Pedro Hurt Again, Yankees Win (9/7/01)

The Red Sox worst fears came true when Pedro Martinez' aching shoulder finally gave out after 3 innings against the New York Yankees. The injured Martinez gutted through 6 innings last week but couldn't answer the bell this time. The Sox offense was once again shut down by Orlando Hernandez who's only two wins this year have come against the Red Sox. As it was, the Yankees took the game 3-2 at Yankee Stadium.

                                                  "Why oh why did Pedro come back?"

Orlando Hernandez got the ball to start the game and the Sox immediately pounced on him in the top of the first. Jose Offerman flied to centerfield on the third pitch. Last week's hero Trot Nixon flied out to left but Carl Everett doubled off the bottom of the centerfield wall. Manny Ramirez had been hitting .242 since June 5 but he singled home Everett here to make it 1-0 Sox. Brian Daubach doubled over the glove of Chuck Knoblauch in left to score Ramirez. Troy O'Leary flied out to left to end the inning but the Sox led 2-0. The injured Pedro Martinez took the mound in the bottom of the first and got Knoblauch to ground out to Mike Lansing at short. Randy Velarde flied out to center as Sox analyst Jerry Remy said Pedro's velocity was down. Bernie Williams grounded out to second to end the inning.

Hernandez settled down in the top of the second. Scott Hatteberg flied out to center, Shea Hillenbrand grounded out to third and Lansing struck out to end the inning. The Yankees figured out Pedro's fastball was gone so they teed off on him in the bottom of the second. Sox analyst Jerry Remy said his delivery was off as Tino Martinez chopped a single past a diving Lansing into center for a base hit. David Justice doubled into the left field corner and Tino scored on the groundout by Jorge Posada. Sox manager Joe Kerrigan brought the infield in since the Sox have been utterly useless at the plate lately. It didn't matter as Paul O'Neil singled into right to score Justice to tie the game. Alfonso Soriano then singled past the diving Lansing to move O'Neil to third. That's twice now Lansing could have made a play. It got even worse when Enrique Wilson grounded right to Lansing....right out of his glove, scoring O'Neil to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead. Knoblauch walked to load the bases as Sox analyst Jerry Remy said Pedro shouldn't be out there and should shut it down for the season. Sox broadcaster Sean McDonough said Pedro was too proud to quit which is why he took the ball. Right on cue Pedro struck out Velarde and Williams grounded out to end the inning.

Hernandez cruised in the top of the third inning. Offerman flied out to the right field wall, Nixon grounded out and Everett flied out to the right field wall as well to end the inning. Pedro returned for the bottom of the third and got Posada to pop up to third. Justice walked but Posada struck out on a foul tip. O'Neil looked at strike three to end the inning.

The Sox got off to a good start in the top of the fourth when Ramirez hit a ball beyond the third base line that struck the ballboy's chair, somehow it was ruled a double. Daubach crushed one to the wall but Williams snared it, but it was a productive out as Manny moved to third. Manny was stranded when O'Leary whiffed. Hatteberg walked but Hillenbrand popped up to end the inning. Pedro was done as Tim Wakefield was brought in to pitch the bottom of the fourth. Soriano beat out an infield single and advanced to second on the ground out by Wilson. Some fan ran on the field and slid into second and third before being tackled and arrested. Knoblauch was hit with a pitch and both runners moved over on the ground out by Velarde. Williams grounded out to end the inning.

Hernandez cruised in the top of the fifth. Lansing grounded out, Offerman flied out to the wall in right and Nixon hit a rocket to Martinez at first to end the inning, Wakefield returned for the bottom of the fifth and Martinez reached on a ground ball booted by Offerman. Justice singled to center but Posada flied out to left. Martinez got picked off and O'Neil popped up to end the inning.

Another fan ran onto the field to begin the top of the sixth as Yankees PA announcer Bob Shepard warned fans not to run out on the field. Bob should have said "The next person to run out on the field will be shot!" Everett swung for the fences on a 3-2 count...and missed. Ramirez grounded out and Daubach struck out to end the inning. Wakefield returned for the bottom of the sixth after a commercial for the movie Rock Star. Marky Mark as a rock star, yeah that makes sense. Soriano struck out but Wilson hit a little flare in front of Everett for a single. Wilson was thrown out trying to steal and Knoblauch looked at strike three to end the inning.

Hernandez cruised in the top of the seventh. O'Leary watched strike three go by, Hatteberg grounded out and Hillenbrand popped up to end the inning. The Sox got their lone late inning highlight when Velarde singled and O'Leary gunned him down at second trying to steal. Williams walked but Martinez and Justice flied out to end the inning.

Ramiro Mendoza took the mound in the top of the eighth. Lansing grounded out, Offerman flied out and Nixon grounded out to end the inning. That's 13 in a row retired by Yankee pitching. Rod Beck was brought in to pitch the bottom of the eighth. Posada walked and moved to second on the ground out by O'Neil. Soriano whiffed and Hillenbrand made a diving stab to rob Wilson of a hit to end the inning.

Mariano Rivera got the ball in the top of the ninth. Everett broke his bat on a liner to Soriano, Ramirez grounded out and Daubach whiffed to end the game. The Yankees had won it 3-2, not allowing a baserunner after the fourth inning.

Jackass of the night is Mike Lansing. His horrid defense allowed the Yankees to beat around Pedro in the second inning when a few plays would have kept the Yankees off the scoreboard.  He was also 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

                                                          Mike Lansing: Jackass


The Good:

Manny Ramirez was 2 for 4 with a run and an rbi.


The Bad:

Jose Offerman and Trot Nixon were both 0 for 4. Troy O'Leary was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts. Shea Hillenbrand was 0 for 3. Pedro Martinez took the loss only lasting 3 innings while giving up 3 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 3. He never should have been out there. Tim Wakefield was outstanding, tossing 4 innings of scoreless relief to keep the Sox in the game. Rod Beck pitched a scoreless eighth inning.



The Ugly:

Carl Everett was 1 for 4 but scored a run. Brian Daubach was 1 for 4 but drove in a run. Scott Hatteberg was 0 for 2 but walked.




Final Thoughts:

As if things weren't going down the drain to begin with, the loss of Martinez pretty much puts the exclamation point on this miserable season. Nomar Garciaparra never got out of the box after suffering the wrist injury in spring training, Pedro Martinez blows his shoulder out in May, Jason Varitek breaks his elbow in June, Derek Lowe suddenly went from one of the best closers in the game to one of the worst, they fired the manager when he was twelve games OVER 500 and replaced him with a pitching coach who apparently isn't as respected as we all thought. Bret Saberhagen's comeback was short lived. Craig Grebeck was super utility man last year and his career evaporated this year. Don't forget the Sox pitching staff holds the Yankees to 6 earned runs, ONE by the starters last week and they fired John Cumberland the new pitching coach. Manny Ramirez has been useless since July and Carl Everett has been mediocre since the second half of LAST year. Where would the Sox be without Hideo Nomo and Rich Garces this year? I really don't want to find out. The loss puts the Sox at 72-67, 11 games behind the Yankees for first place with just 23 to go. The Sox hope to bounce back tomorrow with David Cone (8-4) up against last week's near perfecto Mike Mussina (14-11).

Yankees Sweep Sox, Mussina Nearly Perfect (9/2/01)

If you were to tell me the Boston Red Sox starting pitching held the New York Yankees to 1 earned run in 3 games I would have said "Wow, what a sweep." Yeah, it was a sweep alright, sweep for the YANKEES. After Joe Kerrigan's awful pitch count rules spoiled Frank Castillo's shutout start Friday night andUgueth Urbina spoiled Pedro Martinez' start yesterday, Mike Mussina damn near pitched a perfect game tonight. After all that, the Sox were swept by the world champion Yankees. The 3-peat champs always seem to find a way to win no matter what. Tonight David Cone (8-4, 4.13 ERA) pitched his ass off but Mussina came one strike away from throwing a perfect game. It took a pinch hit effort by Carl Everett to spoil the perfecto but the Yankees still swept the Sox out of Fenway with a 1-0 win.

                                                                "I almost had it!"

Cone took the mound in the top of the first inning and Chuck Knoblauch whiffed to start. Derek Jeter hit a routine ground ball to Mike Lansing at short who turned around and threw the ball into the third base seats for an error. David Justice popped up to short but Jeter swiped second. Bernie Williams grounded out to second to end the inning. Mussina began his dominance in the bottom of the first as Trot Nixon whiffed to start. Lansing looked at strike three on the inside corner before Izzy Alcantara lined out to short to end the inning.

Tino Martinez began the top of the second inning with a single up the middle but Jorge Posada whiffed on a splitter down and away. Paul O'Neil banged into a double play to end the inning. Manny Ramirez looked at strike three to begin the bottom of the second before Dante Bichette whiffed. Brian Daubach thought he had ball four but he was rung up for strike three to end the inning.

Cone got no help from his defense in the top of the third inning although Randy Velarde popped up to second to start. Alfonso Soriano flied out to the warning track in front of the Monster before Knoblauch hit a routine grounder to Lansing who kicked the ball over to second, running in a circle screaming "GOALLLL!!" for another error. Jeter grounded into a force to end the inning. The Sox beat the ball in the dirt in the bottom of the third as Shea Hillenbrand led off by grounding out to short to start. Lou Merloni also grounded out to short before Joe Oliver grounded out to second to end the inning.

Cone did what he could in the top of the fourth inning as Justice grounded out to first to start. Williams flied out to the warning track in center but Martinez walked. Posada whiffed to end the inning. Mussina remained perfect in the bottom of the fourth as Nixon grounded out to first to start. Lansing was rung up for strike three on a high fastball before Alcantara was frozen by a curve at the knees to end the inning.

Cone continued his own good game in the top of the fifth as O'Neil froze on a back door curveball for strike three to begin. Velarde whiffed on a curveball before Soriano popped up to a running Lansing to end the inning. The Sox couldn't touch Mussina in the bottom of the fifth as Manny looked at strike three on the inside corner to start. Bichette grounded out to third before Daubach was frozen for strike three on the outside corner to end the inning.

Cone kept pace in the top of the sixth although Knoblauch singled in the hole at short. Cone recovered to get Jeter to hit into a double play before Justice whiffed badly to end the inning. Mussina remained perfect in the bottom of the sixth as Hillenbrand popped up to center to start. As sad as it sounds, that was the first ball out of the infield for the Sox. Merloni popped up to right and Oliver took strike three to end the inning.

Cone matched Mussina in the top of the seventh as Williams grounded out to first to start. Martinez lined out to short but Posada doubled down the right field line past the diving Daubach. O'Neil was intentionally walked and rookie Nick Johnson pinch hit for Velarde only for Cone to strike him out on a splitter to end the inning. The Sox still couldn't hit Mussina in the bottom of the seventh with Enrique Wilson now at third. Nixon grounded out to first before Lansing lined out to Soriano at second. Alcantara was frozen for strike three to end the inning.

Miraculously Cone kept the shut-out going in the top of the eighth although Soriano singled to right to begin. Knoblauch flied out to the centerfield warning track before Jeter whiffed. Soriano swiped second before Justice walked. Sox pitching coach John Cumberland went to the mound and informed Cone that Star Trek Voyager was on in the clubhouse and David responded by getting Williams to fly out to the centerfield wall to end the inning. Mussina kept the perfect game in the bottom of the eighth as Manny popped up to short to start. Bichette flied out to center and Daubach earned the hat trick with another strikeout to end the inning.

The Yankees finally got to Cone in the top of the ninth but not without some help. Martinez blooped a single to center but Posada popped up to left. O'Neil hit a routine double play ball to Merloni but he dove on the ball and wrestled with it for an error that allowed Martinez to go to third. Clay Bellinger pinch ran for Martinez as Sox manager Joe Kerrigan went to the mound. Rather than take Cone out he told him to go get Wilson before leaving. Leaving David in backfired as Wilson doubled down the right field line to score Bellinger and give the Yankees the lead. That was it for Cone who was outstanding, going 8 1/3 inning allowing just the unearned run.

                                                      Cone deserved better

Derek Lowe came in to stop the bleeding and he struck out Soriano to get a key out. Knoblauch hit a grounder to third that Hillenbrand damn near threw away. Daubach scooped it but almost got cleaned out by Knoblauch to end the inning with the Yankees up 1-0.

Mussina came out to finish the perfect game in the bottom of the ninth as Troy O'Leary pinch hit for Hillenbrand. O'Leary hit a bullet but Bellinger made a great diving stop and flip to Mussina for the out. Merloni whiffed on a curve in the dirt before Carl Everett pinch hit for Oliver. Mussina was one strike away from perfection when Everett lined a base hit to left to break up the perfecto. Darren Lewis pinch ran for Everett and now after all of that, one swing of the bat would either tie or win the game. Nixon took Roger Clemens yard to win a game in the ninth last season but this time Mussina got Trot to ground out to second to end the game. The Yankees had swept the Red Sox out of Fenway with 3 straight late inning rallies and effectively ended the AL East race.

Jackass of the Night is a tough one since 10 out of 11 guys failed to put the ball in play just once but I'll go with Lou Merloni. Not only did he go 0 for 4 but his error in the ninth led to the only run scoring for the Yankees.

                                                         Merloni you Jackass!



The Good:

Carl Everett got the only hit of the game for the Sox pinch hitting in the ninth.

David Cone was the hard luck loser but he was hardly a loser. He tossed 8 1/3 innings and gave up no earned runs, just the unearned in the ninth while striking out 8.

Derek Lowe retired the only two men he faced.



The Bad:

Trot Nixon was 0 for 4 with a strikeout.

Mike Lansing was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts and 2 errors.

Izzy Alcantara was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.

Manny Ramirez was 0 for 3 with 2 strikeouts.

Dante Bichette was 0 for 3 with a strikeout.

Brian Daubach was 0 for 3 with a hat trick of 3 strikeouts.

Shea Hillenbrand was 0 for 2.

Troy O'Leary was 0 for 1 as a pinch hitter.

Joe Oliver was 0 for 2 with a strikeout.



The Ugly:

None



Honorable Mention:

Darren Lewis pinch ran for Everett in the bottom of the ninth.




Final Thoughts:

As the season goes down the crapper this series was a microcosm of exactly why. The Sox had 3 straight outstanding starting pitching performances against the Yankees but the champs still found ways to win. Nothing is going right for the Red Sox and it feels like the titanic is sinking. They did their best to hold on waiting for Nomar Garciaparra and Pedro Martinez to return but Nomar's wrist just couldn't get healthy and Pedro's shoulder is definitely not right. That extra inning marathon loss seemed to sap the life of this team and it doesn't look like they are a playoff contender. How do you come back from this? You hold the best team in baseball to 2 runs in 3 games by your starters and lose all three of them, how are you going to beat anyone else? The loss dropped the Sox to 71-64, 9 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East with just 27 games to play. After an off-day the Sox return to action Tuesday night with the Cleveland Indian coming to town. Indians ace Bartolo Colon goes for the Indians against Hideo Nomo (11-6) of the Sox at 7:05 PM at Fenway Park.

Yankees Late Blast Sinks Sox (9/1/01)

The New York Yankees are 3-peat World Champions for a reason, timely hitting and great pitching. One day after ruining arguably Frank Castillo's best start of the year, they outlasted a tremendous start by Pedro Martinez, dropping the Sox on a 9th inning home run by Bernie Williams to take the game 2-1 at Fenway Park. The Sox have now lost seven in a row and back to back games where the Sox couldn't score off the Yankees.

                                              "God damn Yankees!"

Pedro took the hill in the top of the 1st and Chuck Knoblauch greeted him with a full count single into right. Derek Jeter then sacrifice bunted Knobluach to second base and Bernie Williams moved Chuck to third with a ground out to second. Tino Martinez then struck out on a changeup in the dirt to end the inning. Orlando Hernandez (1-6, 5.43 ERA) got the ball in the bottom of the first. Trot Nixon greeted him with a solo blast over the bullpen, his 21st homer of the year to give the Sox a 1-0 lead. Sadly the Sox would have just four hits the rest of the game. Chris Stynes grounded out to second on a bang bang play then Carl Everett grounded out as well. Ramirez came into the game hitting just .233 in the last 68 games. He's been dealing with a bad hamstring and its no coincidence it got worse when former Sox manager Jimy Williams started putting him in left field. Ramirez lashed a base hit past Jeter into left field. Dante Bichette lined out softly to Alfonso Soriano at second to end the inning.

Jorge Posada looked at strike three on the inside corner to open the top of the second. Pedro then struck out Paul O'Neil with a 2-2 changeup. Shane Spencer then whiffed on a full count to end the inning. Brian Daubach led off the bottom of the second with a walk. Shea Hillenbrand popped up near the first base stands as Fox analyst Joe Buck said Jimy Williams got more out of the Red Sox than anybody could have expected, agreed. Scott Hattberg nearly banged into a double play but Soriano threw the ball away, allowing Scott to reach second. Mike Lansing grounded out to end the inning.

Soriano grounded out to third to open the top of the third inning. Pedro killer Enrique Wilson poked a base hit into center. Knoblauch popped up and Jeter grounded out to short to end the inning. Nixon was robbed of a leadoff hit by Williams to open the bottom of the third. Stynes walked but was erased on the stirke em out, throw em out double play on Everett.

Pedro got Williams to ground out to second to open the top of the fourth inning. Tino Martinez grounded out to first and Posada struck out on a pitch in the dirt to end the inning. The Sox still failed to score off Hernandez in the fourth. Ramirez popped up on a full count, Bichette grounded out and Daubach looked at strike three to end the inning.

Pedro returned for the top of the fifth and blew away O'Neil to begin the inning. Spencer was hit with a pitch but Soriano flied out to shallow right. Wilson grounded out to second to end the inning. The Sox once again couldn't score off Hernandez in the bottom of the fifth. Hillenbrand whiffed and Hatteberg popped up to center. Lansing popped up to end the inning.

Rich Garces began warming up as Pedro reached his pitch limit in the top of the sixth. Knoblauch and Jeter grounded out to third and Everett made a great diving catch to rob Williams of a hit to end Pedro's day. The Sox were just 9 outs from giving him a much needed win. The Sox failed to get Pedro any insurance against Hernandez in the bottom of the sixth. Nixon whiffed and Stynes grounded out but Everett walked. Manny then cracked a shot off the top of the Monster that moved Everett to third. That ball was gone in Yankee Stadium. Sure enough Bichette grounded out to end the inning.

"El Guapo" Rich Garces got the ball in the top of the seventh inning. Tino Martinez popped up to right and Posada flied out to left. O'Neil singled and stole second, but Spencer whiffed to end the inning. Hernandez returned for the bottom of the seventh and got Daubach to fly out to left to begin the frame. Hillenbrand grounded out and Hatteberg lined out to end the inning. The Sox had scored one measly run against a pitcher that hadn't won a game all year.

Rather than go to the much maligned Derek Lowe, Sox manager Joe Kerrigan brought in closer Ugueth Urbina for the six out save with Doug Mirabelli taking over behind the plate. Things looked bleak immediately when Stynes lost a routine pop up in the sun, allowing Soriano to take second on a double. Pinch hitter David Justice (for Wilson) flied out to the wall in center, moving Soriano to third. Knoblauch then singled off the Monster to tie the game, but was foolishly thrown out at second trying to stretch into a double. Jeter grounded out to end the inning but the Yankees had tied it.

                      Stynes "Yerrrrr out!"  Knoblauch "We'reeeee tied!"
Hernandez returned for the bottom of the eighth as David Justice moved to left field as Clay Bellinger moved to third. Lansing did manage to single and advance to second on the sacrifice bunt by Nixon. Stynes whiffed and Everett grounded out to end the inning. 8 innings of 1 run ball by a winless pitcher, the epitome of futile for the slumping Red Sox.

Fox was barely back from commercial in the top of the ninth when Bernie Williams blasted a solo home run into center to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead. The Yankees had done it again. Urbina recovered to blow away Martinez and Posada then get O'Neil to fly out to end the inning. Mariano Rivera came out for the bottom of the ninth to close it out. Ramirez had hit a game tying homer off of him on June 4...not today! Manny whiffed and Bichette whiffed as the fans began to file out of Fenway Park. Sox manager Joe Kerrigan then made the bizarre move of pinch-hitting Daubach with Izzy Alcantara. Izzy did manage to get a base hit to represent the tying run. Darren Lewis pinch hit for Izzy....but Hillenbrand grounded out to end the game. The Yankees had won it 2-1.

Jackass of the Night is Ugueth Urbina. Staked to a 1-0 lead, he gave up both the game tying and go-ahead runs, losing the game 2-1.

                                                           Urbina you Jackass!



The Good:

Trot Nixon was 1 for 3 with a run scored off his 22nd homer of the year. Manny Ramirez was 2 for 4. Izzy Alcantara singled in his pinch hitting appearance. Mike Lansing was 1 for 3. Pedro Martinez was outstanding, gutting through 6 innings with a bad shoulder. He allowed 2 hits and struck out 6 on pure guile. Rich Garces pitched a scoreless seventh inning.



The Bad:

Dante Bichette and Shea Hillenbrand were both 0 for 4 with a strikeout. Scott Hatteberg was 0 for 3.



The Ugly:

Chris Stynes was 0 for 3 and lost the ball in the sun during the crucial 8th inning...but walked. Carl Everett was 0 for 3 but walked. Brian Daubach was 0 for 2 with a walk.



Honorable Mention:

Darren Lewis pinch ran for Alcantara in the 9th. Doug Mirabelli caught the top of the ninth inning.




Final Thoughts:

Nothing is going right for the Red Sox at the plate. Pedro Martinez shuts out the Yankees on a bad shoulder, facing a starting pitcher who hadn't won a game all year....AND THEY STILL LOST. It doesn't matter if its Jimy Williams, Joe Kerrigan or Nancy Kerrigan managing this team, they're just not that good. They miss Jason Varitek, Nomar Garciaparra and the normal Pedro Martinez that could go 7-9 innings in the worst way. Carl Everett, Scott Hatteberg, Mike Lansing and Brian Daubach are all hitting under .265 for the season and Manny Ramirez has been hitting .230 the last 2 months. There's your problem right there. The loss dropped the Sox to 71-63, 8 games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. Tomorrow David Cone goes for the Sox facing his old team with Mike Mussina going for the Yankees.