Major League Baseball

[bsm1967]

Cheers lancinatorZ for the power rankings and nice to see the Indians up there with the Sox and the better New York team Only disappointing factor is consecutive defeats to a team that are beginning to become a bogey side - those pesky Orioles We're now tied with the Tigers for first place although our make up games are against the Mariners.

Hope Jake gets back to full fitness soon as we need him in the starting rotation along with Cliff Lee. C.C is pitching today so here's hoping for a 5-0 start to his season - but wonder which one will be his bad inning today ? He gave up three homers in the first to Toronto in his last start but recovered well.

[TheLancinator]

No problem

I saw it and thought it would go well in this thread

I can't believe they have the Yankees ranked as high as they do in the rankings tho

[Lomax]

... That is because George has them on the payroll too.
6 years, $100,000,000



Bonds,... awesome! 744 and counting.

[bsm1967]

Nine hits in seven innings for C.C. and it was the third inning that was his undoing today against the Orioles as he conceded three runs there but they were the only ones scored against him in a 9-6 victory for the Tribe

Anyone else surprised that the Brewers currently have the best record in baseball ? Yankees still below .500

[Lomax]

... Yanks sign Clemens. He will be making approximately $4 million per month.


Can you say:

Insane in the membrane,.......

Insane in the brain!!!!!!!!!!

[dbasket42]

thats a ridiculous amount of money but i guess if the yankees think that will help them win it i guess its good even though they wont win it this year

[TheLancinator]

They signed him for a prorated contract of $28 million, which will also cost the Yankees another $7 million in luxury tax. Is Roger Clemens at 44 worth that kind of money? Will he be the cure for an aging pitchinf staff?

The Yankees problems this year seem to be more than one 44 year old starting pitcher. As good as Clemens is, he will only pitch every fifth day and he doesn't filed or hit. Just another way for Steinbrennar to go 'Look how much money I have to waste.'

[Lomax]

... Roger Clemens "era" the past few years has been outstanding. If not for his teams lack of scoring when he pitches, he would have hardly lost a single game.

[TheLancinator]

Yeah, but is he the 'saviour' of a team that has far more problems that one starting pitcher can solve? If he's ready on June 1st like they say, we'll find out because the Yankees will be at Fenway Park...

[TheLancinator]

Red Sox on Clemens: `We don't need him'

By JON KRAWCZYNSKI, AP Sports Writer
May 6, 2007


MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- David Ortiz was putting the finishing touches on his three-piece suit when he was asked about Roger Clemens signing with the New York Yankees.

"Who?" the Boston slugger asked, innocently.

Roger Clemens. He signed with the Yankees on Sunday.

"Oh, he did?" Ortiz said after Boston's 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins, his mischievous eyes hidden behind a pair of designer shades. "I hadn't heard."

Ortiz's ignorance may have been embellished, but while the rest of the baseball world marveled at the 44-year-old Rocket's return to New York, the Yankees' biggest rivals greeted the news with a shrug and a yawn.

"It would have been nice to have him, but we didn't need him. We DON'T need him," Red Sox ace Curt Schilling said. "It's May, a long way to go, but I like the way this team is comprised right now. This team has incredible makeup, it's got great chemistry and I feel like we were a legitimate World Series contender without him, so it doesn't change my mind."

Clemens agreed to a minor league contract on Sunday and expects to be pitching for the Yankees within a month. With an injury-depleted pitching staff, the Bronx Bombers definitely need the seven-time Cy Young Award winner after starting the season a disappointing 14-15 and falling 5 1/2 games behind the first-place Red Sox in the AL East.

Clemens' agent, Randy Hendricks, was in Boston talking to the Red Sox on Thursday when the Yankees offered big bucks. By Friday evening, the New York hooked him with a one-year, $28 million contract.

"I'm sure it's a nice boost over there, given what they've got," Schilling said. "It's going to be a huge help to them."

But pitching has been the one constant for the Red Sox (20-10) this season. Schilling has been his usual stingy self and Josh Beckett is 6-0, with the two hard-throwing right-handers headlining a staff that includes Daisuke Matsuzaka and a rejuvenated Tim Wakefield.

"Boston, they can speak for themselves," Hendricks said. "They have a good rotation. They're in first. They're doing very, very well. They probably feel they have the luxury of waiting."

That seemed to be the sentiment in Minneapolis as the Red Sox prepared to hit the road after taking two of three from the Twins.

"It would've been nice," Beckett said. "Anytime you get one of the greatest pitchers who ever lived on your staff, it'd be a plus. But unless the Yankees decide to trade him to us, we're probably going to have to move on without him."

If the Red Sox felt jilted by Clemens' flirtation with them before ultimately choosing the Yankees, they certainly did a good job of hiding it.

"I just heard that he signed with the Yankees and I'm surprised," Matsuzaka said through a translator. "With his long career and such a fabulous track record, there would have been a lot of things that I probably could have learned from him had we had the chance to play together. But at the same time, I don't feel disappointed."

General manager Theo Epstein and co-owner Larry Lucchino declined comment, but the team issued this statement:

"We met with Randy Hendricks earlier this week and, at Randy's request, made an offer to Roger Clemens. We offered a substantial salary and suggested, for health purposes, that Clemens return on approximately the same timetable as last year. Today we learned from Randy that Clemens has signed elsewhere."

Whereas Clemens said he was wooed to the Big Apple by star shortstop Derek Jeter, it appears he did not receive any similar overtures from Boston.

"It seems like they need pitching, so it was a good choice," Ortiz deadpanned. "They need him more than we do."

Schilling said he never contacted Clemens about joining the Red Sox, and said he was perfectly comfortable with what they have.

"I could care less now," Schilling said. "What's done is done."

Count Schilling, and the rest of the indifferent players in the Boston clubhouse, as the minority.

In Boston, tennis star Pete Sampras shared the news with 3,560 fans who watched him win a seniors tournament at Boston University.

"I don't know if you guys heard, but I believe the New York Yankees just signed Roger Clemens," he said to a chorus of boos during the trophy ceremony. "I'm serious."

AP Sports Writers Ronald Blum in New York and Jimmy Golen in Boston contributed to this report

[dbasket42]

the red sox have 3 of the best starting pitchers in the game, as long as they stay healthy. dice-k will be getting more comfortable and start pitching better. as long as the sox dont fall apart down the stretch again, I see them beating the yankees for the penant, but the season is long from over

[bsm1967]

Cliff Lee goes the distance against the Angels for his first victory of the season. He missed the first month with an abdominal injury. Guess the rest has done him good as he pitched a three hitter and Victor Martinez homered in another win for the Tribe. If only the Tigers were not on an 8 game winning streak we might have a lead of more than 0.5 of a game ! Paul Byrd is up against his former employers tonight - and we all know how good it feels to stick one over on the former boss !!

[hoosier]

Originally Posted by bsm1967

Cliff Lee goes the distance against the Angels for his first victory of the season. He missed the first month with an abdominal injury. Guess the rest has done him good as he pitched a three hitter and Victor Martinez homered in another win for the Tribe. If only the Tigers were not on an 8 game winning streak we might have a lead of more than 0.5 of a game ! Paul Byrd is up against his former employers tonight - and we all know how good it feels to stick one over on the former boss !!

It looks like the AL central might be the toughest division in baseball... right now. We'll see if it holds up through the season. My Sox are usually battling with the Yankees and Toronto - and the Yankees will be back, but not Toronto. They're done. Their injuries have been tough, especially now that B.J. Ryan is done for the year. And Halladay, their best pitcher is getting crushed tonight.

[TheLancinator]

Red Sox 8, Blue Jays 0
May 10, 2007

AP - May 10, 8:44 pm EDT

TORONTO (AP) -- Tim Wakefield pitched seven sharp innings while the Boston Red Sox roughed up Roy Halladay, beating Toronto 8-0 Thursday night in sending the Blue Jays to their ninth straight loss.

Mike Lowell homered for the third consecutive game for Boston, which has won seven of eight.

Halladay (4-2) gave up eight runs, seven earned, and 11 hits in five innings on the same day Blue Jays closer B.J. Ryan had Tommy John surgery on his left elbow, ending his season.

Wakefield (4-3) allowed three hits, struck out five and walked one, lowering his ERA to an AL-best 1.79.

Hideki Okajima pitched a perfect eighth and J.C. Romero worked the ninth for the Red Sox.

Kevin Youkilis returned to Boston's lineup after a day off and went 3-for-4 with two RBIs.

Youkilis got the Red Sox rolling in the first when he doubled to right, moved to third on Halladay's throwing error and scored on a groundout by David Ortiz.

The Red Sox blew the game open with a six-run third, sending 10 men to the plate and stringing together six consecutive hits. Youkilis and Manny Ramirez sandwiched RBI singles around a run-scoring double by Ortiz. J.D. Drew then singled to bring up Lowell, who hit a three-run homer, his seventh.

Halladay also was hit hard in his last start, allowing a season-high nine runs.

Toronto's skid is its longest since a nine-game losing streak between April 24 and May 3, 2002. Toronto lost a team-record 12 straight games between May 31 and August 10 in the strike-shortened 1981 season.

The Blue Jays' only threat came in the first, when singles by Adam Lind and Vernon Wells and a walk to Troy Glaus loaded the bases with one out. But Wakefield escaped when Frank Thomas struck out on a 2-2 pitch and catcher Doug Mirabelli completed the double play by firing to first to catch Glaus straying too far off the base.

Wakefield didn't give up another hit until Wells' leadoff single in the seventh. Wells was erased when Glaus grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.

Toronto was shut out for the first time this season.

==================================================

Red Sox are rolling...Wakefield has been a stud so far this year and I'm really happy for him, especially after the injury plagued season last year. I love Wake, he's such a good guy and does whatever he can to help the team.

Meanwhile on the other side of the coin, the Jays are in a world of hurt...

And the Yankees gave up two touchdowns today while only grabbing a safety in losing 14-2

[bsm1967]

Consecutive losses to the Angels means the Tigers are now top dawgs in the Central again Jeremy Sowers has started his season 0-3 - wonder how long he will last in the starting rotation.....