANTA: Starting Pitcher: Kenshin Kawakami, Winning Pitcher: Rafael Cruz

BOSTON: Homereun: Rocco Baldelli

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RED SOX: Spring Training Wins: 19, Spring Training Losses: 13

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Next game: Tuesday 31 March 2009, 10:05 a.m., Tampa Bay Rays, City of Palms Park