BoSox Crush Moyer

As seen on Phillies Nation.

Welcome to third place, Philadelphia. That was ugly. The Boston Red Sox destroyed the Phillies, 12-2 at Fenway. There really is not much to say about Moyer’s awful performance and the same old slacking offense.

Moyer, who came off a complete game, couldn’t get an out in the second inning. Lasting just over an inning, Moyer surrendered nine runs, all earned. At least the Red Sox hit their way on. Moyer gave up six doubles and one home run, but only walked one.

The Red Sox added three more runs off David Herndon. Antonio Bastardo and Kyle Kendrick both got work in out of the bullpen.

It was the usual offense (meaning, the offense that we’ve seen for the past month) for the Phillies. No, they did not get shut out, but they only scored two runs off John Lackey. Both runs came on ground outs, so the Phillies weren’t exactly driving runners in.

Lately, the pitching has clicked, but today neither the pitching or offense found a rhythm. The game was terrible, and there is no other way to put it. This slump is getting old.

Dice-K Nearly No-Hits Phils

As seen on Phillies Nation.

Daisuke Matsuzaka was four outs away from tossing a no-hitter against the Phillies. Juan Castro broke up the no-hit bid with a bloop single over the head of Marco Scutaro. For the Phillies, it was appropriate that the only hit came on a blooper since the Phillies hit the the ball hard most of the night.

Dice-K didn't exactly dominate. He had a high pitch count, walked four, and struck out five. Yes -- the Phillies weren't able to collect hits off him, but they did scorch the ball. The Red Sox made several incredible defensive plays. Dustin Pedroia made a leaping catch to rob Chase Utley. Jayson Werth lined a shot right back at Matsuzaka, who made an insane catch. Adrian Beltre dove to take a hit away from Carlos Ruiz, and turned it into a double play. Overall, the Phillies were hitting the ball hard, just right at fielders.

While Dice-K was literally unhittable, Kyle Kendrick was the complete opposite. He surrendered five runs, all earned. Kendrick cruised through the first couple of innings, but hit a rock in the fifth. The Red Sox already led 1-0 at the time, thanks to a sacrifice fly in which Raul Ibanez failed to nail David Ortiz at the plate. Kendrick was one out away from keeping it a one-run game, however J.D Drew, Ortiz, and Beltre each knocked in runs.

The Red Sox took a 5-0 lead, and did not look back. Matsuzaka got a lot of luck on Saturday, and perhaps things will come easier tomorrow for the Phillies with Roy Halladay on the mound.

BoSox/Phils Preview; Rollins to DL

For full gameday, visit Phillies Nation.

The Boston Red Sox (22-21) face the Philadelphia Phillies (26-15).

Daisuke Matsuzaka, RHP (2-1, 7.89 ERA) starts vs. Kyle Kendrick, RHP (2-1, 5.24 ERA).

These aren't the same Boston Red Sox that we've seen in recent history, as witnessed in the Phillies' 5-1 win last night. At this time of year, we're used to seeing the Red Sox towards the top of the American League East, but instead they are quickly falling to the .500 mark.

Today, Jacoby Ellsbury will be coming off the disabled list for the Red Sox. Ellsbury will need to be watched on the base paths, but the speedy outfielder missed a significant amount of time due to broken ribs. On the other hand, Jimmy Rollins was placed back on the disabled list. Rollins re-injured his calf by running out of the batter's box in last night's game. The grade one strain is not said to be worse than the first injury, however Rollins is still expected to miss two weeks. Wilson Valdez was recalled to take his spot.

Daisuke Matsuzaka will take the hill for the Red Sox. Dice-K has had high expectations since coming over from Japan in 2007, but struggled last year and to this point this year. Dice-K faced the Phillies once in his career, and gave up four runs in as many innings.

Dice-K will be opposed by Kyle Kendrick, who is coming off a great start against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Kendrick has been up and down all season, so it's always a mystery as to what kind of performance the Phillies will get out of him. Kendrick is 0-2 with a very high ERA in his career against Boston. Kendrick would like to continue the Phillies' recent success on the mound. In May, Phillies starters are 11-4 with a 2.96 ERA. Starters went at least six innings in 18 of the last 19 starts, including 13 quality starts.

Tonight's Lineup: Victorino (CF), Polanco (3B), Utley (2B), Howard (1B), Werth (RF), Ibanez (LF), Ruiz (C), Castro (SS), Kendrick (P).

Before The Deadline

The Detroit Tigers acquired Jarrod Washburn from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Luke French and Mauricio Robles.

Washburn is 8-6 and has a 2.64 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP in 133 innings. He is a free agent after the season.

The Mariners later rejected six offers for Feliz Hernandez.

The Marlins acquired Nick Johnson from the Washington Nationals for Aaron Thompson.

The Twins aquired Orlando Cabrera for prospect Tyler Ladendorf.

The Boston Red Sox acquired Victor Martinez from the Cleveland Indians for Justin Masterson, Nick Hagadone and Bryan Price. Because of the deal, the Sox traded Adam LaRoche to the Braves. LaRoche was just traded to Boston not too long ago. The Red Sox acquired Casey Kotchman in the deal.

The Rockies acquired Joe Biemel. The Yankees acquired Jerry Hairston Jr. for Chase Weems. Also, the Cincinnati Reds will acquired Scott Rolen for Edwin Encarnocion.

The San Diego Padres dealt Jake Peavy to the White Sox for Aaron Poreda, Adam Russell, Dexter Carter, and Clayton Richard. Unlike before, Peavy accepted this trade. Peavy may not even pitch this season because of an injury.

Thought the Phillies Loss was Bad?

Thought last night's Phillies game was bad? The Red Sox blew a 10-1 lead. It was the biggest comeback in Orioles History. It was also a quite entertaining to watch the Mets lose to the Brewers.

No Raul, No Problem

Raul Ibanez was given the day off (later reported his foot was bothering him, but should play Tuesday), but the Phillies still managed to pound out 11 runs against the Boston Red Sox in their 11-6 win.

In the first, Chase Utley hustled out a single as Josh Beckett couldn't make an accurate throw to first. Jayson Werth singled to score Utley and the Phillies took a 1-0 lead.

The Red Sox took a 4-1 lead off J.A Happ, thanks to homers by Rocco Baldelli and Nick Green.

The Phillies weren't going to quit off Josh Beckett. Down 4-3, Ryan Howard hit a two run double giving the Phillies a 5-4 lead, captivating a four run inning. The lead didn't last long because Beckett hit a solo home run in the top of the sixth.

The Phillies blew the game wide open in the bottom of the seventh putting up six runs. Rollins started the rally with a solo home run, breaking a 0-16 hitless streak. Pedro Feliz, who went 3-for-5, doubled in the inning.

It looked like a brawl could of broke out after Rollins was hit by a pitch. Rollins was obviously upset and took his grand old time walking to first base. Shane Victorino was nearly hit, but drew a bases loaded walk off Takashi Saito, who couldn't find the strike zone.

Chan Ho Park, who earned the win, ate innings from a tired bullpen. In 2.1 innings, he allowed only two hits and one walk.

Beckett went 6+ innings, allowing 6 earned runs on 11 hits. Happ pitch 5.2 innings allowing 5 earned on seven hits.

The Red Sox took 2 of 3, but the Phillies avoided a sweep, and with the Mets loss, take a 4 game lead in the National League East.

Call of the Day: Jimmy Rollins started off hot in his MVP Year.

"Long drive! Watch this baby! It is.. Outta here! Number EIGHT for Jimmy Rollins
and the Phillies now lead it by a score of 9 to 3. How about the kind of April
JRoll is having. Wow. "

To Review, Or Not to Review

Jon Lester and Joe Blanton were in midst of a pitchers duel at Citizen's Bank Park. Both lasted seven innings, but Lester allowed only two hits, one run, two walks, and struck out eleven. Blanton allowed two earned runs on five hits and two walks and struck out seven.

Blanton allowed two solo home runs to Kevin Youkilis and J.D Drew.

Leading 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth, the Red Sox were forced to use Ramon Ramirez in a save situation because closer Jonathan Papelbon was unavailable after pitching several days in a row. They would pay. Ryan Howard's monster solo home run tied the game at two.

In the 11th inning, the Phillies came oh-so-close to winning the game. With two on, Greg Dobbs smoked a mile high fly deep down the right field line. The ball was called foul, however it was extremely close. On a first look, it looked foul. On a second look, it looked like it may have went over the top of the pole. Charlie Manuel asked to review the play, however the umpires declined.
Even though instant replay will mean more accurate calls, it takes away the human element of the game. That's baseball.

As much as I don't like the whole instant replay idea, they have the option to review, so use it. It was too close. That is a play the umpires need to review.

The Phillies ended up losing 5-2 in the thirteenth inning. Kyle Kendrick, fresh from AAA, allowed three runs in his second inning of work.

The Phillies struck out 20 times, a franchise record. There were a total of 34 strikeouts in the game.

Call of the Day: Ryan Howard hit two home runs against the Red Sox last season.

"Here's another one Sarge! Left-center field, outta here! Ryan Howard with
another home run. The Phillies lead it 4-0, his 19th home run of the year. Great
to see him hitting the ball to the opposite field, and a lot of his home runs go
to the other way. Both tonight go the other way, and the Phillies lead it
4-0.

Blanton to Take on BoSox

The Phillies will face the Boston Red Sox at Bright House Field. Game time is 1:05 p.m. and it will be televised on MyPHL 17.

Joe Blanton will get the start against Jon Lester. Ryan Madson, Chad Durbin and Scott Eyre are also scheduled to pitch.

The lineup: Rollins (SS)/ Victorino (CF)/ Utley (2B)/ Howard (1B)/ Werth (RF)/ Ibanez (LF)/ Feliz (3B)/ Mayberry (DH)/ Coste (C).

Cole Hamels is scheduled to pitch in a minor league game today.

A-Rod Opts Surgery; Other Updates

Alex Rodriguez opted to have surgery on his right hip. A-Rod will go under the knife on Monday and will miss 6-9 weeks.

"In a situation like Alex's, when we're trying to return him rapidly to his
high-level function, it's certainly a very good option," Dr. Marc Philippon
said. "It's a little more demanding on the patient, but Alex is very athletic
and has overall very good muscular strength. I firmly believe that this approach
will be successful."

Because of surgery, A-Rod will not be playing through much pain when he returns to the playing field. A-Rod should recover quicker, but will likely undergo another procedure once the season is over.

There could be some good to come out of the surgery. It could take away from the steroid controversy, however the Yankees hate to lose one of the best players in the game.

"Alex is a big part of what we're doing out there, and we need him healthy and
we need him around," Joe Girardi said. "We're going to be without him for a while,
but good teams find ways to overcome situations like this."

In other injury news, the Los Angeles Angels' Ervin Santana has been shut down due to inflammation in his pitching elbow.

Mike Pelfrey of the Mets has also felt pain in his leg.

MLB News: Jon Lester has agreed to an extension with the Boston Red Sox. The deal is 5 years, worth $30 million. Lester, a cancer survivor, is 27-8 with a 3.81 ERA in his career.

The Brewers have released pitcher Eric Gagne.

QUOTE SOURCE: MLB.com

Red Sox Signings; Other Updates

The Boston Red Sox signed outfielder Rocco Baldelli to a one year deal. The deal has a base off $500K and could go up to as much as $5.25 million depending on roster and performance bonuses.

Baldelli, who was misdiagnosed with mitochondrial disorder, grew up a Red Sox fan. Baldelli has suffered through fatigue, was underwent further test which showed he had a treatable channelopathy condition rather than the fatal disorder.

Badelli played just 80 games in 2008 and batted .263 with 4 HR. He is a career .281 hitter with a .769 OPS.

The Red Sox are also close to signing 41 year old, John Smoltz. Smoltz stuck out his 3,000th batter early in the season, but ended up making just 6 starts, missing the rest of the season due to injury.

The deal could start at $5 million, going up to as much as $10 million.

The future Hall of Famer spent his entire career with the Atlanta Braves. He is 210-147 in his career with a 3.26 ERA and 154 saves. Smoltz is an 8 time All Star, and 1996 Cy Young Winner.

The Milwaukee Brewers signed the all time saves leader, Trevor Hoffman. The deal has a base of $6 million, with $1.5 in incentives.

Hoffman has a 2.78 career ERA, 554 saves, 1,055 strikeouts in 998 IP, spending almost his whole career with the San Diego Padres.

The Oakland Athletics signed Jason Giambi to a one year deal worth $4 million. Giambi is 4 HR shy of 500 for his career.

Yankees Add Another Starter; Other Updates

Not even a week after signing CC Sabathia, the New York Yankees agreed to terms with pitcher A.J. Burnett. The deal is reportedly worth $82.5 million over 5 years.

The soon to be 32 year old right hander is 87-76 with a 3.81 ERA and 1.28 WHIP over 10 Major League seasons. Batters hit .235 off Burnett, and he strikes out 8.36 per 9.

Burnett spent 7 seasons with the Florida Marlins and 3 with the Toronto Blue Jays.

The report that Boston Red Sox are looking to add another Japanese player is not accurate. The rumor stated that Red Sox made a 3 year, $21 million offer to Kenshin Kawakimi.

The New York Mets have traded Scott Schoeneweis to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Connor Robertson and cash considerations. The Mets will pay $1.6 million of Schoeneweis' 2009 contract.

The Cincinatti Reds signed relief pitcher Arthur Rhodes. The Chicago White Sox sign the Cuban 19 year old Danyan Viciedo to a 4 year, $10 million contract.

MLB Updates

Here is the latest news from around Major League Baseball:

The Boston Red Sox locked up the 2008 American League MVP, Dustin Pedroia, signing him to a 6 year contract worth $40.5 million. The deal includes a club option for 2015.

The 22 year old Japanese pitcher, Junichi Tawaza will join the Boston Red Sox pending a physical on Thursday. Tawaza and the Red Sox reportedly signed to a 3 year, $3 million deal.

The San Francisco Giants signed relief pitcher Bob Howry to a one year contract. In 11 years, Howry has a career ERA of 3.68. In 70+ innings in 2008, Howry had a high ERA of 5.35 with the Chicago Cubs.

The St. Louis Cardinals signed left handed relief pitcher Trevor Miller to a one year deal. With the Tampa Bay Rays in 2008, Miller appeared in 68 games with a record of 2-0 and a 4.15 ERA.

The Astros welcome back Mike Hampton, who signed a one year, $2 million deal with Houston. Hampton missed a lot of time over the past 2 years due to injuries. The Astros also re-signed Doug Brocail, agreeing to a one year, $2.5 million contract with incentives. Brocail was 7-5 with a 3.93 ERA in 68.2 innings in 2008.

The Atlanta Braves acquired Javier Vazquez from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for 3 prospects. In 11 Major League seasons, Vazquez has a 4.32 ERA and 1.27 WHIP. In my opinion, the White Sox get the better side of this deal, as they add 3 prospects while the Braves add a number 3 type starter at best. The Braves could also be closer to a 5 year deal with A.J Burnett, which would be big.

The Seattle Mariners signed Russell Branyan to a one year deal. The Mariners, along with the Giants and Angels could be considering Pat Burrell.

Speaking of Pat Burrell, he was not offered arbitration by the Phillies along with Jamie Moyer, Tom Gordon, and Rudy Seanez. The Phillies did not want to fork out any money... big shocker there. Because the Phillies failed to offer arbitration, the Phillies will not get an extra first round draft pick if one of the four were to sign with another team. Probably not the best move for the Phillies, especially since they could use a few more first round draft picks with a weaker farm system.

Speaking of money, the Phillies recieved $18 million for their World Championship. Each player getss $351,504.48. The Rays recieved $12 million for winning the American League Pennant.

Ruben Amaro Jr. has spoken to Jayson Werth and Ryan Madson on contract extensions, and it appears the Phillies could be interested in Mark Loretta.

That is the lastest from the hot stove as Opening Day inches closer. 122 days away, but who's counting?

MLB News & Notes

The offseason moves on, and here is the lastest from the Hot Stove.

The Phillies could have interest in Jermey Hermida and Raul Ibanez. Hermida hit 17 homeruns in 2008. He missed a significant amount of time due to an injury. Ibanez is a .286 career hitter. He hit 23 homeruns in 2008.

Mike Mussina of the Yankees announces his retirement. In 2008, Mussina reached 20 wins for the first time in his career. His career record is 270-158 with a career 3.68 ERA and 2,813 strikeouts.

Ryan Dempster and the Cubs agree to a 4 year deal worth $52 million. Dempster moved to the starting rotation in 2008 and was 17-6. In 200+ innings, he had an ERA of 2.96.

The Red Sox trade Coco Crisp to the Royals for reliever Ramon Ramirez. Ramirez pitched 71.2 innings in 2008. He had a 2.64 ERA and 1.28 WHIP. He struck out 70 batters. The Red Sox make Jacoby Ellsbury their everyday starter with the move. Crisp batted .283 in 2008 with 7 homeruns and 41 RBI.

The Mariners also name Wakamatsu their new manager. Wakamatsu becomes the first Asian-American manager