Kuzul

The San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers has always been a rivalry, a fierce and entertaining one at that, while the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees have come to form a partnership of hate, fighting for the American League East crown.

The Dodgers have very slim hopes of reaching the playoffs, so the finale of their series was solely important for the Giants, who could move to within a half game of the San Diego Padres in the National League West.

Tampa Bay Rays

The Rays fell in dramatic fashion in the second game of their series, losing as Carl Crawford was thrown out at third base to end a wild battle.

Still, plenty of time remains in the season, considering the game entering the rubber match was just a half game in the Yankees favor, but Tampa Bay needed to get revenge in order to avoid losing a series at home on the heels of next week’s four-game set in New York.

Dan Johnson did all he could to try to help the Rays prove victorious. The former castoff who played in Japan and was most recently the MVP award of the International League as a member of the Rays Triple-A affiliate the Durham Bulls has been a noted Red Sox-killer throughout his major league career, but on this night he deflated the division’s other juggernaut.

Yankees starting pitcher Phil Hughes had a no-hitter through four innings, but succumbed to Tampa Bay in the fifth. Evan Longoria led off the frame with a single then Johnson lowered the boom, slugging a grooved fastball into the right-field seats for a two-out, two-run homer, giving the Rays a 2-1 lead.

The advantage was soon gone with help from brilliant acting by Yankees shortstop and leadoff hitter Derek Jeter.

Reliever Chad Qualls threw an inside fastball that ended with a clear ping. It hit the knob of Jeter’s bat, but Jeter immediately won an Oscar, turning away violently and holding his forearm.

The gullible umpire awarded him first base. Replays showed in slow-mo and real-time the ball clearly hit Jeter’s bat, and the ruling was somehow not overturned when the umpiring crew met for discussion.

Rays players were furious, as a trio of pitchers leaned over the dugout railing to exclaim what had actually took place. The 30,000 fans were in uproar as well, and so was manager Joe Maddon, who argued with the umps and was tossed for doing so. Maddon was angry then, but even more after Curtis Granderson followed with a go-ahead two-run homer on a full-count.

Boos reigned from the rafters.

A missed call turned into a big lead for New York, a lead that if held could sway the division race seriously in their direction.

Johnson wasn’t going to let that happen. Hughes was still on the mound and pitching well, getting the first two outs of the bottom of the seventh easily before running into trouble. Outfielders Matt Joyce rapped a single to center-field, bringing up Johnson. Yankees manager stuck with Hughes, despite his fifth inning homer recently etched into his memory banks. Hughes remembered too, and it turned out what followed was deja vu.

The fourth pitch of the at-bat was a cut-fastball, the same pitch Johnson had hit before, and this time Johnson only hit it deeper into the right field seats. Another two-run homer, and once again the Rays held the lead.

The Yankees could not recover from Johnson’s night at the plate, losing both the game and the division lead in the process. Now, with that extraordinary battle over until they meet again, I move to an even bitter and far more long lasting spat.

On a cold, foggy night in San Francisco, a pitcher’s duel soon formed between the Dodgers Chad Billingsley and the Giants Matt Cain.

Already sub-par offenses were held in check, which is a vast understatement; they were dominated. Cain tossed seven scoreless innings, allowing just three hits while walking none. Billingsley wished he could have had such a stellar stat-line.

He had disposed of the Giants without allowing a run through six innings, but ran into trouble in the bottom of the seventh. Built around getting big hits in big situations all season long, San Francisco did so once more.

After losing in devastating fashion the night before, falling 1-0 because of an error committed by shortstop Juan Uribe in the later innings, the Giants took a 1-0 lead, as pinch-hitter Travis Ishikawa laced a one-out double off Billingsley, was lifted for pinch-runner Emmanuel Burris, and watched Mike Fontenot’s clutch hit from the dugout steps.

Fontenot, who came over from the Chicago Cubs last month as one of many brilliant in-season acquisitions by the Giants, stroked a 1-1 fastball into right field and in front of Ethier, scoring the speedy Burris for the aforementioned advantage.

Now it was the matter of San Francisco holding the slim lead.

They not only did, but added to it in the eighth. Aubrey Huff, who is having a superb year and was at the plate when Fontenot was caught stealing to end the seventh, led off the inning with a double. And after star rookie Buster Posey was intentionally walked to put two runners on with nobody out, an insurance run was manufactured.

A wild-pitch was thrown by 22-year old rookie Kenley Jansen, moving Huff and Posey up a base, which allowed Huff to beat the throw home on a groundball off Pablo Sandoval’s bat, which was all the Giants relief core would need.

Eighth inning tally was made all the more important when Ethier crushed a solo-homer in the ninth, but the attempted rally was no more than that, as San Francisco closer Brian Wilson overpowered outfielder Jay Gibbons, as Gibbons swung through a full-count, 98 mile per hour fastball to end the game and send the capacity crowd home happy.

One team, the Rays, took over first. The other, the Giants, inched closer, moving within a half game of the Padres.

Ah, pennant races.

Just another September full of exciting baseball, a month highlighted by two fights to the finish.

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Baseball’s best hitters have hit this season, and thousands of runs have been scored, but this has undeniably been the Year of the Pitcher. Monday night’s series opener between the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays exemplified the game’s dominance from the mound, as Cy Young award contenders CC Sabathia and David Price were unflappable in a terrific battle between American League East foes.

Both offenses were baffled: innings went by quickly, double-plays or weak flyballs were induced once a threat began to brew, and strikeouts were compiled. Sabathia pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and two walks while striking out nine.

Price matched him out for out, tossing eight strong as well, relinquishing only three hits and two walks while striking out four. Their jobs done, they left the scoreless battle for the bullpens to deal with.

Rays closer Rafael Soriano breezed through his half of the ninth while Kerry Wood showed he still has plenty left in the tank, overwhelming the heart of Tampa Bay’s order. Threats put together by both teams went by the wayside in tenth, with an overzealous Brett Gardner caught trying to steal third in the top and Brad Hawpe whiffing with runners on the corners in the bottom.

What happened in the first 10 innings is what makes baseball great. Sure high scoring games are great to watch, but I’d take a pitcher’s duel over pitchers serving batting practice. There’s so much more involved. When it’s 11-10, offenses clearly aren’t fooled by the opponent’s repertoire. But a 0-0 score entering the eleventh? Pitchers have to consistently hit their spots, and when they do the best hitters in the world look silly.

On cue, the Yankees went by quietly in the top of the eleventh as crazy Grant Balfour worked around a leadoff single by Austin Kearns by disposing of light-hitting Colin Curtis then the surprisingly horrible Derek Jeter.

Before I discuss what transpired in the bottom of the frame, a quick tangent regarding the play of Jeter. He’s had a Hall of Fame career as one of the best Yankees of all time. He’s their all time hit leader, and is currently 100 away from the ultimate milestone of 3,000. He’s a five-time World Series champion.

But as good as he has been, he’s hit a wall. At 36, he’s lost the ability to hit major league pitching. His flyout to end the top of the eleventh lowered his batting average to .261, 53 points below his career mark. It’s his contract year, But though his down season shouldn’t hurt his impending free agency much, as there is little doubt he’ll be a Yankee next year, his decline in production is hard to imagine.

Now to what ended the battle. Reid Brignac, their 24-year-old second baseman, stepped to the plate, worked the count, and socked the sixth pitch from Sergio Mitre—a changeup that did nothing—high and deep to right field. After contact, the left-handed 2004 second round pick dropped his bat, watched the ball’s flight, and admired his majestic blast.

The cheers were not as loud as they should have been as Brignac rounded the bases, leaped onto a home-plate surrounded by jubilant teammates, and gave a ecstatic interview spoken in his thick southern drawl. The Rays drew more fans than they usually do, but far too many seats were left unfilled, even though Tropicana Field is one of the most depressing stadium in baseball.

Still, despite the lack of fan support, the Rays are now in first in the toughest division in baseball behind Price’s superb performance and Brignac’s heroics.

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On Baseball Tonight this evening, analysts Aaron Boone and Steve Berthiaume gave the Boston Red Sox no hope. Boone has already pegged them dead in the water, saying, “it was a valiant effort.” Berthiaume went a bit further, believing the Red Sox had already hung up their spikes by giving guys like young outfielder Ryan Kalish a “good look for next year.”

First, regarding Boone, who had to love getting the chance to proclaim the Red Sox done considering he, a former New York Yankee, smashed the 2003 ALCS-clincher to send them home.

After tonight’s game against the Baltimore Orioles, Boston still has 30 games on their schedule and, though they entered play 7 1/2 games back in the Wild Card race, face the Yankees and Rays a few more times. Say “it was a valiant effort” when or if they are indeed eliminated from playoff contention.

Now to Berthiuame. Manager Terry Francona is not one to use September as a 2011 tryout when this many games remain. Boston has lost many of their best position players for the year, including outfielders Jacoby Elllsbury and Mike Cameron.

Instead of trading for replacements, they desired to save money, keep the farm stocked, and bring up players they deemed capable of contributing. Kalish and Daniel Nava have been necessities, not luxuries.

And the two commentators said “sayonara” to the Red Sox after they pulled off a must-win to keep them in the race. I understand that Boston’s odds aren’t great of coming back to nab a playoff spot. But they are still playing like they have a shot, as their game against the Orioles exemplified.

Boston fell behind 5-2 after two innings as Jon Lester struggled against an offense that helped Baltimore win 17 games in August. And with the way the Red Sox offense has played of late, the three-run deficit appeared to be too daunting a hill to climb.

The third and fourth innings went by with no sign of life, but then came the fifth.  J.D. Drew clubbed a solo homer off rookie Jake Arrieta, nailing it to dead-center to pull Boston within two.

Lester followed with his third straight scoreless inning, and then pitched his fourth as the Red Sox offense also went scoreless in the sixth. To win, two runs were needed with nine outs remaining, a daunting task for a struggling group of hitters. But they came alive in a big way once Mark Hendrickson entered from the Orioles bullpen.

Their relief hasn’t been good this year, ranked 24th out of 30 teams with a 4.38 ERA. Hendrickson continued their woes, then Alfredo Simon built upon them. The former allowed a two-run homer to the previously struggling Marco Scutaro, who has been battling an assortment of injuries lately. Suddenly, Boston was tied on the timely and unexpected one-out blast by someone who hit only .237 hitter for the month of August.

Then they were tied no more, as Drew, the last hitter Hendrickson would face in the seventh, walked to start another rally. Simon replaced the tall veteran left-hander and was similarly ineffective. The cooling off yet still quite warm Victor Martinez laced a straight fastball to right-field for a go-ahead double, then the Orioles made matters worse by making a questionable decision.

Buck Showalter has done a fine job since taking over as manager last month, but this was not one of his better moments. Instead of pitching to David Ortiz, who has been hot and cold this season, he intentionally walks the slugger to bring up Adrian Beltre, who has been on fire all season long.

He wanted to set up the double play, which is what most managers would do in this situation, but because of what ensued the decision is nightmarish for the Orioles and their fans.

Beltre gladly strode to the plate with a second runner on base and tagged the second pitch he saw from Simon sky-high to left field. He didn’t get all of the 96 mile-per-hour fastball, but it had just enough giddy-up to get out. A three-run homer, notching Beltre’s 24th of the season and 89th, 90th, and 91st RBI. With a 9-5 lead, the Red Sox dugout exploded, as everyone slapped hands vehemently with all three who scored.

Then they were similarly congratulatory when closer Jonathan Papelbon collected the final out of the ninth for a 9-6 win that was made even more pivotal with victories posted by the Yankees and Rays. In recent memory, Boston hasn’t given up until the fat lady has sung. She hasn’t yet, Berthiaume and Boone.

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In 1995, the owner of the Oakland Athletics, Walter Hass Jr., died. Successors Stephen Scott and Ken Hofman had watched Hass spend an abundant amount of money on players, and they wanted to go into an entirely different direction.

The duo immediately implored then-general manager Sandy Alderson to become cost-effective—to slash payroll, focus more on the farm system’s development, and abide by sabermetric principles in obtaining relatively undervalued players.

Alderson did what they said, but it didn’t translate into success. The Athletics had losing records from the time the new mindset was put in place until his departure after the 1997 season.

Billy Beane took over for his mentor and did what he could not. He didn’t spend much money but saw a steady increase in wins. The team improved drastically from year to year, and it was all because of Beane’s drafting, infatuation with their minor league system, and desire to continue the thriftiness.

He especially excelled in the pitching department, which was my focus in this 2009 piece praising his genius:

“He was behind the drafting of right-hander Tim Hudson in 1997, and wasted no time in his first year at the helm stocking the minor league system with more prime pitching talent, drafting left-handed pitcher Mark Mulder out of Michigan State with the second overall selection. His pick was a wise one; starting his minor league career in Triple-A, Mulder became the Athletics’ top prospect…second-ranked in all of baseball, and was in the majors to start the 2000 season.

“On June 7th, 1999, the day before Tim Hudson struck out 11 San Diego Padres in his five-inning debut, and while Mulder was in the midst of his fast track to the major leagues, Beane selected left-hander Barry Zito with the ninth overall pick. Zito, a UC-Santa Barbara product, nearly beat him to the majors despite being drafted a year after Mulder, and like Mulder, as well as Hudson before him, he flourished immediately. So, watching his team from his suite, Beane saw his three draftees, three immediate aces, take the mound every fifth day.”

The trio of aces led the A’s to four straight playoff appearances from 2000-2003; in 2001 and 2002, the team won 102 and 103 games. But then the three were gone. In line for big contracts, they left. Beane couldn’t afford them. It was as simple as that.

The rebuilding would begin, right? Surely the A’s couldn’t keep up their winning ways with such formidable pitchers elsewhere.

Beane found a way: The A’s won 91, 88, and 93 games from 2004-2006. And he’s still finding a way, growing a new crop of young arms to pick up an offense that is unflattering statistically yet somehow effective enough to put the Athletics in the playoff hunt.

From ’04-’06, the A’s were led by third baseman Eric Chavez before his career came to a sad, injury-plagued end; up-and-coming Nick Swisher, who is now extremely valuable for the New York Yankees; and in the latter of the three seasons, Frank Thomas, who amazingly hit 39 homers in just 137 games as a 38-year-old, clubbing the most per plate appearance of his Hall of Fame career.

Oakland didn’t manage winning records the next three seasons, but considering their payroll sat near the bottom of the league, the 75, 75, and 76 wins they did collect weren’t all that bad. This year, they are on a better pace, with 65 wins and 32 games remaining.

That .500 record has them just 7.5 games behind the Texas Rangers in the American League West. Now, unless the Rangers have a Metsonian collapse, the A’s won’t make the playoffs. But an 80-win season is in their sights. This is hard to fathom.

But not entirely unbelievable when the following is considered: Their pitching staff is among the best in baseball and, obviously then, the main reason behind their success. Their team ERA, even after allowing 11 runs to the New York Yankees, is 3.48, which is second in the major leagues.

Trevor Cahill, their 22-year-old ace, leads the team with 14 wins and has a 2.82 ERA, and as a result is in the Cy Young conversation. He has allowed just 119 hits in 158 innings, and that is after surrendering eight runs on nine hits in just four innings against New York.

Twenty-four-year-old Gio Gonzalez, who was acquired a few years back from the White Sox for Swisher, is 12-8, and Dallas Braden, 27, who tossed a perfect game earlier this season, is 9-9 with a 3.28 ERA.

There is a new trio of aces in town—and that’s not all that has Oakland buzzing. Their offense is an eyesore statistically, but improbably it has done enough to back the pitching. The A’s don’t have a hitter hitting over .300. Catcher Kurt Suzuki is leading the team in home runs with twelve. Twelve. Think about that.

Their offense is 24th in the majors in runs, 19th in batting average, and 26th in RBI. Yet their offense is well versed in small ball, manufacturing just enough to back their pitching staff. Case in point: Oakland is 22-18 since the All-Star break despite batting .241. Why such a good record? Their team ERA is 2.64. In the A’s case, averaging four runs a game is enough.

Despite their poor statistics, the A’s offense has some productive hitters. Coco Crisp anchors their lineup and has hit .275 in the 58 games he’s played this year, while Daric Barton has been their best hitter, batting .294 with seven homers and 46 RBI.

Kevin Kouzmanoff is tied with Suzuki in the home run category, has a team-leading 65 RBI, and has been stationed in the middle of their order for all but two games this year. Yet he has a .260 batting average and an obscene .295 on-base percentage.

The team isn’t far behind in the on-base percentage category, and their batting average is worse than his mark. But an 80-win pace is what good pitching and good situational hitting can do.

It’s pretty much only their pitching, as they aren’t a particularly good fielding team, ranking 18th with 80 errors. Again, how in the world are they conceivably within range of Texas? Situational hitting and top-of-the-line pitching: two things the A’s, run by the genius that is Billy Beane, have always successfully and remarkably been built around.

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In 2003, the Boston Red Sox put Manny Ramirez on waivers. They had enough of his antics and were displeased with his eyesore of a contract. He was still in the heart of his career, slugging 40 homers and driving in 130 annually at that time. But the team didn’t want him in their clubhouse anymore. They willed anyone to take him off their hands.

No team did—not one.

So, he went on to hit 163 homers and drive in 532 RBI over the final four-plus seasons in Boston. Despite his incredible production, he did all he could to earn a one-way ticket out of Boston.

He ended up with Los Angeles. He was a hitting machine after joining the team for the stretch run in 2008, batting a whopping .396 in 53 games, and then hit well the following season despite missing 58 games. The injury bug continued to bite him this season, as he has made three trips to the disabled list.

The 38-year old is healthy enough to play now, but he hasn’t seen much action of late for the Dodgers. The Chicago White Sox were one of three teams to make a claim, Tampa Bay and Texas being the others, and ever since they did so this past week, Ramirez has played sparingly.

He didn’t appear in three straight games, and in Sunday’s game came in to pinch-hit only to be tossed arguing a terrible strike call with the bases loaded in the sixth. It was clear that his lack of playing time meant Los Angeles was on the verge of sending him packing.

It turned out that was his final appearance as a Dodger. It was a fitting end to a disappointing season with the team. And, considering his standing with the team soured, a fitting end to his career in L.A..

The White Sox won the claim, having the lowest winning percentage of the three playoff contending teams. There was some question whether Ramirez would waive his no-trade clause to go to Chicago and another whether a deal could actually be reached by the two sides.

Those two questions are moot now, as Ramirez will join the White Sox on an outright claim, meaning Chicago will pay the remaining $3.8 million of his salary while the Dodgers will get nobody in return.

Los Angeles, just like Boston years ago, didn’t seem to care if nothing would come their way for his services. It’s sad, really. He has always been a gifted hitter. But what’s done him in with two organizations is his outspoken nature and famed Manny being Manny persona. He’ll take that and a still very potent bat to the South Side, where he will fittingly join manager Ozzie Guillen.

What a dividend-paying move this could be for the White Sox. And it couldn’t have come at a better time. Their next two opponents on the road are the Cleveland Indians, whom he played for early in his career, and the Red Sox. Won’t this be an entertaining start to a career in Chicago!

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Dan Johnson, who entered the game hitting .149 in 46 at-bats, ended it with power he has always possessed.

I am a big advocate for going back to the olden days. Away with pitch counts and babying; let pitchers pitch. It’s a shame that a complete game is big news in this day and age. The pitchers haven’t changed; baseball has. And money has a lot to do with that transformation. But tonight at Tropicana Field, I wanted Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona to pull starting pitcher Clay Buchholz after seven innings.

Buchholz pitched like the Cy Young candidate he is, and Cy Young winner he should be. He dominated the Tampa Bay Rays offense, an offense that has been quite good all year despite not having a hitter hitting over .300. He allowed a single run on three hits over seven innings. His fastball was overwhelming. His curveball was devastating. His changeup had its unhittable bite. There was little the Rays could do. And then, with the score tied at one entering the eighth, with Buchholz having thrown 103 pitches, Francona had a decision to make.

After the scorching hot Victor Martinez laced his third home-run of the series in the top of the eighth to give Boston a 2-1 lead, he should have done what he’s done often this season. When a starter’s pitched seven, go to your bread and butter of Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon. Both have been lights out of late. And with the Rays one swing away from tying a game the Red Sox dearly needed to win, new faces and a new repertoire is needed.

Buchholz, as I said, was extraordinary. He has been all year. Francona has the utmost confidence in his staff. He currently doesn’t have a weak link in his rotation. And Buchholz is the best of them all. Considering Francona has the tendency to stick with what has worked, the decision to take him out or leave him in was a tough one to make. In the end, he left him in.

This wasn’t Grady Little leaving Pedro Martinez in too long during the 2003 ALCS against the New York Yankees. That was just plumb crazy (Martinez was clearly fatigued and had already shaken his teammates hands, believing his night was done). But, considering what ultimately happened, it was enough to reach back into my memory bank and mention that nightmarish scene. Buchholz was set to face the bottom of the Rays order. It wasn’t as if he was sent out to put away the heart of their lineup. If Boston’s bullpen was shaky, then yes, you leave him in. But that isn’t the case. Bard is one of the best set-up men in the game.

As he faced B.J. Upton, who is having a woeful all-around year, hitting just .235 while playing lackadaisical defense, it was clear he still his fastball still had its velocity, as ball-one was clocked at 93 on the gun. But his curveball, it turned out, lacked its tightness. It looped over the plate to Upton, hanging slightly, and the underachiever crushed it into the left-field seats. The game was now tied.

Who knows what would have happened if Bard had relieved Buchholz after the seventh, but I reckon it would have been similar to how he performed in the ninth. He needed only 11 pitches to dispose of three of the Rays biggest bats—Evan Longoria, Carlos Pena, and Matt Joyce. Oh what could have been.

Martinez collected his fourth hit of the game and sixth in eight at-bats in the series, a single with two outs in the tenth, but aside from that the Red Sox went quietly. Francona now had another decision to make.

Boston needed to win this game. It certainly wouldn’t be the nail in the season’s coffin if they lost. But it was big enough for Francona to think about putting in Papelbon in a non-save situation. He did not, though, putting Scott Atchison out there instead. The decision immediately backfired, though few thought it would end as it did. Rays fans hoped; but the odds were significantly against it.

Dan Johnson was the first batter up. The 31-year old designated hitter has had a tumultuous career. He had a solid rookie year in 2005 and hit 18 homers in 2007. He spent most of 2008 in the minors with the Durham Bulls, the Rays Triple-A team. He slugged 25 homers and batted .304 there, but then moved away from American baseball and spent a year in Japan, where he played with the Yokohama BayStars of the Central Japanese League and was pretty productive despite a poor average.

He returned to the Rays after that experience, playing in their minor league system once more before being called up at the beginning of August. He had just three hits in his previous 35 at-bats with the big club as he stepped to the plate. He was due–due for the biggest hit of his career.

Atchison got ahead of Johnson, firing in two strikes he took looking, but then had a battle on his hands. A battle that ended up lasting eight pitches, with the eighth, a fastball right down the pipe, blasted into the right-field seats. Home-run, ball game: a 3-2 comeback win and a difficult loss to take for the Red Sox, a team in dire need of any win they can get.

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Victor Martinez backed Jon Lester in a big way, leading the Boston Red Sox past the Tampa Bay Rays.

Three of the Boston Red Sox best hitters (Kevin Youkilis, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Dustin Pedroia) are out for the year, but the team has amazingly persevered. They have done so behind the table-setting of Marco Scutaro, the power of David Ortiz, and the efficiency of Adrian Beltre. Martinez, who hasn’t played up to par this season, joined the act in the team’s biggest game to date, a series-opener against the Tampa Bay Rays, a division rival they entered five and half games behind.

Martinez has the build of someone who would hit for a ton of power, but his career high is just 25, which was amassed in 2007. That season, his final full season with the Cleveland Indians, also featured 114 rbi’s and a steady .301 batting average. Boston traded for a bat full of pop, as he is not known for his defense behind he plate. The Red Sox didn’t get the home run power they desired, but he was nonetheless a hitting machine after coming over in last year’s midseason trade, batting a terrific .336 with 32 runs scored and 41 rbi’s in 56 games.

Boston has little catching help in the minors. The trade market is thin at that position, and the free-agent market will be severely depleted with Joe Mauer, who would have most likely been a target, signing longterm in Minnesota. These facts made this year a huge one in the career of the 31-year-old Martinez. A free-agent after the year, Martinez had the chance to prove to Boston, a team he has said he wants to play with longterm, that he could be behind the plate for years to come.

He has struggled in his contract year. Looking past the solid .281 batting average, Martinez carried a terrible .334 on-base percentage into tonight’s contest. He is not one to strikeout, as he has never whiffed more than 78 times in a season during his eight year career, and has only done so 40 times this season.  Overall he has had a down year, as the on-base percentage suggested; and, as Boston has become accustomed, home runs have not been hit very often.

He entered the game against the Rays with 10 in 354 at-bats, a ratio consistent with years past. Yet, to Boston’s delight, he increased his total against flamethrower David Price, Tampa Bay’s best pitcher. Batting third to begin the Red Sox biggest series to date, Martinez shrugged off Price’s well-known heat and deposited the second pitch he saw–a 97 mile per hour fastball–into the left-field seats for a solo-homer, giving starting pitcher Jon Lester some early offense.

Jon Lester allowed only two hits and struck out ten over seven innings to help defeat the Rays.

Judging by Lester’s performance in the early going, the single run appeared to be all he would need. The 26-year-old lefthander escaped a two-on, one-out jam in the first, breezed through the second, and worked around a one-out walk in the third; but after an rbi-single by Jed Lowrie in the top of the fourth to pad Boston’s lead, he soon ran into trouble that was entirely self-induced. The first two Rays reached in the fourth; and the lead-runner, Jason Bartlett, benefited from an uncanny bout of wildness out of the Red Sox pitcher.  Bartlett sprinting to third on an errant curveball, then scurried home on a second curveball that evaded Martinez’s grasp to cut the Red Sox lead in half.

Lester proceeded to settle down with the slim advantage, racking up the strikeouts in the process, then in the sixth inning received some more much-needed help from his defense. Rays underachieving leadoff hitter B.J. Upton was awarded one of five walks issued by Lester on the night and made good use of his time on the basepaths, stealing his 37th base of an otherwise trying season for the 26-year-old bottled up talent.

Upton has long strides, which increases his quickness in some instances, as in stealing the bag, but is detrimental in others. Bartlett laced a single to center. Upton hesitated, and then as the ball bounded into center field, jogged to third. To his presumptive surprise, he was waived home by the third base coach. He slowed as he reached the base. He touched the bag, but his slowness out of the gate and very methodical stride backfired, as McDonald collected the liner, came up firing, and gunned out Upton at the plate with the help of a good block by Martinez.

After Lester retired the final two batters of the sixth, Boston’s offense backed him once more. That is, Martinez did. The hitter turned slugger for one night clocked another fastball pumped in by Price, leveling it once again into the left field seats and once more with two out.

It was a very timely untying swing, as the bottom three in Tampa Bay’s order were due in the bottom half of the seventh. Lester mowed them down, treating them as the light-hitters they were. Ben Zobrist and Sean Rodriguez were called out on strikes staring at cutters with dazzling movement for his 9th and 10th strikeouts of the game, then Kelly Shoppach popped out to put the finishing touches on Lester’s interesting stat-line of two hits, one run, five walks, and the aforementioned high strikeout total. He didn’t have his best stuff despite allowing few hits and whiffing many, but he gutted it out to avenge a poor previous outing.

Reliever Daniel Bard made sure the Rays could do nothing with a two-out single in the eighth, then Jonathan Papelbon was his usual self, making things far more interesting than they had to be. In between two strikeouts he walked Willy Aybar then issued a second to Dan Johnson, bringing the potential tying run to the plate, as he has the frustrating habit of doing. John Jaso couldn’t deliver as so many seemingly have against Papelbon, staring at strike-three to produce moans and groans from Rays fans and screams and claps of joy from the many Red Sox fans in attendance.

Who knows what the final two games of their series against the Rays will hold. However, with the win made possible by Lester’s solid effort, Lowrie’s single, and Martinez’s two blasts, Boston gains ground on not only Tampa Bay but an even bigger rival, the New York Yankees, who watched the frequently bad A.J. Burnett fuel a 9-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox. The series could take a turn for the worse and the Yankees could turn the tables on the White Sox; but somewhat remarkably for the present, considering their injury woes and inconsistent pitching staff, the Boston Red Sox are within 4 1/2 games of both American League East foes.

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During Wednesday night’s Texas Rangers-Minnesota Twins game, the ever woeful and insufferable ESPN announcer Rick Suttcliffe was posed a question by his partner in the booth Dave O’Brien regarding Manny Ramirez, who was placed on waivers by the Los Angeles Dodgers this week. He basically said he didn’t care for him. He thinks he would be a cancerous pick-up and also believes he has nothing left in the tank.

Sutcliffe, as usual, is full of baloney. Yes, Ramirez has his problems. He’s gained a pretty poor reputation, with antics that have sometimes been hilarious and sometimes very serious and detrimental to the team. His attitude on the field and through the media, which fueled his departure from the Boston Red Sox, was as bad as it gets.

Some believe that he has now worn out his welcome in Los Angeles, too. I just think the team, 12 games out in the National League West, has become a seller and wants to get value in return for Ramirez, whose contract runs out after the year.

With that said, he may have rubbed some of his teammates the wrong way in Los Angeles, as he did in Boston, but the guy is a future Hall of Famer. He is, in my opinion, one of the five purest hitters in baseball history. And he can still hit. Ramirez, 38, is batting .313 with eight homers and 40 RBI during a 2010 season that has been shortened by three disabled list stints.

The Chicago White Sox want his bat, and they may get the chance to bring him to the South side. They claimed him and are reportedly in the works of hammering out a deal with the Dodgers, according to the Chicago Sun Times. This is a very intelligent move by Chicago, a team that is currently 3 1/2 games behind the Twins.

Ramirez would have to approve a trade, considering he has a no-trade clause, but he reportedly told his friends he would be willing to go to Chicago. If all goes as planned, the White Sox would get a powerful hitter who could sway the division into their direction, and Ramirez would get out of Los Angeles and join in on the pennant race fun.

Ramirez is unpredictable, injury-prone, a nuisance, old, and doesn’t hustle all the time. Still, it’s Manny Ramirez, a 17-year veteran with 2,500-plus hits, 550-plus homers, and, among other otherworldly statistics, a .313 career average. I’m sure the White Sox would gladly take the baggage that may still be attached if Ramirez produces like he’s still capable of.

Carlos Quentin and Andruw Jones, a duo that has seen action both in the outfield and as the designated hitter, have 41 homers combined but are hitting just .222. The two deserve time down the stretch despite their dreadful average, but Ramirez would seemingly be an upgrade over both.

Alex Rios is their center fielder and Juan Pierre holds down right field. Chicago wouldn’t bring Ramirez over to platoon, nor would he agree to. Given his erratic outfield play throughout his career, the White Sox would ideally plug him in as their designated hitter and let Quentin and Jones rotate in and out in left.

This is the perfect kind of team for Ramirez, too. He was a lovable character in Boston until it turned ugly. He was just one of the Kevin Millar-proclaimed “Idiots” that always had an enthusiastic attitude, though he would get lackadaisical and more than occasionally drift in and out of his own little world.

The White Sox have some oddballs on their team already, none bigger than manager Ozzie Guillen. Oh what a pair Ramirez and Guillen would make! A match made in baseball heaven.

It looks like it might happen, too. Aside from the Padres, none of the National League contenders need a bat; and I don’t think San Diego would want to bring someone with Ramirez’s background in and have his aged legs play the outfield down the stretch.

The San Francisco Giants already have six quality outfielders and certainly don’t have room for another.

Boston won’t go down that road again, and even if they tried, Ramirez would probably pull a Johnny Damon and decide not to return.

New York’s General Manager Brian Cashman has said his team plans to stand pat.

The Rays could be interested, but they may have other plans.

And the Twins already have Jim Thome, who is still very serviceable despite being one a member of baseball’s version of AARP.

With that said, best of luck to the White Sox. If Ramirez is happy, hustles, and gets along with Guillen (which shouldn’t be too hard) and the rest of the team, this could be a steal for Chicago. And I believe it will. Ramirez may have more negatives than positives, but his positives outweigh them. He’s a risk worth taking, a risk that could propel the White Sox into the playoffs.

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The Boston Red Sox have been successful despite a mountain of injuries and a sub-par pitching staff. Today, in their series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays, they relied on one of their replacements and their only consistent pitcher, riding the momentum train started on Saturday by Jed Lowrie’s game winner.

On paper, the team has one of the better pitching rotations in baseball. But currently they only have one efficient pitcher, Clay Buchholz, whom they have been close to trading multiple times over the years.

And, with his play this season exemplified in his start against Toronto, he won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. He entered with the best earned run average in the American League, and he only lowered it with another brilliant outing.

The 26-year-old right-hander worked out of a first and third, one-out jam in the opening inning, struck out the side in the second, then pitched around a one-out walk in the third to strike out two more.

He allowed some hits, issued a few walks, but was as crisp as he has been all year long, and especially all month long. He hadn’t allowed a run in his previous two starts, blanking the Angels over seven innings and these same Blue Jays over eight. Total in the month of August, he had relinquished just four earned runs in 30 1/3 innings.

That earned run total remained the same following Sunday’s performance, as Toronto was once again blanked by Buchholz, this time over six sparkling innings in which seven Jays were struck out.

Buchholz wasn’t given any support in the first four innings, as Shaun Marcum matched him zero for zero. Buchholz ran into some trouble over the course of his outing, but he wouldn’t allow that big hit. Marcum, however, eventually succumbed to the opposition.

Buchholz had just thrown his 22nd consecutive inning without an earned run when David Ortiz strode to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning to face Marcum. Ortiz took a changeup for a strike then turned on a curve that hung in the zone, stinging it into the left-center gap. Center fielder Vernon Wells was shaded over to right-field, playing Ortiz to pull, and could not cover enough ground to snag Ortiz’s liner, which resulted in a triple.

Adrian Beltre, Boston’s top RBI-man and one of the better overall hitters in the American League this year, wasted no time in scoring the game’s first run, lacing a double down the left-field line to plate Ortiz.

Marcum collected himself to retire Mike Lowell, who will retire after the season, and the aforementioned Lowrie, but then had to face Hall.

Hall, 30, played his first seven-plus seasons in Milwaukee, becoming a very well-liked player there. He was versatile, with the ability to play all three outfield positions as well second base, third base, and shortstop. His best season average-wise came in 2005, when he hit .291 with a .342 on-base percentage, and his best all-around season was in 2006, when he socked 35 homers, drove in 85 runs, and scored 101 runs.

From there, though, it was all downhill. He lost his ability to hit and increased his ability to strike out, and his struggles to carry a batting average above .250 and an on-base percentage above .300 led him to Seattle, where he mustered only 24 hits in 104 at-bats.

Still, despite a poor bat, his relative youth, great character, and versatility found him a home in Boston on a one-year contract. His average is nothing to jump up and down about, but his overall statistics are very satisfactory.

He entered the game with 15 homers, a solid amount for someone with his recent history, and especially so for a utilityman. And he ended with 16, a majestic drive that flew over the Green Monster in left and completely out of Fenway Park. A two-run homer, giving Buchholz and the bullpen all the support they needed.

Two insurance runs were scored in the eighth in run-scoring singles by Victor Martinez and Ortiz, but it was the six shutout innings tossed by Buchholz—which resulted in a 14th victory and lowered his ERA to 2.26—and Hall’s timely longball that propelled Boston to their fourth victory in their last six games.

Buchholz has been stellar all year, as have the replacements, including Hall, who was the latest unsung hero for a team remarkably still in the playoff hunt.

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Jed Lowrie recorded all three outs in the top of the 11th and made sure the Toronto Blue Jays wouldn’t retire a batter in the bottom.

The Boston Red Sox first baseman was playing well out of position, but with the injuries suffered to a bounty of stars, he took over the role.

Mike Lowell needed a day off and Victor Martinez needed to catch because there other three backstops are on the disabled list.

Boston has been asking journeymen and callups to deliver all season long. Lowrie, who has hit extremely well since returning from Mono, was just the latest to deliver.

After being outscored 25-4 in the series’ first two games, the Red Sox got off to a terrific start. A two-run single by Martinez in the third gave them an early advantage.

Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched fairly well over the first five frames, but then, with Boston holding a four-run lead, he floundered, surrendering three runs in the sixth, with two coming on the 18th blast of the season by Lyle Overbay.

The score remained knotted at four, but Boston had plenty of chances to take the lead back.

Despite a patched-up lineup for a better part of the season, the team has managed to station themselves only behind the vaunted New York Yankees in runs scored in the league.

They put themselves in positions to add to their surprising total, yet Ricky Romero and the Jays seemingly unlimited supply of relievers held them at bay.

A two-on, one-out opportunity went by the wayside in the sixth, as did the same scenario in the eighth. So, to extras the two American League East teams went. And it looked as if the Jays would make the Red Sox pay with a tenth inning breakthrough.

Facing reliever Daniel Bard, who relieved Matsuzaka after eight innings, left fielder Travis Snider softly struck a 99-mph fastball in between first and second base. Second baseman Bill Hall charged the dribbler.

Snider sped down the line. He was nearing the bag, and Hall had yet to corral the grounder. But Hall tried to force it, gobbling it up and frantically firing to Lowrie at first.

Lowrie lunged for the errant throw, but couldn’t come up with such a ill-advised decision. Snider raced to second, and set up camp there, in scoring position, where a single could get the Jays closer to ensuring a series win.

Fred Lewis was next and had one job to do: move Snider to third. A gapper to score a run would be welcome for Toronto, but fundamentally, manager Cito Gaston expected him to just hit a well-placed grounder so Snider could scamper to third, where a sacrifice fly could plate a run.

Lewis connected with Bard’s first pitch. The ball bounded right to shortstop Marco Scutaro, whom the Blue Jays hoped would only go for the sure out at first.

But Scutaro had other ideas. Upon securing the grounder, he turned to third and threw to Adrian Beltre, who was not 15 feet away from a stuck Snider. He passed back to Scutaro and the out was made.

A runner was harmlessly at first now after Scutaro’s heads-up play. Then that half of the inning ended, with Yunel Escobar grounding into a double play on a blazing first pitch fastball out of Bard’s golden right arm.

Boston could do nothing in the bottom of the 10th, nor could Toronto muster anything positive in the 11th as Lowrie fielded two groundouts and caught Martinez’s throw after a strike-three splitter from Jonathan Papelbon evaded the catcher’s glove.

Lowrie ran into the dugout, and his attention turned to offense. He was due up first. Boston has a lot of composed, fiery, and mentally tough players, but none few are as serious-faced, business-like, and nonchalant as Lowrie, a former star at Stanford and a native of Salem, Ore.

He was a very heralded player coming up in Boston’s system, and flourished with the big club until a prolonged injury to his wrist (then, a case of mononucleosis) halted his growth.

He’s now back and healthy, and entered his at bat hitting .343 in the month and .305 on the year.

He only built upon those statistics, and further showed the Red Sox what he is capable of at full strength. He fought off every pitch under the sun, working a 2-2 count in seeing cutters, fastballs, sliders, and changeups, then came the final pitch in Casey Janssen’s repertoire.

Any pitch thrown can be risky, but especially curveballs, which have the tendency to hang from time to time. This one did so ever so slightly. Lowrie stayed back on it, and waited and waited for it to reach the hitting zone.

Once it did, he turned on the mistake, lifting it high into the Boston night, destined to land in the Red Sox bullpen. That’s what happened, as Jose Bautista raced back to the track and watched a 320-foot flyball turn into a game-winner.

With Fenway Park going berserk and the Red Sox rushing towards home-plate for a royal welcome, Lowrie ran around the bases with a expressionless look on his face.

That look that meant business turned joyful, as he leaped onto home-plate, into a mob of exuberance, before coming out smiling euphorically.

Darnell McDonald, a journeyman, and Hall, a former castoff, were the first to pat him on the back after surviving the momentary celebration around the plate.

That moment between McDonald, Hall, and Lowrie spoke volumes. The three shouldn’t have been in this position–playing important roles on a team that is usually jam-packed with stars.

But because of injuries they have been given a chance to be a part of a storied franchise, and all three have produced in the stead of the likes of Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, and Kevin Youkilis.

The latter, Lowrie, delivered tonight, and, continuing the season’s theme, the other two that have delivered in the past will undoubtedly do so in the future for the Red Sox, a team lacking most of their Opening Day starting lineup but not lacking fight.

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