August 15, 2006
The Yankees Are Coming! The Yankees Are Coming!
So Is 1st Place
Not since the great collapse have we had a series between Boston and New York that will consist of more then 4 games, this will be a real treat for fans all over.
I will attempt to breakdown both sides with what they will throw at each other this weekend. A rundown by position and who has the advantage at the position. Note: Season stats are just those collected as a member of either Boston or New York.
CATCHER
Not having Jason Varitek will certainly hurt Boston, without Tek theres not much to put in this section as the Yankees have the advantage and then some.
| | Season | | | | Career vs. | | | |
| Player | Avg | HR | RBI | Runs | Avg | HR | RBI | Runs |
| Jorge Posada | .271 | 15 | 59 | 43 | .255 | 24 | 74 | 70 |
| Sal Fasano | .167 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .137 | 3 | 13 | 9 |
| Javier Lopez | .267 | 0 | 4 | 4 | .304 | 10 | 41 | 24 |
| Doug Mirabelli | .200 | 6 | 19 | 9 | .280 | 6 | 15 | 12 |
FIRST BASE
Yo Yankee fans, your gonna hear lots of YOOOOOOOOOK chants this weekend, get used to it.
| | Season | | | | Career vs. | | | |
| Player | Avg | HR | RBI | Runs | Avg | HR | RBI | Runs |
| Craig Wilson | .283 | 2 | 5 | 6 | .333 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andy Phillips | .242 | 7 | 27 | 27 | .267 | 2 | 5 | 3 |
| Kevin Youkilis | .293 | 13 | 60 | 82 | .260 | 1 | 5 | 12 |
SECOND BASE
Loretta has been great and Cano was hurt. Cano should have started the All Star game, Loretta did.
| | Season | | | | Career vs. | | | |
| Player | Avg | HR | RBI | Runs | Avg | HR | RBI | Runs |
| Robinson Cano | .328 | 6 | 35 | 36 | .365 | 2 | 8 | 12 |
| Miguel Cairo | .234 | 0 | 25 | 25 | .298 | 2 | 18 | 29 |
| Mark Loretta | .303 | 4 | 46 | 61 | .337 | 0 | 9 | 19 |
SHORTSTOP
I really want to make this position competitive, but how... I may hate him but Jeter owns SS.
| | Season | | | | Career vs. | | | |
| Player | Avg | HR | RBI | Runs | Avg | HR | RBI | Runs |
| Derek Jeter | .340 | 10 | 71 | 81 | .281 | 15 | 68 | 97 |
| Alex Gonzalez | .272 | 9 | 41 | 44 | .317 | 4 | 12 | 16 |
| Alex Cora | .278 | 0 | 13 | 23 | .310 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
THIRD BASE
This is tough, sure A-Rod has phenominal stats, but Lowell has had a bounce back year and has played great defense. I give Boston the advantage here because of the addition of Hinske and the fact that overall i'd say Lowell's production and defense tops A-Rod's production and defense.
| | Season | | | | Career vs. | | | |
| Player | Avg | HR | RBI | Runs | Avg | HR | RBI | Runs |
| Alex Rodriguez | .287 | 25 | 86 | 82 | .284 | 32 | 81 | 102 |
| Mike Lowell | .283 | 14 | 60 | 59 | .292 | 2 | 11 | 11 |
| Eric Hinske | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .257 | 11 | 43 | 50 |
LEFT FIELD
Manny Is Manny!
| | Season | | | | Career vs. | | | |
| Player | Avg | HR | RBI | Runs | Avg | HR | RBI | Runs |
| Melky Cabrera | .291 | 7 | 38 | 53 | .250 | 0 | 7 | 4 |
| Manny Ramirez | .320 | 32 | 93 | 74 | .303 | 46 | 137 | 112 |
CENTER FIELD
Johnny Damon is the man! Don't get me wrong, he's a lying SOB too and he lost the love of a majority of Sox fans, but he is still a great plater. Coco Crisp could be his statistical equal, but with Crisp missing a lot of time and being bothered by the finger injury his stats will dwarf Damon all year.
| | Season | | | | Career vs. | | | |
| Player | Avg | HR | RBI | Runs | Avg | HR | RBI | Runs |
| Johnny Damon | .284 | 17 | 58 | 84 | .319 | 6 | 30 | 54 |
| Coco Crisp | .281 | 6 | 26 | 48 | .300 | 2 | 10 | 14 |
RIGHT FIELD
Abreau is an OB machine, Pena has super-human power, this will probably be the most even matchup in the series.
| | Season | | | | Career vs. | | | |
| Player | Avg | HR | RBI | Runs | Avg | HR | RBI | Runs |
| Bobby Abreau | .379 | 1 | 6 | 4 | .324 | 5 | 20 | 21 |
| Bernie Williams | .280 | 8 | 46 | 47 | .266 | 26 | 107 | 110 |
| Wily Mo Pena | .314 | 9 | 34 | 27 | .294 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gabe Kapler | .241 | 2 | 8 | 12 | .243 | 2 | 17 | 17 |
DESIGNATED HITTER
Aside from Left Field, this is the one position where Boston has the clear advantage. Looking at the numbers there seem pretty comparable, until I tell you the career vs. stats Giambi has a 56 game advantage on Papi. Unless New York walks Ortiz every at bat, he will hurt them atleast once a game.
| | Season | | | | Career vs. | | | |
| Player | Avg | HR | RBI | Runs | Avg | HR | RBI | Runs |
| Jason Giambi | .256 | 34 | 93 | 74 | .260 | 27 | 83 | 69 |
| David "MVP" Ortiz | .286 | 42 | 113 | 88 | .309 | 18 | 64 | 54 |
PITCHING
I think the picthing matchups are pretty evenly balanced this weekend, the only advantage I think will be when Jason Johnson starts for Boston, well advantage for New York, disadvantage for us. Give Boston the edge in the 9th cause well, we own Mariano!
Breakdown
| Position | New York | Boston |
| C | X | |
| 1B | | X |
| 2B | X | X |
| SS | X | |
| 3B | | X |
| LF | | X |
| CF | X | X |
| RF | X | X |
| DH | | X |
| SP | X | |
| RP | X | |
| CP | | X |
| Wins | 1 | 4 |
August 7, 2006
Heres a breakdown of Boston's scoring and scoring allowed by inning. It includes a total chart as well as for home and road games.
| Total | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | | T |
| Opponent | 68 | 68 | 58 | 57 | 66 | 54 | 73 | 65 | 26 | | 541 |
| Boston | 70 | 67 | 66 | 58 | 66 | 91 | 51 | 76 | 53 | | 604 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Road | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | | T |
| Boston | 29 | 22 | 34 | 41 | 39 | 45 | 25 | 43 | 37 | | 317 |
| Opponent | 44 | 31 | 32 | 44 | 39 | 28 | 34 | 38 | 3 | | 297 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Home | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | | T |
| Opponent | 24 | 37 | 26 | 13 | 27 | 26 | 39 | 27 | 23 | | 244 |
| Boston | 41 | 45 | 32 | 17 | 27 | 46 | 26 | 33 | 16 | | 287 |
Heres a breakdown of Boston's errors this season.
Catcher: Varitek (3), Mirabelli (1)
First Base: Youkilis (4), Ortiz (2), Snow (1)
Second Base: Loretta (4)
Third Base: Lowell (4), Youkilis (3)
Shortstop: Gonzalez (5), Cora (4)
Left Field: Ramirez (1)
Center Field: Crisp (1)
Right Field: Nixon (1), Pena (1)
Pitcher: DiNardo (2), Schilling (1), Timlin (1), Tavarez (1), Johnson (1)
July 23, 2006
Here's a look at how the 2006 Red Sox draft picks are doing thus far. One player has advanced to his second level, here's the breakdown.
| Player | Level | Avg | HR | RBI | OBP |
| Aaron Bates - 1B | A | .400 | 0 | 1 | .500 |
| Rafael Cabreja - OF | R | .333 | 0 | 10 | .377 |
| Mike Chambers - 2B | A - SS | .289 | 1 | 6 | .396 |
| Zach Daeges - OF | A - SS | .319 | 1 | 14 | .415 |
| Jorge Jimenez | A - SS | .177 | 0 | 1 | .292 |
| Ryan Khoury - SS | A - SS | .250 | 0 | 13 | .324 |
| Kris Negron - SS | A - SS | .292 | 0 | 4 | .358 |
| Jason Place - OF | R | .259 | 0 | 8 | .353 |
| Paul Smyth - OF | A - SS | .194 | 1 | 10 | .239 |
| Jon Still - C | A - SS | .184 | 1 | 6 | .252 |
| Jeff Vincent - OF | A - SS | .205 | 0 | 2 | .319 |
| Player | Level | W - L | SV | ERA | Opp Avg |
| Travis Beazley | A - SS | 0 - 1 | 0 | 3.49 | .250 |
| Bryce Cox | A - SS
High A | 0 - 1
1 - 0 | 0
0 | 1.59
0.00 | .261
.000 |
| Jeff Farrell * | A - SS | 1 - 3 | 0 | 9.53 | .352 |
| Kris Johnson | A - SS | 0 - 1 | 0 | 0.77 | .220 |
| Will Mann * | R | 1 - 0 | 5 | 0.93 | .250 |
| Justin Masterson | A - SS | 0 - 0 | 0 | 0.82 | .150 |
| Joshua Papelbon | A - SS | 0 - 0 | 4 | 0.00 | .170 |
| Dustin Richardson | A - SS | 2 - 1 | 1 | 6.28 | .220 |
| Brian Steinocher | A - SS | 0 - 0 | 0 | 1.50 | .190 |
* Denotes a undrafted signee for 2006
A - SS is Lowell Spinners
R is Gulf Coast League
High A is Wilmington
July 19, 2006
The Boston Red Sox today extended Josh Beckett three years with a new $30 million contract. Terms of the deal are as follows...
$2 million signing bonus
$6 million salary for 2007
$9.5 million salary for 2008
$10.5 million salary for 2009
$12 million at club option for 2010. The option becomes automatic if Beckett makes 28 starts in 2009 or he has a total of 56 starts in 2008 and 2009.
July 18, 2006
Wily Mo Pena was activated from the DL today and Jermaine Van Buren was recalled from AAA to make room on the active roster Javy Lopez and Willie Harris were sent down.
Also today Tim Wakefield had a bone scan of which the results are not yet available. Manager Tito Francona has not ruled out a trip to the DL for Wakefield but no move has yet been made.