Red Sox are Awakened, Take 1st in East
Wakefield (5-6) vs Lieber (8-6)
In the NESN pregame show, Jerry Remy and Eric Frede made it a point to talk about the cozy confines of Citizens Bank Ballpark. Doug Mirabelli hammered this point home with his second inning 3-run homer, and the Red Sox never looked back. Wakefield’s knuckleball danced for eight scoreless innings, ostensibly helped by the heat and humidity in Philadelphia. Manny Ramirez added a three run homer in the 5th, and the all-time Florida Tech home run leader Tim Wakefield picked up his second hit of interleague play en route to his sixth victory of the season. The Red Sox now lead the Baltimore Orioles by half a game in the AL east.
Despite his rough outing, one has to wonder why the Yankees declined Jon Lieber’s $8 million, opting to instead devote those funds to signing Jaret Wright. Lieber’s stuff is not dominating by any means, but he rarely falls behind in counts, strikes out an adequate total for a control pitcher (5.47 k/9 since 2001), and has posted a most impressive 4.30 K/BB ratio since 2001. Instead of picking up Lieber’s option, the Yankees elected to sign journeyman Jaret Wright after an impressive year with the Braves (15-8, 3.28 ERA, 159Ks, .242 BAA).
However, there were many warning signs that portended a flameout for Wright in the big apple. Wright comes with a history of wildness (career BB/9 : 4.37. Wow.) and an injury plagued past .The fact that his accomplishments came in the NL, on a perennial division winner, and under a pitching coach sometimes called a “miracle worker” should also have lead the Yankees to consider their options more thoroughly. Now, Wright has spent 2 months on the disabled list with inflammation in his surgically repaired shoulder, and Lieber’s talents are being wasted in one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in the majors.
In the minors, shortstop phenom Dustin Pedroia continued to hit at AAA Pawtucket, going 2-4 with a double and a walk. Roberto Petagine was 2/4 with an RBI, and catcher Kelly Shoppach added 5RBI on a double and a 3-run home run in Pawtucket’s 13-2 rout of Durham.
In the NESN pregame show, Jerry Remy and Eric Frede made it a point to talk about the cozy confines of Citizens Bank Ballpark. Doug Mirabelli hammered this point home with his second inning 3-run homer, and the Red Sox never looked back. Wakefield’s knuckleball danced for eight scoreless innings, ostensibly helped by the heat and humidity in Philadelphia. Manny Ramirez added a three run homer in the 5th, and the all-time Florida Tech home run leader Tim Wakefield picked up his second hit of interleague play en route to his sixth victory of the season. The Red Sox now lead the Baltimore Orioles by half a game in the AL east.
Despite his rough outing, one has to wonder why the Yankees declined Jon Lieber’s $8 million, opting to instead devote those funds to signing Jaret Wright. Lieber’s stuff is not dominating by any means, but he rarely falls behind in counts, strikes out an adequate total for a control pitcher (5.47 k/9 since 2001), and has posted a most impressive 4.30 K/BB ratio since 2001. Instead of picking up Lieber’s option, the Yankees elected to sign journeyman Jaret Wright after an impressive year with the Braves (15-8, 3.28 ERA, 159Ks, .242 BAA).
However, there were many warning signs that portended a flameout for Wright in the big apple. Wright comes with a history of wildness (career BB/9 : 4.37. Wow.) and an injury plagued past .The fact that his accomplishments came in the NL, on a perennial division winner, and under a pitching coach sometimes called a “miracle worker” should also have lead the Yankees to consider their options more thoroughly. Now, Wright has spent 2 months on the disabled list with inflammation in his surgically repaired shoulder, and Lieber’s talents are being wasted in one of the most hitter-friendly ballparks in the majors.
In the minors, shortstop phenom Dustin Pedroia continued to hit at AAA Pawtucket, going 2-4 with a double and a walk. Roberto Petagine was 2/4 with an RBI, and catcher Kelly Shoppach added 5RBI on a double and a 3-run home run in Pawtucket’s 13-2 rout of Durham.
posted by Jason Paré at 1:48 PM
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