Baseball Historians

When in god’s name did the city of Boston become so freaking cool? It’s seems as though every year, four new movies are set in Boston. The market is officially flooded for Boston in popular culture. You have the smartest people, your sports…

This morning, the Red Sox are on the outside looking in at the 2008 postseason, victims of a 3-1, Game 7 Rays victory that dashed the Sox’ hopes of returning to the World Series and defending their 2007 championship. Tampa Bay’s talented upstarts h…

Nine outs away from going six feet under for the season, the Red Sox showed much more than a pulse late in the ALCS Game 5 last night. The Sox roared back to the prime of life, their 8-7 victory over the Rays at Fenway Park causing heartbeats to surge …

The pitcher every Sox fan hates to watch was up to his old tricks in the first inning last night at Tropicana Field. Daisuke Matsuzaka walked the bases loaded to open the American League Championship Series against the Tampa Bay Rays, and the groan that rippled across Red Sox Nation said it all.
Here we go [...]

The Red Sox wanted to drink beer and champagne last night, not make a quiet and somber flight to Southern California. Jon Lester and Jed Lowrie became the latest Red Sox heroes to make wishes come true. Lowrie, the rookie shortstop who had struggled through September, shoved all that aside with a ninth-inning walkoff RBI [...]

It’s still code red for the Angels, but they lived to play another night, after inching by the Red Sox in 12 innings, 5-4, in Game 3 of the Division Series last night at Fenway Park.
Erick Aybar’s RBI single off of Javier Lopez was the fatal blow as Los Angeles snapped the Red Sox’ record 11-game postseason [...]

There was nothing clean, pretty or easy about it but the Red Sox held off the Angels in a 7-5 nailbiter last night to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-five Division Series.  J. Drew’s’s ninth-inning two-run home run off closer Francisco Rodriguez salvaged the night after the Red Sox wasted early 4-0 and [...]

The Red Sox, a team believed to be too bruised and beat up to have much of a chance in this Division Series, took Game 1 from the Los Angeles Angels, 4-1, last night at Angel Stadium. 
All of a sudden, it is the Angels who look mortal and ordinary, with the Sox having a [...]

No major news yesterday regarding Josh Beckett was good news for the Red Sox, who said the injured ace still is in line to start Game 3 of the American League Division Series against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday at Fenway Park
Josh Beckett originally was scheduled to start Game 1 tomorrow night in Anaheim, [...]

Details of the Red Sox’ first-round playoff series fell into place early this morning.  About the only thing left unknown is who wins it.
The AL West champion Los Angels Angels will host the wild card Red Sox in the Division Series, with Game 1 set for next Wednesday in Anaheim, Calif. Game 2 will be [...]

For quite a while yesterday, it looked like a mini-calamity might be unfolding for the Red Sox, a succession of events that might substantially damage the ballclub’s bid to claim the AL East title and its hold on the wild card berth.
The Sox were spanked in Game 1 of a day-night doubleheader against A.J. Burnett [...]

While the offense took care of the Blue Jays’ vaunted pitching in the 7-0 Red Sox victory, Wakefield absolutely dominated the surging Blue Jays batters for eight scoreless innings, spreading out three hits in separate frames in the opener of the four-game series at Fenway Park.
document.write(””);Jed Lowrie knocked in the Sox’ first two runs, David [...]

To imply that the Tampa Bay Rays were abysmal in the clutch over the past three nights at Fenway Park would be an understatement.
The Rays went 1-for-14 with runners in scoring position last night and were an unthinkable 2-for-36 (.056) in the three-game series between the top two teams in the AL East.  When the [...]

Jonathan Paplebon was red-faced and humiliated after blowing his team’s opportunity to move into first place for the first time in 54 days.
Inheriting a one-run lead in the ninth inning following Jason Bay’s two-run homer off Dan Wheeler with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Papelbon blew his fifth save of the season, [...]

The balance of power in the AL East feels more lopsided this morning than it looks in the standings.
Tonight, the Red Sox can create more than the illusion that they are back in control of the division.  With a 3-0 shutout of the division-leading Tampa Bay Rays last night led by the again brilliant Jon [...]

After a decade of having the Tampa Bay Rays play the part of the Washington Generals to their Harlem Globetrotters, the Red Sox find themselves in the unfamiliar position today of having to play catch-up with the former AL East doormat with time ticking away in the regular season.The Sox rebounded from a 15-8 loss [...]

Yesterday afternoon, there was no denying that the Red Sox were completely aware of Tampa Bay’s fate after the players gathered around a clubhouse television en masse to watch the AL East-leading Rays fall to the Blue Jays in dramatic fashion in Toronto on Gregg Zaun’s walkoff grand slam in the 13th inning. Hours later, [...]

When Josh Beckett left the mound on Aug. 17 after being hammered for eight runs in only 2 1/3 innings in a humbling defeat to Toronto, the Red Sox ace wondered if he would pitch again in 2008.  His right ring and little fingers were tingling and numb, requiring his next start to be pushed back [...]

At Rangers Park in Arlington Texas
TONIGHT – Josh Beckett (11-9, 4.34 ERA) vs. RHP Kevin Millwood (9-7, 4.84).
TOMORROW – Tim Wakefield (8-9, 3.76) vs. LHP Matt Harrison (6-3, 5.73).
SUNDAY - Paul Byrd (10-11, 4.58) vs. RHP Brandon McCarthy (1-0, 2.25).
Who’s Hot:  Rangers: Chris Davis is hitting .340 (18-for-53) in his last 15 games.  Josh Hamilton has [...]

The eighth pitch Jon Lester threw last night at Fenway produced his first out, and sent a clear message to the that they were probably in for a frustrating evening’s work.
That’s certainly how it turned out, as the streaking Red Sox rolled to a 14-2 victory, requiring only five innings from Lester, who yielded six [...]

With swinging arms and high leg kick, Paul Byrd will conjure up nostalgic feelings for years gone by with his old-time windup.
In his Red Sox debut last night at Fenway Park, however it was opposing starter Roy Halladay who made the 448th consecutive regular-season sellout think back to times past, namely, the Deadball Era.  Halladay’s complete game last [...]

With the distraction of the disgruntled slugger Manny Ramirez out of the way, the Red Sox have become the hottest team in the American League, with nearly everyone in the lineup showing improvement since Jason Bay’s arrival Aug. 1.  The Sox exploded for nine runs in the second inning last night and held on with [...]

Given what happened Tuesday night, when the Red Sox coughed up a 10-0 lead before finally winning a 19-17 freak show, not many fans had left their seats when the hosts took an 8-0 advantage into the eighth inning last night at Fenway Park.  Luckily, however, weirdness went by the wayside this time around. Jon [...]

White Sox left-hander John Danks was perfect into the sixth and didn’t allow a hit until the Sox struck for two in the seventh to take the lead and that was all Josh Beckett needed.  Looking every bit the ace the Red Sox will need him to be come September, and hopefully October, Beckett outlasted [...]

David Ortiz, while not quite looking like the hitter of old, still was more than enough to virtually single-handedly help the Sox offense get even with the White Sox last night.  On a night when Daisuke Matsuzaka toyed with the White Sox lineup, Ortiz’ bases-clearing double in the seventh inning established more than enough breathing [...]

The Red Sox’ 5-3 loss to AL Central-leading Chicago featured a lineup kept in check for seven innings by White Sox starter Mark Buehrle (9-10) on a rare night when their own Jon Lester (10-4) was subpar.  Dustin Pedroia’s three-run homer off Octavio Dotel in the eighth delivered the lone, deadening jolt to the U.S. Cellular [...]

The Red Sox will find out by today if their waiver claim on Padres outfielder Brian Giles was successful.  The teams were trying yesterday to work out a deal that pleased both them and Giles, who can veto any deal involving the Red Sox.  Lack of playing time could be a deciding factor for Giles [...]

The magic number for Jon Lester is seven.
The Sox remained perfect in starts in which the left-hander completes at least seven innings, as he did last night in a 12-2 thumping of the Oakland Athletics at Fenway Park, improving to a remarkable 13-0 in Lester’s 13 career starts of seven-or-more innings. He gave up two runs [...]

Dumping the man who threatened to tear apart their clubhouse did not exactly get the Red Sox back to tearing the cover off the baseball. Yet some well-timed small ball did emphatically return them to their winning ways last night at Fenway Park. In their first game since trading the malcontent Manny Ramirez to the Los [...]

In a deadline day blockbuster reminiscent of the Nomar Garciaparra deal in 2004, left fielder Manny Ramirez was dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a three-team trade that sent Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Jason Bay to the Red Sox.  The Red Sox will also lose Craig Hansen and Brandon Moss as part of [...]