Results tagged “timwakefield”

It's a busy time for Boston sports. The Bruins are preparing for tonight's game against the Penguins, most likely sterilizing everything any player could possibly touch while hoping that Saturday's absolutely brilliant play wasn't just a fluke. The Patriots are gearing up for Sunday's showdown with Peyton and Company, curious about how Dan Koppen could - or could not - factor into that equation. The Celtics, while off to a 7-1 start, are working on fixing what has appeared recently to be some pretty Shaq-like free throw skills.

Fans of American Football in London won't see a textbook example of the sport when the New England Patriots play the winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. If the game on display isn't something the league really wants on display - unless the NFL loves potentially one-sided games - then that leaves this year's London game as a means to promote the league through its stars. In other words, Tom Brady. That's what Mike Reiss theory is, and he believes Brady has embraced that theory, too. That would explain the sight of Brady in a suit surrounded by teammates in their casual team gear. It might explain more detailed, emphatic answers to media inquiries instead of the usual Belichick-speak we are treated to.

Well, the Red Sox are officially on a roll. They're preparing for the playoffs by being swept twice in a row. And they did it with style last night, serving up another round of meatball sandwiches to give their guests from Toronto an 11-0 win.

If you skipped over NESN on Monday night, confident in the outcome of a Red Sox-Royals matchup in Kansas City, you weren't alone. Many people surely thought that it was going to be relatively easy for Tim Wakefield to get back on track with a return to the mound in Missouri. Why not catch a few winks and rest up as best as possible for the Yankees series this weekend?

Sox beat Orioles, Bruins trade Kessel The Red Sox beat the Orioles again. That's 14-2 in 2009. Clay Buchholz pitched well enough to keep the Orioles AAAA lineup in check. He threw for six innings and allowed just one run. Jacoby Ellsbury, Casey Kotchman and Jason Bay (home run) each drove in one run. Bay left the game early with flu-like symptoms, and should be available today.

Tampa Bay loaded the bases with one out in the first inning. Ah, nevermind. Friday's game was washed away and will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Sunday. Josh Beckett, Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester will start the three games versus Tampa Bay. It remains a mystery to Bostonist why Lester had to take the mound. Defer to the meteorologist umpire because we have nothing on that one. Since the rain nixed Friday's Sox game, all Bostonist has to worry about is the cost of pitching and beer. Both are expensive. According to OverTheMonster.com, Fenway Park has the most expensive beer in the MLB if you factor in the team's winning percentage.

First of all, we need to criticize the Globe for their game story, which reads like a prewritten obituary for Tim Wakefield. Yeah, he's old. Yeah, he's pitching through pain. But it wasn't really his fault that the Sox lost again in Chicago yesterday. When you almost get no-hit, you lose. It's a simple game.

He spent the first two months of the season making us think of the end of Old Yeller. He spent some time in the last month under a cloud of suspicion and betrayal. But last night, he was the Big Papi that New England loves and remembers, as David Ortiz hit two home runs, including a walk-off, as the Red Sox made it six straight wins against teams that aren't from New York.

Tazawa's arm, Youk's bat keys to victory The day after a historically bad pitching performance overwhelmed a more-than-adequate offense, the Red Sox pitching and hitting came together for a rout of their own as they dominated the Yankees, 14-1, in an important win for the team.

Penny, Bowden overwhelmed by Yankees The Red Sox ability to beat the Yankees has evaporated, and after Friday's almost indescribable 20-11 loss, the Yankees look unstoppable. It pains Bostonist to type such heretical words. PatriotLedger.com called it "one of the worst pitching performances in franchise history." You wanna argue with that?

Runs = wins. It's not a 100% certainty, but since the Sox learned last week to their sorrow that "no runs = no wins", it was worth a try.

Another All Star Game, another win for the American League. It's been 13 years since the Junior Circuit lost (not counting the tie game, which America lost); the 1996 game featured only one Red Sox player (Mo Vaughn) and two youngsters named Alex R. and Pedro M. making their ASG debuts. It was a long time ago. Last night, the AL used a lights-out performance by its bullpen to seal down a 4-3 win in St. Louis.

The Riverfront Times has photos of Red Sox All Star pitchers Tim Wakefield and Jonathan Papelbon making Boston look classy at the Playboy All Star bash in St. Louis. It may be Wakefield's first All Star game, but at least he looks like he's seen a woman before, which is more than we can say for Paps. (Some photos NSFW.)

The art of hitting was on full display on Monday night, as Major League Baseball took a step back to let baseball fans and a select group of people actually willing to risk their home run totals during the second half crop of superstar sluggers take pleasure in the primal act of hitting a baseball super wicked far. The annual Home Run Derby competition, unofficially named the We Love Albert Pujols Here Home Run Derby this year, was supposed to be all about the St. Louis Cardinal-turned-unofficial-city-ambassador.

"Oh, he was good," said Terry Francona about his starting pitcher yesterday. What else can you say? Josh Beckett threw a complete-game, 94-pitch, 3-hit shutout of the woefully overmatched Royals for his 100th career win. Maybe we were a little overeager last week when we declared this the summer of Wakefield. Maybe we should just shut up and appreciate the fact that we have two All-Star pitchers who are pitching as well as anyone can pitch.

We're gonna go ahead and declare this the Summer of Wake. Sure, we noted yesterday that Josh Beckett's the anchor of the rotation. And we're not going to forget to spread the love around when guys deserve it. But in his first start since learning his All-Star status, Tim Wakefield hung around long enough to get graced by a Sox comeback, earn his 11th win, and be carried off the field on a metaphorical wave of cheers.

Jason Bay. Dustin Pedroia. Jonathan Papelbon. Kevin Youkilis. Josh Beckett. All have been to All-Star Games before. All are young, and will probably go again. So congratulations to them, but we know and they know that they aren't the headline on this All-Star Selection story.

Dustin Pedroia and Jason Bay were the top vote-getters at their positions and will start for the American League in the MLB All-Star Game on July 14 in St. Louis. Tim Wakefield (10-3) was also named to the squad, becoming the second oldest All-Star ever according to TBS. Josh Beckett, Kevin Youkilis and Jonathan Paplebon were also picked by Tampa Bay's Joe Maddon, A.L. Manager. The complete All-Star rosters are now available at MLB.com.

The Sox are home, everyone's pumped for the Fourth of July, the weather is finally something not to be suicidal about...everything's great. Except that the Sox can't seem to beat Seattle.

The Red Sox staff had no answers for the bottom of Seattle's order as Rob Johnson and Ronny Cedeno combined to go 5-10 with five RBI in a 7-6 Sox loss in 11 innings. Johnson's two-run double in the 11th inning was the deciding hit in the game. Ramon Ramirez took the loss.

The Red Sox have returned home to find out which parts of Fenway haven't washed out to sea in the last two weeks. They'll play the Mariners to begin a 10-game homestand that will take us to the All-Star break; Oakland and Kansas City will follow. Red Sox history will be made tonight, weather permitting, as Tim Wakefield will make his record-breaking 383rd start for the team. Pushing that Clemens uncomfortableness out of the record book. We say "weather permitting", of course, because we've heard that the guys from Seattle are rumbling that Boston is a little too rainy and clammy and cloudy for them. Let's hope for the best.

Who's the all-time leader for games started by a Red Sox pitcher? Trick question; there's a tie. Let's try it this way: who's the all-time leader for games started by a Red Sox pitcher who didn't end his Red Sox career with bitterness and acrimony, then go on to win championships with the Yankees and end his baseball career under a cloud of steroid-related suspicion?

A bad day fishing is better than a good day almost anywhere else, they say. And when you play the Marlins, you're required to make fish jokes. So there you have it. The Sox returned to Fenway for their own Admiral's Feast last night, as David Ortiz homered (#5) and Tim Wakefield went to 9-3 for the year, grilling the fish 8-2.

Why is Derek Jeter making this face? Is it just because the Yankees have now lost all seven games to the Red Sox this year? Is it because first place in the AL East just changed hands? Or is he just going loco after having to stand in the field for long inning after long inning while his pitching staff lets the Sox run around the bases?

The Sox have it again. Somehow, they've got it. They finished up a road trip that looked dismal a week ago 6-4, thanks to completing a sweep of the Tigers yesterday in Comerica Park. Tim Wakefield fell behind 3-0 in the second? No problem!

It had been almost three weeks since the Red Sox cracked double digits. More importantly, it had been almost three days since the Sox won a game. Luckily, both those streaks ended.

Sometimes, the best remedy comes unexpectedly. After a crummy road trip, the Sox needed a win badly, and they got one, thanks to Tim Wakefield. In a windswept Fenway (when they said highs of 70s, we thought you meant temperature and not gusts, thanks again, weatherfolks), Wake induced popups and flailing from the East-leading Blue Jays, pacing the Sox to a 2-1 win.

Unfortunately, when a knuckleballer is your most reliable starter, there are going to be days of disappointment. Last night was one of those nights.

We're not going to talk too much more about yesterday's big news. Bill Simmons gets really sad, and Dan Shaughnessy must be trapped under something; it's the only explanation why he's not on Page One and all over this. The Red Sox react. Other than that, let's move on until the news breaks that Manny actually was trying to get pregnant.

It IS over, right? They're not going to suddenly declare this 5-out-of-9, right? They're not going to suddenly announce that they found an extra couple of Bulls points in Game Five, so we have to play out another OT?