Sox are unraveling

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

BOSTON -- Terry Francona's memorable run as manager of the Red Sox, during which he guided the club to its first two World Series championships since 1918, came to an end.

"We met with Terry Francona, Theo Epstein and Ben Cherington Friday morning to discuss the 2011 season, ways to improve the club in the future, and Tito's status," the Red Sox said in a statement. "During the meeting, Tito, Theo and Ben agreed that the Red Sox would benefit from an improved clubhouse culture and higher standards in several areas. Tito said that after eight years here he was frustrated by his difficulty making an impact with the players, that a different voice was needed, and that it was time for him to move on. After taking time to reflect on Tito's sentiments, we agreed that it was best for the Red Sox not to exercise the option years on his contract.

"We have enormous respect, admiration and appreciation for Tito and the job that he did for eight years, including two World Series Championship seasons and five playoff appearances. His poise during the 2004 post-season was a key factor in the greatest comeback in baseball history, and his place in Red Sox history will never be forgotten. We wish him only the best going forward."

The Red Sox had until Oct. 8 to decide whether to exercise the $4.25 million option they held on Francona's contract for 2012.

RedSox may be looking for a new coach

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
NEW YORK – These men are hired for these jobs in baseball, to manage ballgames for a few hours a night and try not to do anything so stupid that it gets in the way of the actual baseball players.

For the other 21 hours, well, that”s the hard part.

Following a Thursday press conference (that followed a 7-20 September) in which Boston Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein admitted there were issues with player conditioning and preparation, numerous outlets reported Friday morning that manager Terry Francona would not return for his ninth season in Boston.

More From Tim Brown
Verlander vs. Sabathia shaping up as horse race Sep 29, 2011
Power Rankings: Sorting through the wreckage Sep 29, 2011


The Red Sox had only six wins in September.
(Getty Images)
If true, Francona would not be fired, technically, but his option for the 2012 season would not be exercised.

Francona met Friday morning with owner John Henry, upper management and Epstein, after which the club released a statement that read, in part, “We all plan on taking some time to process the thoughts expressed in the meeting. There are no immediate plans for an announcement.”

Francona left the meeting without comment for waiting reporters. The statement, the events of September, and the end-of-season debriefing apparently would stand for another news cycle.

Francona and Epstein had sat shoulder-to-shoulder Thursday afternoon in a small room at Fenway Park. Each was bent a little at the neck, each crossed his arms across his chest, each blinked at the table too much.

They were miserable. One, or both, seemed on his way out. For good. That much was clear.

Out there, past the old brick of their ballpark, across the ruins of their season, the New York Yankees – the stinkin” Yankees – were readying for October, like seven other teams.

But not the Red Sox, the $165-million Red Sox, the hugely favored Red Sox, the collapsible Red Sox.

How much would you pay for a caught ball?The Sox paid 100 million for a dropped one

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

BALTIMORE -- Carl Crawford's Wednesday night could not have been laden with more irony, disappointment or circularity.

It was a ball that just eluded the glove of a sliding Crawford in the ninth inning that plated the winning run for the Orioles, the team whose 4-3 victory was part one of two outcomes that eliminated the Red Sox from reaching the postseason.

With the game tied at 3 and the winning run on second base, Robert Andino hit a liner to left off Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon that Crawford charged. He went into a feet-first slide, keeping his glove low to the ground on the glove-side of his body, his right, but he couldn't snag it.

It was eerily similar to a play from two days earlier that Crawford also could not make, in a 6-3 loss to the O's.

"It was low, so I knew that I had to just try to slide," Crawford said of Wednesday's attempt. "I couldn't dive. I had to try to get up under it, and I wasn't able to. I had to try to make a sliding catch. I couldn't come up with it, though."

The ball stopped dead next to Crawford's glove. He sprung to his feet and fired home, but the throw was well off the mark -- he might not have had a chance to catch Nolan Reimold at the plate anyway -- and the Red Sox walked off in shock.

Time to shift to my playoff team..go Phillies

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Roy Halladay started the Phillies' last postseason with a no-hitter, and he'll have the chance to get his team off to a great October start once again.

To the surprise of no one, the veteran right-hander and 2010 National League Cy Young Award winner was confirmed, in the typical homespun manner of Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel, as the Game 1 starter of the Phillies' upcoming NL Division Series against the Wild Card-champion St. Louis Cardinals, slated for Saturday at Citizens Bank Park.

"I think if you're good baseball people, you should be able to see how we're setting it up," Manuel said. "I shouldn't have to answer that."

He shouldn't, because the numbers speak for themselves. Halladay, who went 19-6 with a 2.35 ERA this season, went 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA, including the opening-game no-no, in last year's postseason run.

He'll be followed by left-hander Cliff Lee, who went 17-8 with a 2.40 ERA and a Major League-leading six shutouts this year. The Game 3 and Game 4 starters are expected to be lefty Cole Hamels (14-9, 2.75) and Roy Oswalt (8-10, 3.86), respectively.

Halladay's last start of the regular season came last Saturday, Sept. 24, at Citi Field against the Mets. He earned his 19th victory by pitching six scoreless innings, allowing four hits and one walk and striking out three. It was a strong tuneup for this coming Saturday, which gives him six days of rest before his team's 2011 postseason lid-lifter.

He expressed confidence in his team's chances after that win.

"It's nice to go in [to the postseason] on a strong finish, even though that doesn't always determine how things are going to work out," Halladay said.

Put away the bats and grab your golf clubs

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

BALTIMORE -- The Red Sox had their bags packed for either a one-game playoff at Tropicana Field, or even better, a trip to Texas to start the American League Division Series. But by the end of one final unraveling, they had nowhere to go but home.

This, after the worst September collapse in baseball history.

A surreal month ended in jarring fashion, the Red Sox suffering a walk-off 4-3 loss to the last-place Baltimore Orioles with two outs in the bottom of the ninth.

"We should have won that game," said slugger David Ortiz, "but it seemed like everything was going in the wrong direction. So many things happened that you think about -- you're very disappointed."

One strike away from victory, ace closer Jonathan Papelbon couldn't finish off the Orioles, who beat the Red Sox five times in seven games over the final two weeks. Nolan Reimold drilled a ground-rule RBI double to tie the game, and Robert Andino followed with the crushing capper, a line-drive single that Carl Crawford trapped, and then dropped.

"You get in that situation, you hope things go your way. It's a game of inches," Papelbon said.

And that was how Boston's 7-20 September ended, and shortly thereafter, the season.

A.500 team

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
CHICAGO -- The Blue Jays' 2011 campaign came to an end on Wednesday afternoon with a ninth-inning comeback in a 3-2 victory over the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.

Toronto entered the ninth trailing by a run, but loaded the bases against left-hander Chris Sale and scored the tying and go-ahead runs on back-to-back walks.

The Blue Jays' year comes to a close with an 81-81 record under the guidance of rookie manager John Farrell. It marks the fourth time in eight seasons the club has finished at least at .500, but the mark is down from an 85-77 record in 2010.

What if the Rays and the Sox are still tied after tonight

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

An actual must win game...The contingency plans are set. Major League Baseball has set up start times for potential Wild Card tiebreakers in both leagues as the regular season comes to an end. Either or both of those games would be played Thursday, the day before the American League playoffs start.

If the Red Sox and Rays finish in a tie for the American League Wild Card, a play-in game would be set for Thursday at 4:07 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field. The Rays went 12-6 against Boston in the regular-season series to earn home-field advantage for the tiebreaker.

Ozzy is out

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

CHICAGO -- After eight seasons, two American League Central titles, one World Series championship and countless entertaining moments on the South Side of Chicago, the White Sox agreed to manager Ozzie Guillen's request to be released from his contract. The move allowed the manager to pursue other opportunities.

Guillen is expected to be named the next manager of the Marlins, possibly as soon as Wednesday. Marlins manager Jack McKeon announced earlier Monday that he will retire when the season ends. Guillen had prepared a statement for his blog, "Ozzie Speaks," in the event that a deal with the Marlins became official, but that has not yet happened. The post was inadvertently published for five minutes late Monday night.

Red Sox could miss the playoffs..go Phillies!!

- Posted using BlogPress

NEW YORK -- They were refreshed, following a scheduled day off and then a rainout. They had a reshuffled lineup that had Carl Crawford batting second for the first time in more than a month. They had their ace on the mound.

At last, the script was right for the Red Sox to cure their many problems of the last few weeks.

But then the game started, and everything fell apart again in a 9-1 loss to the Yankees.

Who can figure out how things have turned so sour for the reeling Red Sox?

"We all want to win," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "It's up to us to go win. We know what's in front of us. We just have to play better."

And they have to pitch better -- a lot better.

Slipping sox

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

BOSTON -- By Wednesday night, the unraveling that had been going on for three weeks finally seemed to shift from disappointment to disbelief. How did the Red Sox get here?

As they departed for the final road trip of the season, the Sox were faced with the reality that their recent play -- which includes a 5-16 record in September -- can no longer continue.

If it does, their season, which once seemed like an automatic ticket to October, will stop short of that.

Brady seems to be the new Manning

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Brady sets Patriots passing records
Mon Sep 12, 11:52 PM ET
Miami, FL (Sports Network) - Tom Brady set a couple of passing records for the New England Patriots in their season-opening 38-24 win Monday night against the Miami Dolphins, going for 517 yards through the air.

When Brady connected with Wes Welker on a 99-yard TD pass with 5:44 remaining, it gave him 511 yards on the night, moving him past the team mark of 426 set by Drew Bledsoe on November 13, 1994 in a 26-20 overtime win over the Vikings.

Brady, who finished 32-of-48 passing and threw his first interception since last October, also topped his former record for longest pass in team history. That was a 91-yarder from him to David Patten in a contest against Indianapolis on October 21, 2001.

The pass to Welker, which came down the left sideline, moved the Patriots to a 38-17 lead, just after the Dolphins failed on a fourth down pass in the end zone.

"I only threw it 25 yards," Brady said. "It wasn't like I threw it 99 yards. Wes did all the work. I just put it out there for him."

Brady's 517 yards were also the most in Monday Night Football history. The record is 554 yards, set by Norm Van Brocklin of the Los Angeles Rams in a September 28, 1951 contest vs. the New York Yanks.

Bluejay pitcher turned outfielder

- TORONTO -- Adam Loewen has been in the Major Leagues as a position player for less than a week, but he's already enjoying his time more than he did for three seasons as a pitcher.

The former starter transitioned to the outfield after fracturing his left elbow in July 2008. Instead of trying to suffer through a rehab process that would have lasted at least 18 months, Loewen decided to start his career over as a position player.

Loewen signed with the Blue Jays as an outfielder and began what would eventually turn into a three-year journey back to the Majors. He now finds himself getting to do what he always wanted to as a teenager growing up in Surrey, British Columbia.

"I was always told when I was 15 by older guys that played, 'Oh, you're going to be a left-handed pitcher. I don't know why you're hitting,'" Loewen said. "But I always enjoyed to do it. I knew I was going to get drafted as a pitcher when I was 18, there was no doubt about that.

"I accepted it, I knew I wasn't going to hit anymore, so I just enjoyed my last couple of swings as a college player."

Loewen always preferred to hit, but his 6-foot-6 frame with a southpaw throwing arm had scouts drooling over his abilities on the mound. It was enough, at the time, to make Loewen the highest Canadian drafted when Baltimore selected him with the fourth overall pick in the 2002 First-Year Player Draft.

Four years later, Loewen was pitching in the Major Leagues . Unfortunately, he was unable to stay healthy. After parts of three seasons in the big leagues with the O's, he had little choice but to go in a new direction.

Loewen was close to an agreement to return to the Orioles as a position player until he received a call from Cito Gaston. Loewen grew up a Blue Jays fan, and the sales pitch from a man who led Toronto to back-to-back World Series championships in the early '90s was enough to make Loewen switch organizations.

What's up with Manning

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Manning's condition remains a concern for Colts
Mon Sep 5, 2:04 AM ET
(Sports Network) - Peyton Manning's neck continued to be a concern for the Indianapolis Colts as they faced an increased chance that the four-time MVP quarterback wouldn't be ready by Week 1 for the first time in his career.

Manning has started every game for the Colts since 1998, but had a second surgery on his neck in May and was only activated off the team's physically unable to perform (PUP) list on August 29.

On Sunday, Colts owner Jim Irsay declared on Twitter that there was nothing to say about Manning's condition except that the Colts were moving "cautiously" and "deliberately" while projecting his recovery time.

But Manning was being re-evaluated by doctors as concerns grew that his rehab was taking longer than expected, according to a report on ESPN.com.

Citing sources, the report revealed that doctors have been unable to agree on a reason for the slow pace of Manning's recovery, but that there was no new procedure scheduled for the 35-year-old.

Earlier, an unconfirmed report from an Indianapolis radio host said Manning needed yet another procedure less than four months after the May 23 surgery to correct a disk-related issue in his neck.

The Colts have sounded unconvinced that Manning would be ready for Sunday's game at Houston, and perhaps beyond.

"He will participate in practice on a limited basis," the Colts said in a statement when he was activated from the PUP list. "All of his practice work will be scripted and on a controlled basis. The participation in limited football activity is a standard procedure in the club's rehab protocol."

The Colts signed Manning to a five-year, $90 million contract in July -- the long-term deal that was envisioned when the team put its franchise tag on him before the NFL lockout.

Manning has passed for 54,828 yards and 399 touchdowns in 208 consecutive regular season starts and guided the team to a Super Bowl title after the 2006 season.

He has stated that he wouldn't consider playing just to keep his consecutive starts streak alive, saying that he respects football too much to take the field without being ready.

Manning also had surgery in March 2010 to relieve pain in his neck caused by a pinched nerve and didn't miss camp. This time around, however, he was unable to meet with team medical personnel because of the lockout.