Tagged: David Ortiz
Sunday Recap
The Celtics lost to the San Antonio Spurs, 94-73 . Paul Pierce appeared to hurt his right shoulder, but stayed in the game. Kendrick Perkins missed his second straight game with a left knee injury. Rasheed Wallace was in the starting lineup.
The Red Sox beat the Twins, 11-5. Clay Buchholz pitched 4.2 innings, giving up four runs in the first two innings, one a two run homer from Joe Mauer. Buchholz also striked out seven batters. David Ortiz and Tug Hullet both his three run bombs. Victor Martinez went 4-5 and Dustin Pedroia went 3-4 with three runs. Scott Atchison, Jonathan Papelbon, Ramon Rameriz, and Hideki Okajima also pitched.
The Flyers beat the Devils, 5-1. They now move ahead of the Bruins by two points, and trail Montreal by two points. The Devils loss keeps them in fourth place.
The Penguins beat the Leafs, 5-4 in a SO. The Maple Leafs now trail the Panthers and Hurricanes by only two points. The Penguins stay in second place.
Duke beat Baylor, 79-71. Duke completes the Final Four, along with Michagin State who beat Tennessee. Butler and West Virgina are also in the final four. Prediction: Mounteneers win it all.
News and Notes: The Penguins will host the 2011 Winter Classic. Who else? They will probally play the Capitals, seeing those are the only NHL teams that are relavant. The Pens already played in the Classic, give somebody else a chance. Have Washington host it at Camden Yards and play a team like Toronto, or Ottawa. Or maybe have Toronto host it. Maybe a team like Minnesota at Target field.
The Mailbag is today! Get your questions in by 5:00 pm!
Congrats to the BC Eageles, going to the Frozen Four!
Today the Bruins play the Buffalo Sabres in a critical game. The Red Sox play the Rays at 7:00 pm. I will be in Port Charlote tomorrow to see Casey Kelly and the Red Sox.
Mailbag and Recap, all in one!
Multi-tasking!
Q: Do you think the Red Sox will be as good as last year?
– Bree (via BBS.com)
A: Better. I love the Red Sox’s depth, more than any other team. If a guy like Ellsbury or Youkilis goes down the Sox are still a playoff contender. If Evan Longoria or Carl Crawford go out, forget about it. The pitching is by far thye best, and the offense is as good as anyone, (except New York) in my opinion.
Q: Could Mark Savard be having a more unlucky year ???
Greg
A: Probally not. It’s too bad the Bruins did not retailiate on Cooke Thursday night, they should have. This hurts the Bruins so much, who I think have been playing great. The Bergeron-Recchi-Sturm line is fantastic, and Blake Wheeler looks like he did at the begining of last season. If they had Savard, I could see a serious playoff run. But things look much more bleak now. The NHL is making a new head-shots rule, but it might be too little too late. The hit on Seabrook of Chicago was horrible, as well as Ovechikin’s on Campbell (ironic name).
Friday Recap:
The Celtics beat the Rockets, 94-87. Pierce had 26 points. The Celtics take on the Mavericks tonight in Dallas at 9pm.
The Red Sox lost to the Pirates, 9-7. I was at this game, right behind the on-deck circle. I got autographs from Chuck Tanner and Ron Johnson. David Ortiz hit a two run shot off Paul Maholm. I am in Dunedin tomorrow to see the Sox take on the Jays,
The Flames beat the Sharks, 4-3. The Sharks scored twice in the final two minutes, but the Flames held on to stay tied for the eight seed with Detroit.
The Oilers beat the Redwings, 3-2. Detroit remains in the playoffs by gaining the point in the SO, with the Flames still behind them. Deven Dubynk got his first career win in net for Edmonton.
News and Notes: Yesterday on WEEI’s Dale and Holley, the Bruins Shawn Thornton said he would have liked to knock out Cooke in their fight. I would have liked that too, Shawn.
Ryan Westmoreland has been moved from ICU to NRU in his recovery from brain surgery.
The Red Sox signed Alan Embree.
Game Log; March 14-16
Over the last three days, I have been to
three different Spring Training games in three different
ballparks. I was in Ft. Myers to see Red Sox-Twins, than at
City of Palms Park, also in Ft. Myers for Red Sox-Orioles. I
capped it off today with Red Sox-Astros. The Red Sox won the
first game, with Ryne Miller getting the start over Josh
Beckett, who was ill. Miller got rocked pretty hard. But, he
is just a single-A player. Aaron Bates, my player to watch
this spring, (Last year it was Jeff Bailey) doubled and
scored in the game. I pick a player every spring to watch,
this year it’s Bates and Josh Reddick. Reddick homered in the
home game vs the Orioles. Tim Wakefield pitched that game,
and was pretty shaky. David Ortiz also homered. Mike Lowell
made his spring debut, to an aplauding crowd. Rumor says that
Marlins scouts where in the crowd to watch the newly
converted first baseman. Today in Kissimee, the Red Sox lost
3-0 to the Astors and Roy Oswalt. Jon Lester pitched for
Boston, and looked good. The only negitive of his outing was
a run scoring on a wild pitch. Bates came up as the tying rin
in the ninth vs Wesley Wright, but grounded out to shortstop.
My next game is in Bradenton on Friday to see the Red Sox
play the Pirates.
Total Bases Mailbag: 1
Hello Total Bases veiwers, and welcome to the first and much anticapted Total Bases mailbag!
Q: Is this the last year that Garnet, Peirce and Ray Allen stay together? It seems that age is starting to take it’s toll on the team. Also, Where would you rather have Victor: first or at catcher?
– Indians
A: Hello Indains, thank you for your questions! Yes, I would expect this is the last year of the big three. Allen was in trade rumors this deadline, and with his money coming of the books with players like Wade and Bosh avaliable. The Celtics do look very old as of late. I think Rasheed Wallace is a huge problem for this team, and I never wanted him here.
I would rather have Victor at catcher, mostly beacuse the Sox have Youkilis at first. He could play third, but that would mean they would have Varitek as a starter. Having Beltre in the lineup much improves the team compared to V-Tek. I also don’t think Victor’s defense is that terrible. He can catch Wake’s knuckleball, and has helped Buchholz a lot with his development.
Q: Does it worry you that the Celtics split with the Cavs, got swept by the Hawks, and lost the season series to the Magic this year? And also, how old do you think Mike Lowell will be when he retires? The guy is a horse.
-Ted
A: It worries me a lot. The Hawks are a great team, and I can easily see them go all the way. The Celtics are an old team at this point. They are still one of the best teams in the NBA, but they could struggle with a team like Miami or Charlote in the playoffs. Hell, they lost to the Nets yesterday!
Mike Lowell is 36 right now. I can see him play two or three more years, maybe more. I still think he is a productive player, and I would love to see a Lowell/Ortiz platoon for DH. I don’t think his defense is that bad right now either. He has lost a little range, and that hip is a concern, but he can still get to most balls.
Thank you everybody who answered questions! The next mailbag will be Sunday, and you can submit questions on this post or on the BestBostonSports.com Message Boards. On Wednesday I will have a live post for the NHL trading deadline, and anyone is welcome to add their imut there as well. Thanks again, everybody!
10 Thoughts: Red Sox
Thought #1: I love the offense. It is so deep at the bottom of the order. When you have JD Drew batting eighth, you are in good shape.
Thought #2: The Red Sox signed a guy named Boof. That can’t be a good thing.
Thought #3: I am exited about the personality on the team this year. Adding a guy like John Lackey is very helpfull for that. The team is too boring, with Ellsbury, Drew, Lester, etc. Now you have personalites like Pedroia, Ortiz, Papelbon, Lackey. They need that, I think.
Thought #4: The Washington Nationals will have a better record than the New York Mets. They have better pitching, other than Santana, but he’s injury prone anyways.
Thought #5: The Orioles will be out of the cellar this season. The Blue Jays will take their place.
Thought #6: Daniel Bard is changing his number from 60 to 51. I don’t get why. I can understand Ellsbury with 46 and 2, that is a drastic difference. But 51? Really? Is that any better than 60? Fun fact: The last Red Sox player to wear #51 was Enrique Gonzalez.
Thought #7: I like Tim Wakefield’s competitive attitude. He expects to start the season in the rotation, and we all know that’s not happening. But I love the competitvness.
Thought #8: I can not believe that Randy Winn is the starting LF for the Yankees.
Thought #9: It is kind of weird having Lackey, though. I always hated him when he was with the Angels. He was always an annoying loudmouth when it came to the Red Sox. And he nearly no-hit them, which is one of my worst fears. So it’s odd rooting for him, but I’m fine with it.
Thought #10: I can’t think of anything else, so go to BestBostonSports.com for Red Sox coverage all season! Spring Training game preveiws are already up!
This Lineup is Good
Look at the lineup in-dapth. It is not that terrible. It does not compare to the Yankees, I understand that. Maybe not even to other teams. But this lineup can win 95 games, I think. Take a look.
CF Jacoby Ellsbury: 70 base stealer, entering the prime of his career. He can hit .300, maybe more. He causes havic on the bases and helps hitters behind him. I don’t think Dustin pedroia would be as good without him, as he sees more fastballs with Ellsbury on base due the threat of a steal.
2B Dustin Pedroia: An MVP and .300 hitter, he will drive in from 70-80 runs and have an OBP around .370.
C Victor Martinez: .300 hitter that will give you 20-30 HRs and drive in 80-100 runs as well as a good OBP.
1B Kevin Youkilis: 20-30 HRs and .280-.320 hitter. Good for 100 RBIs and an OBP aroun .400.
DH David Ortiz: Can hit the ball out of the park at any time.
3B Mike Lowell: 20-25 HRs and will hit aroun .290. Will drive in about 80 runs and get the clutch hits.
RF JD Drew: About 20 HRs and maybe a .280 BAA. Will drive in some runs and will take the walk and get on base often, as well as getting a few clutch hits.
LF Mike Cameron: Line drive hitter that will hit 20-30 HRs and hit around .260. Won’t drive in too many runs but can steal a few bases and score quite a bit.
SS Marco Scutaro: Good OBP guy and can hit it out of the park once and a while. Cna steal bases and score runs.
Dscussion of the Week- What will the Red Sox lineup look like in 2010?
Here is the Red Sox Opening Day lineup:
CF Jacoby Ellsbury
2B Dustin Pedroia
DH David Ortiz
1B Kevin Youkilis
LF Jason Bay
RF JD Drew
3B Mike Lowell
SS Jed Lowrie
C Jason Varitek
P Josh Beckett
Here is the lineup on the last game of the season, the last game of the ALDS.
CF Ellsbury
2B Pedroia
C Victor Martinez
1B Youkilis
DH Ortiz
LF Bay
3B Lowell
RF Drew
SS Alex Gonzalez
P Jon Lester
Slight difference, eh? Teams change over the course of a season, and boy did the Red Sox! I was wondering what you Total Bases readers think the Red Sox roster will look like at the begenning of 2010. Wiil Bay be the starting LF? Who will be SS? Who will be the opening day pitcher, Beckett or Lester? You guys tell me.
A Quick Ending, But a Great Ride
Ok, the Red Sox season ended early. But as Dustin Pedroia said, is this season a “failure”? I would not go that far.
I admit I though the Sox would get further into the playoffs. But the Angels are a team with a lot of heart, and I hand my hat to them. They were the better team. As hard as it is to admit that, they were.
They pitched better, hit better, and feilded better. Not to mention some lucky calls from umpires. The Angels are a good team, and are not done yet.
All in all, it was a fun season to follow the Red Sox. They were in a true pennet race, something they had not experinced for some time. Here are some of the top story lines this season.
David Ortiz
If in May, you told me that Ortiz would have a 29 HR and 99 RBI season, I’d tell you to shut up.
But he did, he had a very good year. Ortiz hit more HR than anyone in the AL from June on. It should be interesting to see what they do with him this year.
Jacoby Ellsbury
70 SB? Wow. Jacoby Ellsbury shattered the Red Sox SB record of 54 this season, robbing 70 bags. Ellsbury is a player that will be an impact for many years to come, and will only get better. I expect an even better season from him in 2010.
The Bullpen
The Red Sox bullpen had it’s moments, and was shaky down the stretch, yet it was one of the best bullpens in baseball. That just shows you the bullpen is a weak link for most teams. It should be interesting to see what happens to Jonathan Papelbon and Billy Wagner this off-season.
It may be premature to make predictions for 2010, but look huge years from Ellsbury, Daniel Bard, Jon Lester, and Victor Martinez. Just gut feelings.
Total Bases 