With a two-run shot off Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Livan Hernandez in the first inning this evening, Boston Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez now stands at 498 career home runs as he tries to become only the 24th player in Major League Baseball history to hit 500 home runs. On the season, Ramirez has eight home runs, including two hit in the first eight games of a 10-game road trip for the Red Sox after a stretch of over two weeks without one; in seven-plus seasons with the club, he has stroked 262. Ramirez, who had never hit fewer than 33 in a single season with the club over his first six years in Boston, was expected to pass the mark last season along with Alex Rodriguez, Jim Thome, and Frank Thomas but managed just 20 long balls in 2007. The only other active player with a shot to make the 500 home run mark this season is Gary Sheffield, who stands at 482. Ramirez now also stands at 1630 career RBI that places him 26th all-time.

Tags: Boston Red Sox, Manny Ramirez

With five home runs in seven games last week, including two in Wednesday’s loss to Detroit, Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis was easily named American League Player of the Week for the week ending 11 May 2008, his first-ever honor. Youkilis, who also sports a nine-game hitting streak through action on Sunday, went 12-for-32 (.375) over those same seven games to raise his team-leading average to .322 while scoring eight runs and knocking home ten. He now leads the team with eight home runs and 30 RBI in 38 games this season and his home run total is already half his production from 2007. Youkilis also continues to play Gold Glove-caliber defense at first, having now gone 236 straight games without making a fielding error, which continues to add to his Major League record. Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell also gathered consideration for the award, having batted .406 with three doubles, three home runs, and nine RBI over the same span.

Tags: Boston Red Sox, Kevin Youkilis, Mike Lowell

On the last play of Wednesday afternoon’s game in Oakland, Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis collected a ground ball from Athletics left fielder Jack Cust and recorded the out at first unassisted; in the process, he set a new major league record for consecutive error-free games by a first baseman with 194. That mark breaks the old mark held by former big leaguer Steve Garvey, who set the mark between June 1983 and April 1985 with the San Diego Padres. Youkilis also went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI single in Boston’s 5-0 win over Oakland.

In 2007, Youkilis broke Stuffy McInnis’s old team record of 119 games and then surpassed the old American League mark of 178 straight games by Mike Hegan. At season’s end, Youkilis not only finished with a 1.000 fielding percentage but was awarded a Gold Glove, the only Red Sox first baseman other than George “Boomer” Scott to win the award at that position. Oddly enough, Youkilis originally joined Boston as a third baseman in 2004 but transitioned to first base full-time in 2006, though he did have some minor league experience at that position.

Tags: Boston Red Sox, George Scott, Kevin Youkilis, Stuffy McInnis

With the opening game of the 2008 Major League Baseball season set to begin in less than 12 hours, the defending 2007 World Series champion Boston Red Sox will bid sayonara to the memories of last season and focus on becoming the first team since the 2000 New York Yankees to successfully defend their title. The road to a possible third championship in the last five seasons begins at the Tokyo Dome in Japan with the Sox facing the Oakland Athletics, with native son Daisuke Matsuzaka set to square off against Joe Blanton. Matsuzaka, who won 15 games in his first full season with Boston in 2007, pitched eight seasons before last season with the Seibu Lions and made his professional debut at the very same venue in 1999. Joining him will be teammate and Red Sox reliever Hideki Okajima, another former Japanese baseball star who also spent his first season in the majors last season with Boston after 11 seasons with the Yomiuri Giants and one year with the Nippon Ham Fighters.

Tomorrow’s contest, set to begin at 6:05 AM ET, is the first of two games in Japan between the American League rivals as Boston’s Jon Lester and Oakland’s Rich Harden will face either other in the second game on Wednesday morning. Both teams will then return to the US and face off in two more games during MLB Opening Week starting 01 April at McAfee Coliseum. The Red Sox then fly to Toronto to face the Blue Jays over the weekend at the Rogers Centre before opening Fenway Park on 08 April against the Detroit Tigers. Boston’s first tilt with New York comes just a few days as the Yankees invade Fenway for three games beginning 11 April.

Boston’s roster remains virtually the same this season, with defending World Series MVP Mike Lowell returning to his position at third base after signing a three-year deal with the Red Sox. The most noticeable difference is in center field, where Jacoby Ellsbury is slated to start the opener in place of Coco Crisp, who has been hampered this spring by a nagging groin injury. Ellsbury stepped in for Crisp during last post-season’s run to the championship, playing the last six games after the latter player got off to a slow start in October. A quick start to the season may find Crisp relegated to a bench role or possibly traded elsewhere.

Other returning positional players include: a healthy David Ortiz, who had successful off-season surgery on his knee that gave him trouble for most of last season; left fielder Manny Ramirez, who is in the last season of a guaranteed eight-year deal with Boston that will pay him another $20 million this season, with the Red Sox holding the option on an additional two years; 2007 Gold Glove winner Kevin Youkilis, who will set a new Major League record for consecutive error-free games at first base if he remains perfect in the field for another four games; 2007 Rookie of the Year Dustin Pedroia; veteran catcher Jason Varitek; shortstop Julio Lugo; and right fielder J.D. Drew.

Pitcher Josh Beckett, who won all four starts in the post-season, will likely begin the season on the disabled list due to back spasms; he is expected to return to the lineup by the second full week of the season, possibly in time for the opening series at Fenway Park. Another veteran pitcher who will spend far more time on the DL is Curt Schilling, who is out until mid-season at the earliest due to a shoulder injury. Schilling’s injury means that Clay Buchholz, whom the Sox had hoped to start at Triple-A Pawtucket, will instead begin the season with the parent club. Depending on the progress of former Cy Young Award winner Bartolo Colon, assigned to the minors after signing a free-agent deal this month by Boston, Buchholz may eventually return to the farm to continue development.

On a more positive note, Tim Wakfield returns for his 14th season in Boston after winning 17 games last year to tie his career high in that category. Jonathan Papelbon also returns as the Red Sox closer, looking to surpass 30 saves for the third time in three years this season after recording the last out of the 2007 World Series. Terry Francona also returns with a new deal to manage Boston at least through the 2011 season after becoming the first skipper to win his first eight World Series contests and only the second Red Sox manager to win two titles with the franchise.

It might not equal the excitement of winning a World Series championship but, thanks in part to Red Sox veterans Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, and Jason Varitek, Boston won its second consecutive Mayor’s Cup over Minnesota, beating the Twins 12-7 Wednesday afternoon to take the Grapefruit League “series” three games to two. Boston had won the first two contests against Minnesota this spring but the Twins came back with consecutive wins against the Sox to force a deciding Game Five at Hammond Stadium. Clay Buchholz, looking to secure a spot in the starting rotation with Boston, earned the decision with 3-2/3 innings of work, beating Francisco Liriano and earning his first decision of the spring. Meanwhile, Varitek hit his second home run in exhibition play while Ramirez went 2-for-2 and Ortiz went 2-for-3, each with an RBI. As both teams spring training facilities are located in Fort Myers, FL — the Red Sox reside at City of Palms Park — the two teams often play each other at least five times in Grapefruit League action. Thus, the Mayor’s Cup is awarded annually to the team that wins the most games against its cross-town rival. Last season, Boston took its first cup home since 2004, also winning three out of five contests between the two clubs.

The Sox will have six more games in the next seven days before leaving Fort Myers to fly to Japan; there, they will play two exhibition contests against Japanese clubs before opening the regular season a week early with a two-game series against the Oakland Athletics at the Tokyo Dome beginning 25 March. Boston then returns to the states to play its final three games of the spring against the Los Angeles Dodgers, with the second match scheduled to be played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The regular season then resumes for the Red Sox on 01 April with two against the Athletics in Oakland at McAfee Coliseum.

Monday afternoon, the Boston Red Sox announced that eight people, including Mo Vaughn and Mike Greenwell, were elected to the club’s Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2008. Joining Vaughn and Greenwell will be former pitchers Wes Ferrell, Bill Lee, and Frank Sullivan, shortstop Everett Scott, scout George Digby, and former player development executive Ed Kenney, Sr.. Ferrell joins his brother and former Sox catcher Rick, who was automatically granted induction based on his previous election to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984 by the Veteran’s Committee. The committee also selected the home run hit by Ted Williams in his final Major League at-bat as its Most Memorable Moment for Hall of Fame recognition. The induction dinner is scheduled for Friday, 7 November 2008, at the Marriott Copley Hotel in Boston.[1]

This is the seventh class to be honored since the Hall opened in 1995 and elections have been held every two years since 2000. Selections are made by a committee consisting of Red Sox executives and broadcasters, media members and representatives of the New England Sports Museum and BoSox club. To be eligible, a player must have played a minimum of three years with the club and been officially retired from baseball for at least three years, while non-uniformed honorees, like former inducees Curt Gowdy (broadcaster) and Dick O’Connell (general manager), are added only by a unanimous vote of the selection committee.

[1] Vaughn headlines 2008 Sox HOF class. MLB.com, 25 February 2008.

With two world championships in the last four years to his credit guiding a team that hadn’t won a World Series since 1918, Terry Francona received a three-year contract extension Sunday from the Boston Red Sox that will keep him at the helm until at least through the 2011 season. The contract also includes a club option for two additional years, making it possible that the 44th manager in team history may be with the franchise for several years to come. Francona took over managerial duties in 2004 and immediately found success, taking Boston to its first World Series in 18 years and winning the club’s first title in nearly a century with a four-game sweep of St. Louis. The team repeated that success last season, capping the 2007 season with another four-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies in the World Series, and Francona became the first manager in MLB history to win his first eight World Series games without a loss.

In 648 games over his first four seasons, Francona has 375 wins and a winning percentage of .579, the best among Boston skippers with at least three full seasons or 462 games managed. The only other Red Sox manager to equal that mark over the same span of games is Don Zimmer, who took over for Darrell Johnson midway through the 1976 season and remained with the club until being fired with five games left in the 1980 season; his career winning percentage at the helm of the Red Sox is four percentage points behind the incumbent skipper. Francona is also one of only five managers in team history to lead a club to a world championship and the only manager other than Bill Carrigan (1915 and 1916) to lead a Boston club to two titles. In addition, he is one of three Boston managers to win two pennants and the first to take his club to the post-season three times.

With pitchers and catchers due to report this Thursday, so begins the defense of the 2007 World Series title by the Boston Red Sox as the club tries to become the first team since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees to win consecutive championships. Unlike the team that tried and failed to repeat as champions following an 86-year title drought, the 2008 Red Sox club is nearly identical to the one that took the field last season. The biggest challenge over the off-season, the re-signing of free agent third baseman Mike Lowell, was quickly put to rest as the 2007 World Series MVP signed a new three-year deal with Boston less than one month after the end of the season, forgoing the opportunity to serve a longer contract for more money elsewhere in favor of remaining with an atmosphere that offered him the most comfort. Veteran pitcher Curt Schilling, who had previously voiced the desire to retire after last season but then decided to continue for at least one more, also signed a new contract while avoiding free agency. However, Schilling will likely be on the shelf for at least the first half of the season as the team and Schilling’s doctor, former team physician Bill Morgan, argue over what the proper course of action will be to treat his ailing shoulder.

Overall, the clubhouse remains intact with relatively few additions and subtractions. While a few high-profile players left via free agency, including pitchers Matt Clement and Eric Gagne and former Rookie of the Year Eric Hinske, these losses have little if any impact on team chemistry. The most significant addition was the signing of veteran first baseman Sean Casey, who comes to Boston via free agency after more than a year in Detroit; although he has enjoyed the position of being a starter for most of his career, he will likely back up current first baseman Kevin Youkilis. Casey should start on days that either Youkilis is given an off-day or when the Gold Glove first baseman is moved to third to give Lowell a rest. Boston also considered an offer from the Minnesota Twins to trade for Cy Young winner Johan Santana, who would have made the Red Sox rotation nearly unmatched in baseball, but the price was considered too steep for their taste or for the Yankees, and Santana instead was shipped to the other New York team, the Mets.

Perhaps the biggest question that will be answered in spring training is whether Coco Crisp or Jacoby Ellsbury will be the Opening Day center fielder. At present, popular opinion is that Ellsbury, who had a strong September and started the last six post-season games for Boston in place of a slumping Crisp, will take that spot; however, Crisp has electrified the center field position defensively in his two seasons with the Red Sox and, barring injury or a poor showing this spring, manager Terry Francona will likely go with the veteran over the rookie flycatcher. Schilling’s injury will also impact the club, but this may also settle the question as to whether Jon Lester or Clay Buchholz will be named the fifth starter. Though Boston would prefer to give Buchholz, who pitched a no-hitter in only his second major league start last September, more time to develop in the minors, those familiar with his stuff feel that he already has the make-up necessary to be an everyday starter. Don’t be surprised, however, if Boston instead looks for a free agent pitcher to fill the void in Schilling’s absence and move forward with starting Buchholz in Pawtucket this spring; there are still several unemployed, free agent pitchers that might consider a chance to pitch in Boston for less money, including the likes of Bartolo Colon, Josh Fogg, and Kyle Loshe, to name a few available starters.

Opening Day is just 42 days away with the Red Sox starting the season against the Oakland Athletics at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, Major League Baseball’s third season-opening series in the Land of the Rising Sun.[1] With 29 other teams looking to knock Boston from its perch at the top of the mountain, 2008 should be an exciting season for Red Sox fans everywhere.

[1] Red Sox, A’s Japan-bound in 2008. MLB.com, 14 November 2007.

His team may not have won the World Series in 1967, but rookie manager Dick Williams did the “Impossible” and quickly turned a Red Sox club that had suffered eight straight losing seasons into pennant winners for the first time in 21 years. Some would argue that it was the spark that turned the franchise around into the success that it is today. Williams’ career would include stops in Boston as well as Oakland, California, Montreal, San Diego, and Seattle, where he combined for two pennants, two World Series titles, and a .520 career winning percentage. For that, the Veterans Committee at the Baseball Hall of Fame on Monday elected Williams to join the likes of former Red Sox player-manager Joe Cronin as well as other famous baseball managers like Sparky Anderson and Connie Mack as part of the Hall of Fame Class of 2008, set to be inducted next July in Cooperstown, NY.

Williams, who had proved himself as manager at Boston Triple-A affiliate Toronto by winning consecutive Governors’ Cups in 1965 and 1966, took over a Boston club that had won just 72 games in 1966, finishing next-to-last ahead of a befallen New York Yankees club, and predicted: “We’ll win more games than we’ll lose.” Stocked with both raw young talent and veteran players, neither with whom he played favorites, the team won 92 games and the 1967 American League Pennant on the last day of the season as left fielder Carl Yastrzemski won the batting Triple Crown and Jim Lonborg posted a career-best 22 wins. Five years later, Williams won the first of two consecutive World Series titles with the Oakland Athletics and tasted success again in 1984 with San Diego winning its first National League pennant.

In 2006, Williams was elected to the Red Sox Hall of Fame and had twice previously been given consideration by the Baseball Hall of Fame’s Veterans Committee for induction, most recently this past February. However, after failing to elect any candidates since 2001, the Hall of Fame Board of Directors voted to restructure the Committee on Baseball Veterans and its procedures for electing long-retired players, managers, umpires, and executives. Candidates are now considered by a 16-member electorate of Hall of Fame members, current and former executives, and veteran media members. Williams was named on 13 of 16 ballots and will be enshrined along with another former manager, Billy Southworth, and former baseball executives Barney Dreyfuss, Bowie Kuhn, and Walter O’Malley.

After overcoming a cancer diagnosis in 2006 to pitch for the Red Sox in 2007, southpaw Jon Lester was honored on Wednesday with the 2007 Tony Conigliaro Award. The honor is given to players who have overcome an obstacle and adversity and is named after the former Boston outfielder who was tragically struck by an errant pitch in 1967 but returned to earn Comeback Player of the Year honors in 1969. He played another full season for Boston before the effects of the pitch on his vision forced him to retire shortly into the 1971 season; however, he then made an abbreviated comeback with the Sox in 1975 and got a hit in his first at-bat on Opening Day at Fenway Park. Sadly, the East Boston native suffered a massive heart attack in early 1982 while interviewing for a broadcast position with the Sox and passed away eight years later at age 45 in 1990.

Lester, who was 4-0 in 12 starts this season and won the decisive Game Four of the World Series for the Sox, started 15 games in 2006 and posted a 7-2 record before doctors discovered a rare form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in late August 2006 during a physical that followed a minor car crash nearly two weeks earlier that month. Following treatment, CT scans a few months later showed that the cancer was in remission, and the young pitcher joined his teammates in Fort Myers the following spring. Lester then started the season for the Greenville Drive, a Red Sox Single-A affiliate, before moving to Triple-A Pawtucket in late April. In mid-June, Boston removed Lester from the disabled list but kept him in Pawtucket to continue his rehabilitation. Nearly a month later, with his parents watching on from the stands at Jacobs Field, he made his first major league start of 2007 on July 23 against the Indians in Cleveland, going six full innings and allowing just two runs on five hits while striking out six and picking up his first win in nearly a year.

In the post-season, Lester made two relief appearances in the American League Championship Series versus Cleveland and pitched a total of 3-2/3 innings, giving up two runs on three hits. Lester was then given the ball to start Game Four of the World Series against Colorado in place of veteran Tim Wakefield, who had been left off the series roster due to back problems. He responded by keeping the Rockies off the board in 5-2/3 innings while yielding just three hits and three walks and striking out three; he eventually earned the series-clinching win for Boston as the team celebrated its second championship in four seasons.

Lester is the second Boston player to be honored; former pitcher Bret Saberhagen, who came back from serious shoulder injuries to win 15 games for the Red Sox in 1998, received the award that same season. The following year, current Boston third baseman and 2007 World Series MVP Mike Lowell was honored after being treated for testicular cancer in spring training and returning to average .258 while collecting 12 home runs and 47 RBI for the Florida Marlins over the final four months of the 1999 season.