Virgil Vasquez of the Detroit Tigers has been claimed by the Boston Red Sox this week, in a move that highlights some of the problems in the Detroit organization. The Tigers didn’t put Vasquez in any games this year, and placed him on the outright waivers. The Red Sox were therefore able to sign him quite easily. Vasquez will get a kind of blank slate in Boston, where he has never played before. In the minors with Detroit, we have seen Vasquez’s pitching take a small dip over the last couple of years. He allowed 18 home runs in 07 and 27 this year. This among other things is why he wasn’t greatly valued in Detroit. Perhaps in Boston, he will be in a situation that works better for him and then he can really get back to the fundamentals.
Kevin Youkilis won the Hank Aaron Award this weekend. The award is presented after fans vote on who is the best offensive player of the season. The winner receives a plaque presented at the World Series. Youkilis is also considered a candidate for AL MVP, for which the voting has already concluded. When asked how he felt, he said that it was fine, but he would rather have continued playing in the postseason. This year, Youkilis hit .569, third in the league, 115 RBIs and 76 extra-base hits. His on-base percentage was 6th in the league. Pretty impressive for a man trying to fill the shoes of Manny Ramirez for some of the season. He certainly deserves the award. The NL winner was Aramis Ramirez of the Chicago Cubs. Congratulations to both of them.
John Blake, Red Sox Vice President in charge of Media Relations, announced yesterday that he was moving back to work for the Texas Rangers. He had been in Boston since 2006 and will now take the helm in Texas as the team vice president in charge of communications. In this role, he will oversee player-media relations, as well as relations with broadcasting and the press. He had previously worked with Texas from 1984 to 2004 and appears to have liked it enough to go back. He has been well regarded in Boston during his tenure and is widely expected to do very well in his new position. We wish him the very best!
That’s it boys, pack it in. It was a great season for the Boston Red Sox and an even more incredible postseason that seemed bound to be a comeback tale for the ages. However, in the end Boston fell just short to the Tampa Bay Rays 3-1 in game 7 of the ALCS. The Sox had their chances, especially late in the game, but were unable to convert. Unfortunately for Boston, this season will not be praised as what it should be: another exceptional one. The Boston Standard has been risen up to the level of World-Series-or-nothing status, and fans are crestfallen that it did not culminate the way they hoped. Nonetheless, the near-comeback was still quite impressive. Stay in the loop of Red Sox offseason action and visit the Red Sox’s official website.
Down by 7-0 in the 7th inning and 3-1 in the overall series, many teams would just start to pack it in and say “There’s always next year.” Then again, that’s why there’s not a lot of teams as good or as exciting as the Boston Red Sox. Facing sure elimination with only 2 1/2 innings left, the Red Sox rallied and completed one of the most impressive comebacks in postseason history (it was actually the second-largest deficit overcome in postseason history). With that win, Boston heads down to Tampa Bay with a lot of momentum. Follow Red Sox nation and visit their website.
After a huge loss to the Tampa Bay Rays last night, the Boston Red Sox need to regroup and rethink their strategy if they wish to properly defend their World Series title. Down 2-1 in the series, Boston needs to do something quick and something drastic to stop the Rays from getting out too far ahead. Most notable is the fact that their pitching needs to step up, after losing last night 9-1. Go to mlb.com to learn more about the Red Sox.
The Boston Red Sox begin their run for the World Series today against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Red Sox are like the championed veterans going into the series. But again, having previous post season experience does not translate to automatic wins. It just means that the Red Sox have to prove, yet again, why they are so good. The Tampa Bay Rays are a hard team to compete with, since they will have the underdog advantage. The seven game series will prove the better team.
Boston Red Sox are moving on in the playoff series. The Red Sox made a great showing against the L.A. Angels. Now it’s time to take on the Tampa Bay Rays. But it should not come as a surprise that the Red Sox are continuing to play. The coaches and players have the experience of playing in the championships. The Red Sox are a team to be reckoned with. The series against the Tampa Bay should be entertaining.
