Well, believe it or not, the 2008 regular season has begun. With the dawn of a new season, Around the Bigs will undergo a slight change in format as well. Every week (likely each Sunday morning - assuming the combination of school, work and life doesn't get in the way) I will recap the games of the previous week. I will of course continue to give you the latest news and opinions. But now you will be able to read about the latest in on-field activity as well, here at Around the Bigs.
On Tuesday, the 2008 regular season officially got under way (at 6 am EST), when the Oakland Athletics and reigning World Champions Boston Red Sox met in a two-game series in Tokyo, Japan. This is the third time that the season has began in Japan - the Mets and Cubs played each other in the Land of the Rising Sun in 2000, while the Yanks and Rays opened the 2004 season in Tokyo.
It was a long journey for both teams, but you would never know it by their efforts on the field. Before playing their opening series against each other, the Sox and A's each played a game against the Yomiuri Giants and the Hanshin Tigers. Well the American ball clubs won all four games against the Japanese squads, outscoring them by a total of 29-12. But then it was time for the two teams to square off against one another for a two-game series in the Tokyo Dome.
GAME 1, 3/25/08
Game one of the series had all the makings. Last year's dynamic Japanese import, Daisuke Matsuzaka was the starting pitcher for the Red Sox, and he would be going up against the A's right-hander Joe Blanton. But as exciting a moment as it was, Dice-K's start wasn't exactly up to par. The righty went five innings, gave up two earned runs on two hits. He struck out six, but walked five and threw 95 pitches.
However, with the Sox down 4-3 in the top of the 9th inning, rookie outfielder Brandon Moss came to bat. Keep in mind, the kid was only playing because prior to the game, right fielder J.D. Drew complained of lower back pains. Well his pain meant pleasure for the Sox that night, because Moss ripped a 2-2 Huston Street changeup over the right field fence to tie the game up at 4 apiece. According to MLB.com, Moss became the first Sox player since 1945 to hit his first career home run on Opening Day. Ironically enough, Moss was sent down to Triple-A the very next day. The rewards a rookie gets.
But the drama wasn't finished. Sox slugger Manny Ramirez roped a two-out, two-run double in the top of the 10th inning to give the champs a 6-4 lead. It was an adventurous bottom of the 10th for closer Jonathan Papelbon, as he gave up an RBI double to Emil Brown, but managed to escape with the save in the Sox 6-5 victory. The closing story in all of this is that even though Dice-K ended up with a no-decision, a Japanese pitcher still got the W - Sox reliever Hideki Okajima, who pitched a scoreless inning and became the first Japanese pitcher to win a Major League game in Japan.
Blanton pitched well enough to win, giving up three runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out three and walked one, and left with a lead...a lead that would disappear in extra innings.
RECAP:
Final Score, BOS 6, Oak 5
W: Okajima (1-0) L: Street (0-1) S: Papelbon (1)
HR: BOS - Moss (1, off Street) OAK - Ellis (1, off Matsuzaka), Hannahan (1, off Snyder)
GAME 2, 3/26/08
After a thrilling extra-inning victory for the Boston Red Sox, it was time to take the field again, this time as the home team. Right-hander, and World Series hero Jon Lester took the mound for the Sox, and for the A's, it was the talented Rich Harden. This game didn't have as much drama as the first, but it did feature a brilliant performance by the young Harden, and a three-run home run from Emil Brown, as the A's took the game by a score of 5-1, splitting the two-game series.
Harden, who has been riddled with injuries throughout his career, pitched six dominating innings, yielding three hits and one run - a Manny Ramirez solo home run - while striking out nine and only walking three. If Harden is able to maintain this type of presence on the mound during the rest of the season, he might finally get the recognition he deserves as one of the top young pitchers in the game - as long as he can stay healthy.
Lester was not as impressive, only going four innings, giving up four runs on five hits, walked three and struck out four. With Curt Schilling out for most of the season, Lester is slated to be in the rotation for a good portion of the year. But he's going to need to up his game a bit if he wishes to remain with the team throughout 2008.
Recap
Final Score, OAK 5, BOS 1
W: Harden (1-0) L: Lester (0-1)
HR: BOS - Ramirez (1) OAK - Brown (1)
Other Spring Training notes of interest:
It was a long journey for both teams, but you would never know it by their efforts on the field. Before playing their opening series against each other, the Sox and A's each played a game against the Yomiuri Giants and the Hanshin Tigers. Well the American ball clubs won all four games against the Japanese squads, outscoring them by a total of 29-12. But then it was time for the two teams to square off against one another for a two-game series in the Tokyo Dome.
GAME 1, 3/25/08
Game one of the series had all the makings. Last year's dynamic Japanese import, Daisuke Matsuzaka was the starting pitcher for the Red Sox, and he would be going up against the A's right-hander Joe Blanton. But as exciting a moment as it was, Dice-K's start wasn't exactly up to par. The righty went five innings, gave up two earned runs on two hits. He struck out six, but walked five and threw 95 pitches.
However, with the Sox down 4-3 in the top of the 9th inning, rookie outfielder Brandon Moss came to bat. Keep in mind, the kid was only playing because prior to the game, right fielder J.D. Drew complained of lower back pains. Well his pain meant pleasure for the Sox that night, because Moss ripped a 2-2 Huston Street changeup over the right field fence to tie the game up at 4 apiece. According to MLB.com, Moss became the first Sox player since 1945 to hit his first career home run on Opening Day. Ironically enough, Moss was sent down to Triple-A the very next day. The rewards a rookie gets.
But the drama wasn't finished. Sox slugger Manny Ramirez roped a two-out, two-run double in the top of the 10th inning to give the champs a 6-4 lead. It was an adventurous bottom of the 10th for closer Jonathan Papelbon, as he gave up an RBI double to Emil Brown, but managed to escape with the save in the Sox 6-5 victory. The closing story in all of this is that even though Dice-K ended up with a no-decision, a Japanese pitcher still got the W - Sox reliever Hideki Okajima, who pitched a scoreless inning and became the first Japanese pitcher to win a Major League game in Japan.
Blanton pitched well enough to win, giving up three runs on seven hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out three and walked one, and left with a lead...a lead that would disappear in extra innings.
RECAP:
Final Score, BOS 6, Oak 5
W: Okajima (1-0) L: Street (0-1) S: Papelbon (1)
HR: BOS - Moss (1, off Street) OAK - Ellis (1, off Matsuzaka), Hannahan (1, off Snyder)
GAME 2, 3/26/08
After a thrilling extra-inning victory for the Boston Red Sox, it was time to take the field again, this time as the home team. Right-hander, and World Series hero Jon Lester took the mound for the Sox, and for the A's, it was the talented Rich Harden. This game didn't have as much drama as the first, but it did feature a brilliant performance by the young Harden, and a three-run home run from Emil Brown, as the A's took the game by a score of 5-1, splitting the two-game series.
Harden, who has been riddled with injuries throughout his career, pitched six dominating innings, yielding three hits and one run - a Manny Ramirez solo home run - while striking out nine and only walking three. If Harden is able to maintain this type of presence on the mound during the rest of the season, he might finally get the recognition he deserves as one of the top young pitchers in the game - as long as he can stay healthy.
Lester was not as impressive, only going four innings, giving up four runs on five hits, walked three and struck out four. With Curt Schilling out for most of the season, Lester is slated to be in the rotation for a good portion of the year. But he's going to need to up his game a bit if he wishes to remain with the team throughout 2008.
Recap
Final Score, OAK 5, BOS 1
W: Harden (1-0) L: Lester (0-1)
HR: BOS - Ramirez (1) OAK - Brown (1)
Other Spring Training notes of interest:
- The Dodgers and Padres made a trip to the Far East themselves, as they played a couple of exhibition games in Beijing, China earlier this month. This marks the first time that two Major League teams played a baseball game in China. The teams played two games in the Olympic baseball stadium, where they drew a combined 23,000 plus crowd - for exhibition games! MLB is certainly attempting to become a global sport.
- The Mets and White Sox took part in the second annual Civil Rights Game on Saturday. The two teams squared off in the final exhibition game for both clubs. The game, which was played under dismal weather conditions, was held in Memphis, TN at the Autozone Stadium - home of the Memphis Redbirds (the Cardinals' Triple-A club). The Mets edged the Sox, 4-3 after starter John Maine pitched five brilliant shut-out innings.
- Reed Johnson found a home, not long after he was released by the Blue Jays. Johnson signed a one-year contract with the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, after being cut by the Jays over the weekend. Johnson will likely be a utility-outfielder for the Cubs, giving them a hand in all three positions. In fact, on Tuesday, after signing his contract, Johnson started in center field for the Cubbies and went 2-5. Quite a day for the 31-year old outfielder.
- In a rather surprising move, the Milwaukee Brewers released 29 year-old right-hander Claudio Vargas on Tuesday. Vargas, who went 11-9 in last season (his first as a Brewer), was owed $3.6 million in '08 by the Brewers and if he clears waivers, he will become a free agent. The move means the Brewers' rotation is set (at least until Yovani Gallardo returns from knee surgery). Ben Sheets will be the Opening Day starter, followed by Jeff Suppan, Dave Bush, Carlos Villanueva and rookie left-hander Manny Parra. Chris Capuano, another candidate for the rotation, will likely be out the entire season with a torn elbow ligament.
- As I suggested the Mets to with Johnson, I feel they should definatley go after Vargas. Currently, the Mets' fifth starter is either Orlando Hernandez or Mike Pelfrey (the Mets are reportedly leaning on El Duke for now). Both pitchers had terrible springs. There is no telling how long Hernandez will be healthy for, and Pelfrey has yet to show he belongs in the Mets rotation. Vargas turns 30 in June, has a good amount of experience and success in the majors, and could give the Mets some much needed rotation depth to break camp with. Not to mention, he would be relatively cheap.
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