Red Sox Recap 5-6-08

The Red Sox won their fifth straight game behind an excellent start by Tim Wakefield. Some thoughts on the game:

Tim Wakefield delivered his best start of the year thus far, throwing strikes early and often, and dominated the Tigers’ stagnant offense. The Tigers took an approach to Wakefield that the Rangers took earlier this year, as they swung early in the count and did not wait for Wakefield to throw too many pitches. In the game against the Rangers, Wakefield gave up eight hits and five runs, but the Tigers were much less effective making contact. Tonight was the only other night, besides the Rangers game, that he did not yield a walk. Even though his delivery does not change with runners on base, almost anyone can steal a base against him, and with the occasional passed ball, a runner on first who reached on a walk can easily come around to score without the opposing team recording a hit. Wakefield settled in and worked fast as he normally does, and retired at one point 16 straight Tigers. Wakefield lowered his ERA to 3.33, and now Josh Beckett (4.19 ERA) is the only starter with an ERA above 4.00. With the back end of the bullpen a little taxed, Wakefield’s eight innings were that much more helpful. It also allowed for a rare occurrence, as both pitchers for the Sox tonight were both over 41 years old, since Mike Timlin pitched a scoreless ninth for the Sox fourth shut-out this season.

Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz went back-to-back in the seventh inning to provide most of the offense. Ramirez has been in a mini-slump, entering the game with just 5 hits in his last 32 at-bats. But, more importantly, he broke out of a bad power slump, as his home run was his first since April 20. A lot of players tend to be pressing when they get close to a milestone, and with Ramirez on the edge of one of the most historic milestones in all of baseball, he has been racking up the strikeouts with alarming frequency. Alex Rodriguez went through a similar funk last year as he approached 500 home runs, but after a week or so, the great players tend to get back in their groove. Ramirez had an excellent batting practice session today, and the home run capped a very good offensive night. It is very encouraging to see Ortiz drive the ball with explosive force, and his home run was likely between 440 and 450 feet. He has been given a few days off over the past few weeks, and he has responded well going 11-25 (.440) with two doubles, two home runs and seven RBI over his last six games. Since he really seems to be having trouble with his knee, look for him to be given more frequent off days, especially after Sean Casey comes back off of the disabled list, which he is eligible to do on Friday. Also, Ramirez and Ortiz have now hit home runs in the same game an astonishing 45 times in their career with the Red Sox, and seeing as they have only played together for a little over five seasons, that number is even more impressive. Not only are they the “gold standard,” as ESPN commentator Joe Morgan refers to them, for productive 3-4 hitters in the game today, but they may be the best of all time.

The Sox entered the Tigers series with a very surprising statistic: they had had as many home runs as they did stolen bases (26). The Sox also recorded two stolen bases in one game recently, and according to the Elias Sports Bureau, that was the only time such an event has occurred for the Sox for at least the last 50 years. With Jacoby Ellsbury, Coco Crisp, and Julio Lugo, the Sox may have more speed now than they ever have, and we would have to go back to the 1910s-1920s with Sox teams that included Hall of Famers like Tris Speaker. If he starts to play more regularly, Ellsbury may break Tommy Harper’s club record of 54 steals. But, if not this year, then the Sox may as well already begin penciling in Ellsbury’s name.

Look for this recap after tomorrow’s game as the Sox try to make it three straight against the Tigers. (To view all previous recaps, follow this link.)

For the poll: How do you think Ramirez and Ortiz rank among all-time best 3-4 combinations?
Keep the Faith.

I have always been curious about the idea of Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz and their place in history. The only combination that would challenge them, for me, would be Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, two of the best players ever. But, Ramirez and Ortiz's numbers are comparable, and several of the records that Ruth and Gehrig set were broken by them (stats like, most RBIs over a three year span by two guys on the same team, etc.)

I am very interested to see your responses.
Keep the Faith.

I believe Mano-ram is underrated. He is the best hitter of his time because of his consistency. Over 100 RBIs from 1995-2006. Over 30 HRs eight straight seasons. And hovering at a .300 batting average. He is a monster and Boston is lucky Cleveland could not pay him what he deserved when he carried the Indians.

By the way, the Tigers need to do more than cut J.Jones to shake up that lineup. Inge needs to be there with Granderson. Players that play hard and work hard every day. Until that happens, it will be a long season for us Tigers fans.

I'll throw some other combos out there to keep in mind:

Obviously, Gehrig and Ruth.

Willie Mays and Willie McCovey

Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle. (although Maris did not sustain the numbers that Mantle did)

Mickey Cochrane and Al Simmons

Hank Aaron and Eddie Matthews (hold the record for most times two players for the same team hit a home run in the same game, 75)

Fred Lynn and Jim Rice

These are just a few, to get the juices flowing...(no pun intended)
Keep the Faith.

Just have to say this... I love watching Tim Wakefield pitch. It ranks right up there with watching Pedro Martinez pitch in his prime with the Red Sox. I try to watch every start if I can. I don't know what it is, but I just like watching him pitch, and if it wasn't NBA playoff time for the Celtics, I wouldn't have missed this gem of a performance from Wake tonight. I did tune in late to see them put in Timlin though, and I was dissapointed because I could have used a complete game shutout from Wake so he could put up better numbers than he did for my fantasy team tonight.

Not a bad night to have Tim Wakefield and Gavin Floyd starting for your fantasy team this week.

Hopefully the Sox can get more quality starts from their pitching moving forward. It looks like all of our starters are on a roll right now. Like defense wins championships in football and basketball... pitching wins championships in baseball. I just hope they can keep it up.

Tauntonian, From one tauntonoian to another, i might stand alone in Red Sox nation when i say i dont like seein wakefeild pitch. To me its just not fun to see the same pitch bein thrown and swung at ever at bat. Doesn't mean i dont like the guy, just boreing.

about Manyy and Ortiz. I think they are in the top 3 of all time, Both hit for good to great average, both have great power numbers, and both have a really high obp percentage. Im not sure where they currently rank on the list of those numbers but i'll go all nastradomus on you all and say they will finish top 3.