The Red Sox wrapped up the unofficial first half of the season yesterday with Josh Beckett pitching a complete game in a 6-0 shutout of the Kansas City Royals. It was just late last week when Mike Felger was attempting to stir the masses into a panic, constantly harping for hours about how the Sox had blown a five game lead in the AL East since June 24th. Now just days later, the Sox are back to a three game lead in the division, thanks to the Yankees losing three in a row to the Angels.
Adam Kilgore has Josh Beckett getting the 100th win of his career with the victory. Dan Duggan has Beckett continuing to dominate the opposition. Bill Ballou has Beckett hitting the All Star break in postseason form. Joe McDonald has the Sox sitting pretty as they head into the All Star break. Dom Amore says that the Royal might as well has not gotten out of bed yesterday. Eric Avidon has Beckett making the afternoon memorable. Glen Farley has Beckett giving the Sox bullpen some relief with his complete game.
Kilgore has a feature on Tim Wakefield, set to make his first All Star appearance, and talks at length with the man who brought him to the Red Sox, former GM Dan Duquette. Alex Speier has a similar look at Wakefield’s arrival in Boston, and has him as one of the top free-agent signings in Red Sox history.
Sean McAdam says that the Red Sox should be rested and in a great position to start the second half. Brian MacPherson has Daniel Bard remaining solid during the recent bullpen struggles by the Red Sox. Jim Donaldson has Beckett one of the hottest in baseball right now. Mike Petraglia says that Beckett is without peer right now. Lenny Megliola says that the Sox are looking strong at the break, but they could be even better. Mike Fine takes a quick-hit look at the first half. Chaz Scoggins says that the Sox are just half-satisfied with their season.
Kilgore has Clay Buchholz getting the call to start the second half of the season for the Red Sox this Friday against Toronto. Rich Thompson has more on Buchholz set to make his 2009 debut on Friday. The Projo says that Buchholz hopes to make the most of this opportunity.
Julian Benbow has Aaron Bates having a strong game in what might’ve been his last game with the Sox before heading back down to Pawtucket. Rich Thompson has Bates making a statement yesterday. Joe Haggerty has Dustin Pedroia declining his All Star nod. McAdam also writes about the All-Star pass from Pedroia. McDonald has more on Pedroia choosing family over the All-Star Game. Pedroia bowing out opened a spot for Haverhill’s Carlos Pena, as Bill Burt points out.
Kilgore’s notebook has Dustin Pedroia choosing to skip the All Star game and instead be with his wife. Duggan’s notebook has Nick Green ready to face whatever the second half holds for him with the impending return of Jed Lowrie. Ballou’s notebook has Buchholz tabbed to start the second half of the season for the Sox. McDonald’s Red Sox Journal has Bates ending the first half on a hot streak. Amore’s notebook has more on Buchholz getting his shot. Burt’s notebook has Beckett just short of perfect yesterday. Farley’s notebook has more on Pedroia’s decision to stay home from the All Star game.
Misc
Jim Donaldson and Christopher Price list out their top ten moments in Patriots history.
Mike Loftus wraps up Bruins developmental camp.
Mark Farinella offers some summer thoughts.
Fang’s Bites has Monday’s Viewing Picks, a Review of “Ted Williams” and a look at WEEI.com’s New Update Girl.
Popularity: 6% [?]
It should be noted that Felger was on one of his many Comcast shows last night talking about how the Sox “should have a bigger lead given their weak schedule over the last month or so.” So the panic-mongering continues.
It’s kind of hard to have a bigger lead when your chief competition catches fire and goes 13-2 over a two-week stretch (before they ran into their usual kryptonite out in Anaheim over the weekend).
Sure, going just 6-4 on a homestand against three mediocre-to-poor teams is a bit disappointing, but would you rather be the Yankees, who have struggled against good teams all year, or the Sox, who have sometimes stumbled against the lesser teams, but have more than held their own against the good ones so far?
Felger’s “sky is falling” act gets old very quickly.
Felger (aka Einstein) inciting panic? The only thing I’ve heard know about Felger the past 3 years is what I read on this web site. Funny how one gets smarter the less one pays attention to Felger.
Felger is just upset that his brave crusade against dog lovers has failed to garner a Medal of Honor.
Ever wanted to help get a columnist fired? The Washington Post fired a columnist because his ‘page views’ were low. With amoeba-like brains, Boston’s sports columnists try the silly ploy of angering readers to boost page views. Is it possible to ignore the numerous, irritable sports media hacks out there? Well, if you have any hope of seeing them tossed under a bus in this economic media meltdown (I do!), then start ignoring them!