Up All Night Sports Chowdah Update- Sox Complete Sweep of Mariners With Extra Innings, Huge Rally.

RED SOX- Holy crap!

While I'll be the first to admit that the last couple of seasons have left me jaded, I wasn't expecting things to turn around this quickly for the Red Sox organization.

Since the All-Star break, we've seen the Red Sox take two out of three against the Yankees at Fenway [including a walkoff homer in extra-innings on a nationally televised game- NANESB!], Lester return to form in a solid start against an AL East opponent, a huge announcement involving the retention of Dustin Pedroia and one of the most sought-after players at the trade deadline land in Boston. And that was in the span of less than two weeks.

As the calendar quite literally flipped over from July to August, the Red Sox were still on the diamond- deadlocked at 4-4 after Mariners 3B Kyle Seager hit a solo homer off of Junichi Tazawa in the top of the 8th.

Although Seattle managed to get plenty of runners on base in extra innings, they were left stranded while it seemed as though the Red Sox couldn't get any runners on once the game went beyond 9.

Jared Wickerham- Getty

But with two out and bases loaded in the bottom of the 15th, Stephen Drew gave Boston the belated walkoff win with an RBI single to right field, with a 4-5 final. The win, coupled with the Arizona Diamondbacks shutting out the Tampa Bay Rays earlier that night, gave the Red Sox sole possession of first place in the AL East.

On Thursday, the Red Sox would end up facing Felix Hernandez. I gotta be honest- with King Felix going up against Ryan Dempster and a depleted Red Sox bullpen, I was ready to cede the game to Seattle. It looked as though my less-than-optimistic projections were set to come true when the Mariners jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the top of the 5th.

What happened starting in the 8th inning defies belief but makes me think that this team has that special something like the 2004 "idiots". Shane Victorino led off the bottom of the 8th with a seemingly meaningless solo homer to make it 7-2. But the Mariners escaped the 8th without any further damage before Tom Wilhelmsen came on in the bottom of the 9th to close out the game for Seattle and immediately walked Daniel Nava and gave up a single to Ryan Lavarnway before Nava came home on a Brandon Snyder RBI double to make it 7-3. After Jacoby Ellsbury was walked to load the bases with nobody out, Oliver Perez came out of the pen, only for Victorino to hit a 2 RBI single, making it a 7-5 game. Pedroia would than hit an RBI single to make it a 1-run game before Perez got Big Papi to strike out for the first out of the inning.

Already with a spectacular defensive play that sent him crashing into the Monster on Thursday night, Boston outfielder Johnny Gomes decided that wasn't enough and drove in the game-tying run with a single to shallow center field. Into the batters box stepped SS Stephen Drew with the chance to be the hero again, but he ultimately got on base after being walked by Perez. Instead, it would be up to Daniel Nava- who apparently decided he had enough of this extra-innings crap.


Red Sox win by an 8-7 final on an improbable 9th inning rally. completing a 3-game sweep of the Mariners and extending their AL East lead over the idle Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night.

On Friday night, interleague play at Fenway resumes when the Arizona Diamondbacks come to town for a weekend series. Jon Lester [10-6; 4.27 ERA] is scheduled to go up against Randall Delgado [3-3; 2.85 ERA]. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10 PM ET and the game will be televised on NESN as well as the MLB network in some markets.

Today's Train of Thought- Safe(Co) At Home, April 14, 2013

My oh my!

One does not necessarily need to be a Mariners fan or resident of the Pacific Northwest to know about some of the quirks of Seattle's SafeCo Field. Opened in 1999, the ballpark features a massive retractable roof that can be closed so that the ballgame can continue in the event of one of Seattle's infamous rainy days. The roof slides open and closes on massive tracks and on the east end of the ballpark. Of course, abutting the east end of the ballpark is the BNSF mainline through downtown Seattle, with the roof hanging over the line when its fully open.

This has led to broadcasters, including Ford C Frick award winner Dave Niehaus, having to pause their play-by-play not just for a word from their sponsors or station ID but also the air horns of passing trains from the BNSF, Amtrak's Cascade service or Seattle's Sounder commuter rail service. On a clear day or night, the sound of passing trains carries with the roof open since the gantry supporting the tracks the roof opens and closes along overhangs a stretch of the line where the trains have to blow their horns for the South Royal Brougham Way crossing (immediately north of the stadium). Some of the right-field seats reportedly offer a more commanding view of the tracks than they do the field, depending on which way you're facing.

So with that in mind, today's Train of Thought takes us to the Emerald City. Here, railpictures.net contributor John Ryan caught BNSF ES44AC #7598 leading a trio of GE's trundling southbound past the ballpark (and the Seahawk's Qwest Field in the background) with a double stack train destined for the Port of Seattle just to the south on September 11, 2008. The Mariners beat the Rangers by an 8-7 final the night before and will be on the road in Anaheim later on that night. Just to the right is the tower of the ex Great Northern and Northern Pacific King Street Station, which was completed in 1906 and still sees regular use from Amtrak's regional Cascades as well as the Empire Builder or Coast Starlight in addition to Seattle's Sounder commuter rail

Interesting footnote is that the western end of I-90 is just to the east of the ballpark and BNSF line. Up until the 1990s- the easternmost end of I-90 was the Mass Pike which passees right by Fenway Park. After completion of the Big Dig, I-90 was extended further east to Logan International Airport.

Quickie Lone Star Sports Chowdah Update for Aug 23rd: Texas-sized Innings Help Sox Stay Ahead of Rangers

Didn't seem that long ago, word of John Lackey starting would make any Red Sox fan worth their salt cringe.

After getting shut out by the Rangers by a 4-0 final Monday night, Lackey got the start for Boston Tuesday going opposite Colby Lewis. And Boston would have to find a way to win without Youkilis or Big Papi (although Ellsbury returned to the lineup for the 1st time in 3 games).

Things started pretty badly for Lewis when Ellsbury got on board with a single to open up the game and then came home on 1B Adrian Gonzalez's 1-out 2-run homer. Boston would then double their lead with an RBI double from former Rangers catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and a Marco Scutaro sac fly in the 2nd. From there, the Red Sox got 2 more as Carl Crawford brought home Josh Reddick and an RBI-double from Ryan Lavarnway to make it 6-0 in the top of the 3rd.

The Rangers were persistent and after giving up three straight singles, Lackey gave up his first run of the night thanks to a bases loaded walk to Elvis Andrus in the bottom half of the inning. The Rangers would go on to cut the lead in half after Josh Hamilton and Micheal Young had back-to-back RBI sac flies to make it a 6-3 game.

However, the Red Sox would start to pull away once again with a 2-out solo homer to Adrian Gonzalez in the top of the 4th. Although Josh Hamilton would get a home run off of Lackey in the bottom of the 5th, the damage was limited to one run after Jacoby Ellsbury ran down a fly ball from 2B Ian Kinsler and Marco Scutaro made a close play at short to get SS Elvis Andrus out at 1st base before Hamilton's at-bat.

Lackey would last 6 and ⅔ innings and depart with a 7-4 lead over the Rangers. Closing the game out wasn't so much a job for the bullpen as it was for the bats on Tuesday night as Marco Scutaro and Dustin Pedroia each had 2-RBI doubles in the top of the 8th.

Boston would go on to win by an 11-5 final (Ian Kinsler would get a solo homer off of Dan Wheeler in the bottom of the 9th). Adrian Gonzalez went 3 for 4 with 2 home runs and 3 RBI on the evening and after a frequently awful start to the season, Lackey is 12-9 with a 5.98 ERA.

The win sets up a rubber game tomorrow where Josh Beckett (10-5; 2.46 ERA) goes on the bump against Matt Harrison (10-8; 3.28 ERA). After missing nearly a week with bursitis in his right heel, it's possible that DH David Ortiz could rejoin the team's lineup on Wednesday.

Sports Chowdah Update- Scarin' Haren; Miller Time at Cooperstown; Rays-ing The Prospect of Another No-No

RED SOX: Well, Jon Lester had a gem at SafeCo squandered Saturday and Okajima came in on Sunday and turned a 2-1 lead against the Mariners into a 4-2 deficit, meaning the best Boston could manage against a team that was 20 games out of first place was a split of a 4 game series.

From there, the Sox travelled to Southern California to take on the Angels. Monday night's starter for the Halos was scheduled to be Joel Piñeiro, but the big news from Sunday's trade had a direct impact on Monday's start. After acquiring starter Dan Haren from the Arizona Diamondbacks Sunday, he was announced as the starter for Monday's game against the Red Sox going up against Clay Buchholz.

The Angels got on the board early with a solo homer off of Buccholz by Bobby Abreu in the bottom of the first. The Sox came right back in the top of the second with a leadoff triple by Adrian Beltre, who was immediately brough home by fresh-off-the-DL Victor Martinez on an RBI single. Haren would give up a double to SS Jed Lowrie, but Lowrie and Martinez would be stranded as he worked out of that jam to end the inning.

Not to be outdone, Buchholz worked out of a bases-loaded, nobody out jam in the bottom of the 2nd by getting the next two batters to pop out in the infield and a Erik Aybar flyball to left field.

Big Papi would belt a solo homer with two away in the top of the 3rd to put the Sox up 2-1, and that's the way the score would remain. However, in the top of the 5th, Dan Haren was struck by a Kevin Youkilis line-drive with two out and had to leave to the game. Haren was relieved by Francisco Rodriguez (not that one) and retired the next four batters he faced.

Buccholz would go 7 innings, throw 114 pitches and give up five hits, a walk, seven strikeouts and just the one run off of Abreu. In the top of the 8th, Kevin Youkilis would hit a 1-out single and successfully steal second before David Ortiz would get his 2nd home run ofthe evening to make it 4-1 Red Sox; some insurance that would turn out to be much needed.

Scott Atchison would relieve Buccholz in the 8th, but give up a 2 run homer to Hideki Matsui to make it a one-run game. Not taking any chances, Francona made the decision to bring in Papelbon from the bullpen. Paps rewarded this decision by getting Alberto Callaspo to ground out to end the inning.

The Angels' Mike Kohn would come on in the top of the 9th and log just a single out, instead allowing a walk to Mike Cameron, getting Erc Patterson to pop out to first and giving up a single to Marco Scuatro after a particularly long and tenacious at-bat. This set up a booming 2-RBI double by JD Drew for even more insurance before Rich Thompson would come on and retire the next two batters for Anaheim.

Working with a 6-3 lead, Papelbon came on in the bottom of the 9th and gave up a leadoff single to C Mike Napoli, but would retire the next three batters for his 23rd save of the year.

Boston snaps their 2-game skid Monday night in Orange County by a final of 6-3 with Buccholz getting the win (11-5; 2.71 ERA) and Haren getting hung with the loss in his Angels debut.

Haren appeared to make some post-game comments by his new locker sporting a bandage and saying that his arm was sore, swollen and bruised but otherwise fine. Haren is expected to be re-examined on Tuesday.

Tomorrow night's game will have John Lackey (9-5; 4.36 ERA) facing his former team and batterymate Jared Weaver (9-6; 3.22 ERA)
ELSEWHERE: While the Angels-Red Sox game was getting underway, the fifth no-hitter of the season was wrapping up in St. Petersburg, FL. The Ray's Matt Garza went the distance against Detroit, striking out 6 and walking just one runner in 9 innings to give Tampa Bay it's first no-hitter in franchise history. The Rays had already been on the other end of some no-hitters this season, including Dallas Braden's perfect game on Mother's Day at Oakland. The Tiger's Max Scherzer had a no-hit bid going into the bottom ob the 6th as well, but loaded up the bases on two walks and Carl Crawford being awarded 1st on catcher's interference before giving up a grand-slam to DH Matt Joyce to put the Rays up 4-0.

Tampa Bay would win by the final of 5-0. Graza's successful no-hit bid means the only two teams remaining in MLB that have never thrown a no-hitter are the New York Mets and San Diego Padres.

HALL OF FAME : Former outfielder Andre Dawson, manager Whitey Herzog, Umpire Doug Harvey and current Giants broadcaster John Miller were enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown on Sunday. Dawson, who was enshrined as a Montreal Expo (and likely the last player to achieve that) had career batting average of .279 and 438 home runs in his 21 year career. Dawson had this to say in his speech:

“I didn’t play this game with this in mind but I’m living proof that if you love this game, the game will love you back.

San Francisco Giants and ESPN Broadcaster John Miller was awarded the Hall of Fame's Ford C Frick Award at Cooperstown on Sunday as well.

Sports Chowdah Quickie Update for July 23rd: He's Ba-a-a-a-a-a-a-ack!

After dropping the last 2 games of their 3-game series against Oakland, the Red Sox travelled further north on their whirlwind tour through the AL West, this time going to Seattle with a number of ex-Mariners (Mike Cameron, Adrian Beltre, Scott Atchison) in Red Sox uniforms.

Thursday night went from Lackey nearly going the distance to no-hit the Seattle Mariners at SafeCo Field to the Red Sox blowing a 6-1 lead in the bottom of the 9th to force extra-innings. While Lackey allowed an unearned run in the bottom of the first after Milton Bradley reached on a walk, stole 2nd, advanced to third on a Casey Kotchman groundout before scoring on a passed ball, he gave up zero hits until the bottom of the 8th on a Josh Bard single.

Let it not be said that Lackey was left wondering where the run support was. In the top of the 3rd, Bill Hall had a 2-run homer and Big Papi drove in Marco Scutaro with an RBI single to make it a 3-1 game. JD Drew would add a 2-run homer of his own in the top of the 6th and Marco Scutaro would have a solo shot to his name in the top of the 7th to make it a 6-1 game.

It wasn't until the bottom of the 8th with two away that Seattle got their first hit of the night, with Josh Bard getting a single to center. Lackey was able to get RF Ichiro Suzuki to fly out to center to end the inning. Manny DelCarmen would come on in the bottom of the 9th and proceed to give up a 2-run homer (after allowing a Chone Figgins single) off the bat of Franklin Gutierrez to make it a 6-3 game. Jose Lopez walked and Milton Bradley would reach on an error before DelCarmen was yanked- without even recording an out. Papelbon came on to try and close it out two on and nobody out. He got Justin Smoak to strike out, but Casey Kotchamn would get an RBI double to make it 6-4. When the train wreck of an inning was over, Seattle had managed to tie the game 6-6 thanks to a Bill Hall error on Jack Wilson's fielder's choice.

So seemingly in the blink of an eye the game had gone from the Mariners being no-hit to the Red Sox playing extras against a team that was 22 games out of first place.

Seattle came pretty close to taking this one from Boston in the bottom of the 12th, but Hideki Okajima managed to deftly work his way out a a runner on 3rd with only one out situation by intentionally walking Franklin Gutierrez and getting Jose Lopez and Milton Bradley to pop out and end the inning.

Boston finally went up for good in the top of the 13th when Eric Patterson (pinch-hitting for Bill Hall) had a 2-RBI double and Ramon Ramierez would come on for a 1-2-3 bottom of the 13th to close out the game for Boston's 8-6 win.


Tonight's game got off to a similar start as Thursday night's extra-inning affair, with the biggest story being the much-anticipated return of Josh Beckett from the DL.

Beckett would give up a leadoff infield single to Ichiro Suzuki, who would eventually come around to score on a ground-rule double off the bat of Jose Lopez. But that would be all the runs Seattle could muster on Friday. Adrian Beltre would drive in Kevin Youkilis on a booming double in that tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the 4th and Bill Hall would go 1 for 3 on the night, with his only hit being a solo homer off of Mariners starter Jason Vargas in the top of the 7th.

Beckett would give up five hits, the one run, five strikeouts and three walks in his 5 and 2/3rds innings of work. However, he would not get the decision as the win went to Scott Atchison and Papelbon closed out the game after giving up a 2-out double to Jack Wilson, intentionally walking Ichiro and having Josh Wilson strike out after fouling off no less than 5 pitches. Red Sox win tonight by a final of 2-1.

As a side note, Josh Wilson entered the game after Mariner's manager Don Wakamatsu and 2B Chone Figgins had an altercation in the dugout after Figgins made no apparent effort to go after an errant throw by Micheal Saunders in the top of the 5th.

Tomorrow's game will feature Jon Lester (11-4; 2.81 ERA) against David Pauley (0-2; 2.40 ERA) while Sunday's probables are Daisuke Matsuzaka (7-3; 4.29 ERA) against Doug Fister (3-6; 3.56 ERA).

ELSEWHERE: Former Red Sox, Yankees and Tigers manager and WWII veteran Ralph Houk passed away Wednesday. Houk rose to the rank of Major while in the Army and was a player for a grand total of 91 games in the big leagues. Houk was the Yankees manager from 1961 to 1973, leaving after the first year Steinbrenner had purchased the organization. Also going by the monicker 'The Major', Houk would manage the Tigers from 1974 to 1978 and the Red Sox from 1981 to 1984.

Ralph Houk was 90.

West Coast Sports Chowdah Update- Pitcher's Duel By the Bay; No Ilya-will in Jersey

MLB: Maybe home cookin' isn't the answer. With the Sox slated to play 14 straight games against the AL West immediately after the All-Star break, dropping 3 out of 4 at home to the resurgent Texas Rangers wasn't the start anybody was looking for.

So maybe a road-trip was the answer.

Daisuke Matsuzaka was looking pretty good from the very start on the Red Sox first game of their 10-game West Coast road trip. Matsuzaka went 6 and 2/3rds innings striking out 6, walking two and giving up two hits with the only run coming off a solo shot from Oakland LF Rajai Davis in the bottom of the 3rd. I tuned in on XM just in time to hear former A Eric Patterson come home on a Big Papi sac fly in the top of the 4th before Adrian Beltre would put the Sox up for good with a solo shot of this own.

Daniel Bard would only give up a single to Cliff Pennington in an inning and 1/3rd of work and Papelbon came on for a 1-2-3 bottom of the 9th for his 21st save of the season.

Tomorrow's matchup will have Dallas Braden (4-7; 3.83 ERA) up against *cringe* Tim Wakefield (3-8; 5.65 ERA)- in which case I'm hoping he'll bounce back from that suck-tastic outing against Texas last week. Clay Buchholz (10-4; 2.45 ERA) is scheduled to be back in the lineup going against Oakland's Gio Gonzales (8-6; 3.63) on Thursday afternoon.

NHL: LW Ilya Kovalchuk and the New Jersey Devils have agreed to a 17 year $102-million contract earlier today. The 27 year old winger was traded to the Devils by Atlanta earlier in the season after turning down a 12 year $101 Million extension from that club. Kovalchuk was a free agent after New Jersey's first round loss in the Stanley cup playoffs and was also being courted by the Los Angeles Kings, New York Islanders and SKA St. Petersburg of Russia's Kontinental Hockey League.

It was believed that Kovalchuk's agent and the Kings were close to a deal on Friday.

UPDATE: The NHL has voided Kovalchuk's contract with New Jersey after determining that the lower salary towards the last few years was an attempt to circumvent the league's salary cap. According to the contract, the forward would've been paid $550,000 for the last five years of his contract, which would run through to the 2026-2017 season.