Let’s cover the game first, shall we? Against the AAA Tigers, the Sox get 8 strong from Lowe as the offense continues to sizzle…Sox win 7-4. The game was delayed 80 minutes by rain, but they got all 9 in.
Conversely, our ‘friends’ in the Bronx, scheduled to face the probable AL Cy Young award winner at 7:05, called their game at 7:10. Yes, the umpires made the decision because it was Toronto’s last visit to NY. That doesn’t mean they didn’t get heavy influence from the home team. If you’ve ever listened/watched a Yankee game, you’ve heard umpteen times about the superior drainage in the Bronx. I don’t ever want to hear it again.
On the trade front, the Sox shipped off Brandon Lyon for lefty specialist Scott Sauerbeck. They also shipped a AA righty for a AAA lefty. Not the monster trade many Sox fans are looking for, but one that definitely strengthens the pen.
Conversely, the Yanks acquired snicker Jesse Orosco. It may have been a minor victory, but it is the little battles that win the war, right?
Their first choice was Scott Sauerbeck, but Pirate GM Dave Littlefield told the Yankees they didn’t have what it would take to get the lefty reliever, and dealt him to the Red Sox yesterday for two right-handed pitchers.
The second option was Steve Kline, but the Cardinals oddly told Yankee GM Brian Cashman they wouldn’t do Sterling Hitchcock for Kline.
So, Cashman turned to the Padres and acquired antique lefty Jesse Orosco and $150,000 for a player to be named who isn’t close to being a prospect. KING
For those who don’t know it, Orosco is 46 years old and has an ERA of 7+ this year.
Part 2 of the Courant interview with the Sox owners has a bit more to offer today, as they discuss the future of Fenway. Great opening by Matt Eagan:
Few ballparks have had as much written about them as Fenway Park. That odd, little plot of land in Boston has been the subject of countless essays and compared with Camelot or Oz or Never Never Land.
Most of those essays have been written, no doubt, by folks who don’t sit behind the right field foul pole. As charming as Fenway Park is, it can be as confining as Oz. Not that one. The one on HBO.
And finally, here is the final installment on the story of the 1911 heat wave.