Summer Baseball Tour 2011 #6 and #7

CLEVELAND INDIANS AT BOSTON RED SOX

AUGUST 3rd & 4th, 2011

RED SOX 4 – INDIANS 3

INDIANS 7 - RED SOX 3

Fenway Park

MATCHUP

City: Boston, Massachusetts
Metropolitan Population: 4.5 million

Known For:  Universities, Professional Sports
Nickname: Beantown

GAME RECAP

The Red Sox celebrate Jacoby Ellsbury's walkoff home run

August 3rd

Ellsbury walkoff HR leads Red Sox past Indians

For the second consecutive night a walkoff hit courtesy of Jacoby Ellsbury gave the Red Sox a win against Cleveland. Ellsbury was 0/4 before stepping in against Indians reliever Joe Smith with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and launching a solo home run to deep center that made the score 4-3. Tim Wakefield, who was searching for his 200th career win went 6 2/3rds and was taken out with the game tied, leaving him with a no-decision. The Red Sox one through six hitters all contributed at least one hit and closer Jonathan Papelbon pitched a perfect ninth to be credited with the win.

Checklist: 

Walkoff Hit - Jacoby Ellsbury

August 4th

Bedard earns no-decision in Red Sox debut, Indians bats come to life and score 7.

Erik Bedard went 5 innings and recorded 5 strikeouts in his first start with the Red Sox since being acquired from Seattle at the trade deadline. Justin Masterson pitched six innings with 9 strikeouts and left the game with a 5-3 lead. Indians up and coming catcher Carlos Santana mashed a home run off of Franklin Morales, veteran DH Travis Hafner contributed two doubles and SS Asdrubal Cabrera reached base 3 times and scored 3 runs.

Checklist:

None

GAME SETUP AND CROWD: 

Wednesday and Thursday night

Overcast (WED)/Sunny (THU)

103% capacity, 38,172 (WED)/104%, 38,477 (THU)

Grade: 9 stars

The "Go Red Sox" sign at Gate B

HOME TEAM: 

The Red Sox are original members of the American League and one of baseball’s most historic clubs. Franchise icons include Jim Rice, Bobby Doerr, Carlton Fisk, Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz, Carl Yastrzemski, and Ted Williams. The Red Sox have won 7 World Series titles, in 1903, 1912, 1915, 1916, 1918, 2004, and 2007. The Red Sox have a profound presence throughout New England, giving the Sox a large and faithful local fan base. The Red Sox also field minor league teams in Pawtucket, Rhode Island; Portland, Maine; and Lowell, Massachusetts, making the Red Sox really feel like New England's team. Since Terry Francona took over as manager in 2004, the Red Sox have established themselves as one of baseball’s elite; having won two World Series and having made five postseason appearances during his tenure, leaving the Red Sox tortured past far in the rear view. This season the Red Sox are in line for yet another postseason berth, in spite of their abysmal 2-10 start. The Sox offense is thoroughly intimidating. From the leadoff spot to the six hole, a group that comprises CF Jacoby Ellsbury, 2B Dustin Pedroia, 1B Adrian Gonzalez, 3B Kevin Youkilis, DH David Ortiz, and LF Carl Crawford, the Red Sox are as deep and dominant as any offense in the Majors. Josh Beckett and Jon Lester are a legitimate one two punch at the top of the rotation and relievers Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon are shutting teams down in the eighth and ninth innings. Despite questions about the back end of the rotation, the Red Sox, along with the Yankees, are the class of the American League. As of August 3rd, the Red Sox are 67-41 and lead the AL East by one game.

OPPONENT:

The Cleveland Indians are also original members of the American League. The Indians lead the all-time head to head 1021-958 while Boston holds a 52-42 head to head advantage since 2000. This season the Indians have surprised many this season by contending in the AL Central, led by a young pitching staff and a deep bullpen led by All Star close Chris Perez. Even with injuries to veterans Grady Sizemore and Sin-Soo Choo, the Indians have seen production from their young bat like Carlos Santana, Matt LaPorta, Jason Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall and have enjoyed a breakout season from SS Asdrubal Cabrera.  As of August 3rd, the Indians are 54-53 and are three games back of the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central.

GRADE: 7 stars

STADIUM:

The main video board at Fenway Park

Fenway Park is located in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood in downtown Boston. Fenway Park and Wrigley Field are far and away, the most historic ballparks in the world. Built in 1912, Fenway is the oldest remaining Major League stadium and is remarkably unique. From the Green Monster, to Pesky’s pole, to the centerfield Triangle, to the limited seating in the upper deck, Fenway is a true relic of the game. However, Fenway hasn’t completely disregarded the 21st century and the advent of new technology. The HD video monitors, Fenway’s newest addition, are outstanding, displaying all of the latest statistics and replaying videos with fantastic quality. Before the game, the atmosphere around Fenway is electric. Lansdowne Street and Yawkey Way are overflowing with baseball jerseys, baseball caps, sports bars, and vendors; it’s truly a sight to behold and certainly a worth taking in if you’re a baseball fan. That said, I went into Fenway with very high (and slightly unrealistic) expectations for the fans. I expected a more soccer like atmosphere so I was disappointed when many of the fans main objective at the game was not watching the game.

GRADE: 9 stars

LOCATION OF SEAT:

View from Infield Grandstand 20 at Fenway Park

Infield Grandstand 20 – Row 18 – Seat 3

We sat in the last row of the lower bowl behind home plate. It was nice to have a central and grounded view of the field but the one major downside to Fenway Park are the numerous obstructed seats. Unfortunately for me, a foundation pole directly blocked my view of second base and the upper level seating directly above me blocked the main replay board.

GRADE: 5 stars

View from Outfield Grandstand 6 at Fenway Park

 

Outfield Grandstand 6 – Row 1 – Seat 21

We sat in the middle of the right field grandstand on a slight angle towards the diamond. Unfortunately we were directly on the aisle and the non-stop traffic up and down the aisle was irritating but we we're able to see the two main video boards.

GRADE: 5 stars

QUALITY OF STARTING PITCHING:

Red Sox starter Tim Wakefield

Carlos Carrasco (8-9, 4.67 ERA) vs. Tim Wakefield (6-4, 5.06 ERA)

Carrasco was the centerpiece of trade that sent Cliff Lee from Cleveland to Philadelphia in 2009. He’s shown flashes of the potential that at one point had him ranked as a top prospect but has been unable to maintain any success for a sustained period of time.

Wakefield remains one of the most unique pitchers in the big leagues, relying on his trademark knuckleball to make nearly every one of his outs. He’s been with the Red Sox since 1995, making him the longest tenured Boston player by far. 

GRADE: 5 ½ stars

Justin Masterson (8-7, 2.56 ERA) vs. Erik Bedard (4-7, 3.45 ERA)

Masterson, who was traded by the Red Sox at the trade deadline in 2009 for Victor Martinez, has pitched extremely well this season in Cleveland. He’s put together a solid strikeout to walk ratio and a career low WHIP of 1.17. For Cleveland to continue pushing Detroit in the AL Central, Masterson and recently acquired starter Ubaldo Jimenez will need to pitch effectively down the stretch.

Bedard was acquired from Seattle at the deadline to provide starting pitching depth for the postseason, as Clay Buchholz’s availability is unclear at the moment. He’s not the elite pitcher the Mariners thought they had received when they traded 5 players, including top prospect Adam Jones, to the Orioles and he has had serious injury trouble, missing the entire 2010 season with a shoulder injury but he’s been an above average arm, recording a combined 3.35 ERA from 2008 to now, when healthy.

GRADE: 6 ½ stars

Red Sox legend David Ortiz

LINEUPS:

Cleveland:

C Carlos Santana (#1, 2009-2010)

1B Matt Laporta (#2, 2009)

2B Jason Kipnis (#3, 2010)

SS Asbrubal Cabrera (’11 All Star)

3B Lonnie Chisenhall (#1, 2011)

LF Austin Kearns

CF Ezequiel Carrera

RF Kosuke Fukudome (’08 All Star)

DH Travis Hafner

RP Tony Sipp

RP Vinnie Pestano

RP Joe Smith

CP Chris Perez (’11 All Star)

Boston:

C Jarrod Saltalamacchia

1B Adrian Gonzalez (’08, ’09, ’10, ’11 All Star)

2B Dustin Pedroia (’08, ’09, ’10 All Star)

SS Marco Scutaro

3B Kevin Youkilis (’08, ’09, ’11 All Star)

LF Carl Crawford (’04, ’07, ’09, ’10 All Star)

CF Jacoby Ellsbury (’11 All Star)

RF Josh Reddick

DH David Ortiz (’04, ’05, ’06, ’07, ’08, ’10, ’11 All Star)

RP Franklin Morales

RP Dan Wheeler

RP Randy Williams

RP Alfredo Aceves

RP Andrew Miller

CP Jonathan Papelbon (’06, ’07, ’08, ’09 All Star)

GRADE: 8 stars

All prospect rankings are from Baseball America’s organizational rank.

FOOD:

Fenway Park concession stand

Fenway offers all of the classic ballpark foods. On Wednesday night I had a great Italian Sausage, fast becoming one of my ballpark favorites and on Thursday night I had a delicious Philly Cheese steak.

Next stop on the Summer Baseball Tour 2011: Back at Fenway Park, Friday night, for one of the best rivalries in sports, New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox.