It’s no coincidence that ever since Tim Wakefield’s near no-hitter in Oakland last week, the Boston Red Sox have been on a roll. Wakefield’s win, which stopped the team’s three-game losing streak and rested a worn-out bullpen, seemed important enough even at the time to merit more than just a single Game Ball. So it’s all too fitting that Wake becomes the first Red Sox with two Game Balls to his name in this increasingly enjoyable 2009 season. Wakefield again required no bullpen help in gaining a win yesterday, though the rain did allow him to surge into sole possession of the league lead for complete games after only seven innings pitched. His performance overshadowed heroics from several members of the Red Sox lineup (most notably Mike Lowell), which seems to be getting hot all at once.
The offense continued to roll in the second game of the day-night doubleheader, and though Brad Penny deserves acclaim for gaining his second win, the Game Ball goes to Jeff Bailey, the longtime Pawsox slugger, who staked the Bostonians to a lead by blasting a three-run home run off erstwhile wunderkind Francisco Liriano, and then later, just as the Twins were starting to creep closer, Bailey keyed another rally by drawing a walk and scoring.
Below are the standings, which are beginning to shed light on the limitations of this exercise in that certain players who have contributed to victory on a consistent basis, most notably team RBI leader Lowell, stopgap shortstop superstar Nick Green, and relievers Manny Delcarmen, Jonathan Papelbon, and, especially, Ramon Ramirez, have yet to get any recognition in this narrow, highly subjective (but fun, at least for me) forum.
Wakefield 2
Beckett 1
Bay 1
Drew 1
Lester 1
Youkilis 1
Bailey 1
Pedroia .5*
Masterson .5*
*Game ball split due to disagreement between author choice and commenters’ choice.
Topics: Jeff Bailey, Tim Wakefield
Latest Headlines
- Don Mattingly Joins Bob Salomon’s Epic Journey
- Tools Of The Trade: A Chat With Cubs’ Shiraz Rehman
- To The Farm: Addictions And Inspirations
- Our Mantle And Our Hope
- Dodgers Suitors Finding Out A Billion Dollars Isn’t What It Used To Be
- ‘Tex’ Talks Getting On Base, Yanks 2012 and Munson
- Q & A With San Francisco Giants Prospect Justin Fitzgerald
- Bike Spokes and Shoe Boxes – 2011 Topps Bowman Sterling NFL
- Time For Baseball To Truly Embrace Modern Fans
- MLB And Project Prospect Top 100
- Morrow’s Time
- Bike Spokes and Shoe Boxes – 2011 Topps Triple Threads NFL
- Baseball Places 16 in Sports Power 100
- Buehrle Launches Campaign To Repeal Miami Pit Bull Ban
- A Little Bit On The Wild Side With Padres Prospect Cody Decker
In The News
Bike Spokes and Shoe Boxes – 2011 Topps USA Baseball Box Set
Today, BS&SB looks at the 2011 Topps USA Baseball Box Set.
Bike Spokes and Shoe Boxes – 2011 Topps American Pie
After a mid-winter break, BS&SB returns with a look at 2011 Topps American Pie.
Michael Schlact Continues Baseball Career With Blue Crabs, Remains Positive
Pitcher Michael Schlact,26, has re-signed with the Atlantic League Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.
Prince Lands A King’s Ransom
The Detroit Tigers replaced injured Victor Martinez with one of the biggest bats in baseball.
Baseball Rep Firm Legacy Sports Group Merges with The Agency Sport Management
Legacy Sports Group (“Legacy”), a leading
good choices here. As the season plays out, I wonder if the team MVP will lead with the most game balls. I’m going to guess they won’t. This will be fun to see develop over the season.