pedro martinez
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Pedro Stretched To The Limit — Lifeless Red Sox Hand Mussina P.S.: If The Chronically Over-Matched |
Wednesday, August 28, 2002
New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox
Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts
Pedro’s Line
| ip | h | r | Er | bb | k | bf | pit | ball | stk | GB | FB |
| 6.1 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 30 | 126 | 45 | 81 | 5 | 5 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | r | h | e | ||
| New York | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 7 | 9 | 0 |
| Boston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 3 | 3 |
Red Sox blanked again by Yanks
Ian Browne, mlb.com
Not even Pedro Martinez could lift the Red Sox over the Yankees on Wednesday night. The three-time Cy Young Award winner struggled with his command, and the Boston offense struggled to do anything against Mike Mussina. The result was a 7-0 Yankees victory that put the Red Sox a season-high nine games behind their longtime rivals in the AL East. The Yankees swept this two-game mini-series in decisive fashion, outscoring the Red Sox, 13-0.
Pedro not enough for Red Sox
Ian Browne, mlb.com
… the Yankees wore him down, and knocked him out in that seventh. Martinez finished with a season high of 127 pitches. The Red Sox have closely monitored Martinez’s pitch count all season, never letting him get above 115. But the season is in crunch time now, and the Red Sox — who entered the night trailing 3½ games in the Wild Card hunt — had no choice but to throw some of their caution aside. “I was told I was going to be stretched about a little bit when needed,” Martinez said. “I was ready for that. I felt fine. I just didn’t want to give in on some of those pitches and some of those batters.” … The result was a 7-0 rout for the Yankees that gave them a commanding, nine-game AL East-lead over the 74-57 Red Sox with 31 games left.
Yankees blank Boston — again
Mark Feinsand, mlb.com
The Yankees took advantage of some sloppy fielding by the Red Sox in the first inning to take an early lead against Pedro Martinez. … Mussina was practically untouchable, allowing just a fifth-inning single to Baerga, who was erased on a double play. He retired 13 of the final 14 batters of the contest, tossing his 19th career complete-game shutout, his first of 2002. … Bernie Williams launched his 17th home run of the season … extended Williams’ hitting streak to 19 games, the longest by a Yankee since 1993, when Williams hit safely in 21 straight. … Soriano hit his 47th double of the year in the fifth, tying Bob Meusel (1927) for the Yankees’ record for doubles by a right-handed hitter. Soriano is six two-baggers shy of Don Mattingly for the franchise record, 53, set in 1986.
Mussina magnificent against Sox — Right-hander tosses complete-game shutout
Mark Feinsand, mlb.com
The Yankees came to Fenway Park with a chance to put their stamp on the American League East. Eighteen shutout innings later, New York left Boston with a nine-game lead over the Red Sox.
Labor of glove — Sox miscues open the door for Yankees
Kevin Paul Dupont, Boston Globe
The baseball season that now might not continue – a season hanging in the balance of quid pro quo and headed to who knows where – took a familiar turn toward despair last night for the Red Sox. Shut out by the Yankees for a second straight night, 7-0, the bedraggled Sox fell a season-worst nine games behind the Bronx Bombers in the American League East before a seemingly stunned and subdued sellout crowd of 33,793 at Fenway Park. ”We just absolutely stunk this series,” said Sox center fielder Johnny Damon. … The Yankees … had not pinned back-to-back whitewashings on the Sox here in the Hub of Hardball since September 1943.
Sox out with a whimper: Mussina, Yanks romp in possible 2002 finale
Jeff Horrigan, Boston Herald
This is the way the season ends, not with a bang but a whimper. That thought was introduced by T.S. Eliot nearly 80 years ago (with “world” in place of “season”) for the still-recited poem, “The Hollow Men,” but it very easily could have been penned last night, with the Red Sox’ 7-0 loss to the New York Yankees in mind. With baseball on the verge of its ninth shutdown since 1972, the Sox’ meek performance against their bitter rivals in what may have been their final game of the season left everyone feeling hollow.
Red Sox shoot blanks again against Yanks
Steven Krasner, Providence Journal
Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees games generally are played with an intensity that is felt not only on the field, but in the stands, regardless of the teams’ respective positions in the standings. But not last night’s game. Despite a premier pitching matchup between the Sox’ Pedro Martinez and the Yanks’ Mike Mussina, the unsettled labor situation hovered over Fenway Park like a dense, dark cloud. Early on, the Red Sox seemed especially enshrouded, playing as if they were in a deep fog. They committed three errors in the first two innings, gift-wrapping an unearned first-inning run for the Yankees.
A Fenway Shutdown — Mussina Pitches Three-Hitter
David Heuschkel, Hartford Courant
With a potential strike around the corner, the Red Sox and Yankees played what could be the final game at Fenway Park this season. And just as they did the previous night, the Yankees won Wednesday behind a terrific performance by their starting pitcher. … The three players the Red Sox acquired in midseason trades to help in the division race did not make an impact in this series. Cliff Floyd missed both games with a sore left knee. The Yankees tagged relievers Alan Embree and Bobby Howry to pull away Wednesday.
Against Pedro, Yanks Think Small
Dom Amore, Hartford Courant
The first little opening came right after the national anthem. Alfonso Soriano, the Yankees’ leadoff hitter, reached second on Shea Hillenbrand’s error. “I told [Derek] Jeter to get the runner over,” manager Joe Torre said. “I left it up to him as to how he wanted to do it.” Jeter bunted.
Pathetic loss may be Sox’ 2002 finale
Garry Brown, Springfield Union-News
Is this baseball season over for the Boston Red Sox? The answer might be yes, even if a new collective bargaining — agreement happens to be reached before tomorrow’s strike deadline set by the Major League Players Association. That’s off the field. On the field, the Red Sox season may have ended, basically, when they fell hard to the New York Yankees 7-0 last night before a dumbstruck crowd of 33,793 at Fenway Park. With that, the Red Sox fell nine games behind the Yankees in the American League East race. So, forget about that one. As for the wild card race, the Red Sox continued their backsliding, which now has reached the dangerous stage.
Well armed, he didn’t get hand
Jackie MacMullan, Boston Globe
He dressed quickly, spoke briefly, then darted out of Fenway Park into the night … Pedro Martinez wasn’t in the mood for idle chatter after last night’s 7-0 beating at the hands of the New York Yankees. … Don’t blame Pedro for this one. He made a couple of bad pitches, but the real culprits were the hitters who constitute the meat of the Red Sox’ order, and repeatedly came up empty when their team needed to generate some offense. …
When he was quizzed about the possible work stoppage, Martinez’s mood darkened. … He was told some of his teammates had packed their bags in preparation for a long layoff. A visibly irritated Martinez demanded to know the names of the players. When pitcher John Burkett was singled out, Martinez waved his hand dismissively. ”The other day they took his clothes and threw them in the trash,” Martinez said. ”They put it in a black bag, so it doesn’t matter, you have to be here if we are playing. It doesn’t matter what he sends home. I bet he has a few more pants and jerseys to go on the road.”
Lack of support
Jeff Horrigan, Boston Herald
The Sox have scored only three runs in Pedro Martinez’ four losses. … The Sox were shut out in back-to-back games at Fenway for the first time since April 14-15, 1991, by the Cleveland Indians…. The Yankees’ consecutive shutouts were their first at Fenway since Sept. 11-12, 1943 and their first overall vs. the Sox since an Aug. 27, 1963 doubleheader at Yankee Stadium. …
Ace pushed to limit
Michael Silverman, Boston Herald
Martinez admitted he was miffed at the stalling and stepping-out antics of Williams in the third inning. Between pitches, Martinez said he yelled at the oh-so-deliberate Williams in Spanish, “‘When you are ready, just let me know, because you are not going to get in my head. So why not just get the thing over – get your hit if you’re going to get it or give up the out if you are going to give it up.”’
Bernie’s pause irks Pedro
Garry Brown, Springfield Union-News
Pedro Martinez had a few words with Bernie Williams last night in the fifth inning of the Red Sox-Yankees game at Fenway Park. He struck out Williams to end the inning with two runners aboard. During that at-bat, Martinez said something to Williams as he waited for him to get back into the batter’s box. “I said, ‘When you’re ready, let me know.’ He was fussing, wasting his time, wasting my time. I don’t know why, because he knows he won’t get into my head. He is probably the hottest hitter in the game right now. If I was that hot, I wouldn’t be waiting, I would be swinging at anything that passes the plate.”
Numbers of note
Steven Krasner, Providence Journal
When Pedro Martinez sizzled some high heat past red-hot Bernie Williams in the fifth it represented the 2,200th strikeout of his career. And it was a sweet one for Martinez, who jawed back and forth with Williams in the at-bat as Williams kept getting in and out of the box, forcing Martinez to wait. Williams has done that often to Martinez over the years, greatly irritating Martinez.
Middle ground makes sense
Dan Shaughnessy, Boston Globe
There cannot be a baseball strike. It’s stupid and makes no sense. … The news blackout from New York is a good sign. The players have agreed in principle to the once-unthinkable ideas of revenue sharing and luxury taxes. … But look for it to go down to the wire. … The Sox whimpered to a 7-0 loss, swinging at every first pitch in sight. In the losers’ clubhouse, Manny made it to the parking lot 16 minutes after the final out, Nomar complained about the presence of a photographer, Jason Varitek refused to talk for the first time all year, and bags of bats were packed for Cleveland.
It’s an insult to fans: Game plays customers as suckers
Steve Buckley, Boston Herald
The Red Sox dropped a 7-0 decision to the Yankees last night before a crowd of 33,793 suckers at Fenway Park. No, make that 33,780 suckers. It’s only fair to give a pass to the 13 members of Worcester’s Jesse Burkett Little League All-Stars who were in attendance. At least they got T-shirts, batting gloves and all kinds of other cool stuff out of the deal. But what are we to make of the rest of the folks who packed the lyric little ripoff joint? …
Mussina: Fine Fenway form — There’s no sign of season struggle
Bob Duffy, Boston Globe
Let the record show that Mike Mussina is enjoying a typically successful season in terms of wins (16) and losses (7). Don’t let the record show anything else, because otherwise, this year has been a throwaway for the Yankees’ 33-year-old righthander. … He entered last night’s duel with the Red Sox’ Pedro Martinez with his highest earned run average ever; in fact, it would take a Stanford man like the erudite Mussina to calculate (4.94). In eight of his 26 starts – including three of his last five – he had been bullied for at least five earned runs, and in the other outing during that recent quintet, he had allowed four. … he had posted a zero in one category – complete games. ”I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever go nine again,” he told teammate David Wells …
Like old times for Mussina
Steve Conroy, Boston Herald
Mike Mussina has hardly been himself this year, but all it took to remind him of his All-Star days was a trip to Fenway Park in late summer. Nearly a year to the date that Mussina came within one out of a perfect game against the Red Sox, the Yankees right-hander returned to the scene last night and pitched another gem. His outing was not as dramatic as the Sept. 2, 2001, masterpiece, but it was every bit as important to the hurler’s psyche.
New York Papers
Mussina Too Tough for Pedro, Red Sox
George King, New York Post
R.I.P. Red Sox. Another New England summer is done. And if a players strike can be averted, the Red Sox will do something very familiar when September runs out of days: They will go home. When the baseball obituary writers chronicle this Red Sox season, they will have to point out the Red Sox had the sheet pulled over their heads when they collided with a Moose last night at Fenway Park.
Moose Finds His Stride
Ken Davidoff, Newsday
All the fuzziness drifted away into the cool night, the “sort ofs” and “kind ofs” and “buts” tossed into the Charles River. Mike Mussina delivered the best performance of his troubled season, and he established a high point for his team as baseball’s troubled season faces a potential conclusion tonight.
Taking Care of Business
Joel Sherman, New York Post
Derek Jeter pumped his fist as if it all still mattered. He threw a short right uppercut in celebration as Bernie Williams’ three-run homer cleared the Green Monster in the seventh inning. … They vowed to come to Fenway Park and, in the words of third-base coach Willie Randolph – a true veteran of this rivalry – ignore the labor negotiations and “take care of business.” … the Yankees could not have been more professional over these 18 innings in New England. They came, they saw, they conquered.
Mussina’s gem Sox it to Pedro
Anthony McCarron, New York Daily News
It was difficult to tell if Mike Mussina said it deadpan or if he was serious. A small smile creased his face at the questions: Was it a relief? Did Mussina ever really believe that his wonderful skills had evaporated? … If the Red Sox held any fantasies of competing in the division – assuming a strike is averted – they are probably dashed now that the Yankees are ahead by nine games. The Red Sox’s wild-card hopes won’t hold up either if Boston continue to play as poorly as they did last night. The Red Sox did not score against the Yankees in the series. The last time the Yankees had back-to-back shutouts at Fenway was Sept. 11-12, 1943, when Spud Chandler and Ernie Bonham did it.
Their differences are striking
John Harper, New York Daily News
Right to the end, if the end is near, the Yankees just seem to be above it all. Strike? What strike? With the deadline looming, all the Yankees did was come in here to face a desperate Red Sox team coming off its most uplifting victory of the season, and they humbled Boston with back-to-back shutouts. Against Pedro, no less.
Nothing goes right for Pedro
Andrew R. Tripaldi, New York Daily News
Pedro Martinez was hardly dominant last night, but still managed to hold the Yankees to just one run over the first six innings. “Pedro pitched his heart out there,” Red Sox manager Grady Little said. “The Yankees had a plan and they still didn’t get much off him. He pitched a heck of a game.” … But can the Red Sox (74-57 and nine games behind) threaten the Bombers again this season? “We have plenty of time,” Martinez said. “And plenty of games.”
Masterpiece by Mussina Comes Amid Uncertainty
Jack Curry, New York Times
Pedro Martinez used choppy steps to journey from the mound to the dugout in the seventh inning tonight, peering back once, then training his eyes on the grass for the rest of the disappointing walk. Mariínez was a fatigued pitcher, the Yankees were throttling the Red Sox again and the labor uncertainty left fans at Fenway Park wondering when they would see their beloved team play another game.
Mussina handles reeling Red Sox
Howard Bryant, Bergen Record
A long time ago, May 23 to be exact, the Boston Red Sox dumped the Yankees at Fenway Park. Pedro Martinez had beaten Ted Lilly by striking out 10 in seven innings and the Yankees were looking up at the first-place Red Sox. A Yankees player, salty not only at losing, but to the rival Red Sox, sneezed dismissively at the event, whispering with venom. “This doesn’t matter, none of it. Because whenever we’ve needed to beat them, late in the season when it counts, we will. This year won’t be any different.”
Mussina’s 3-hitter sounds taps for Red Sox
Dan Graziano, Newark Star-Ledger
In what has become an annual ritual, the Yankees came to Fenway Park for a late-season series and walked out with a nine-game lead in the division. This time, the Red Sox didn’t even put up a fight. They failed to score a single run in the two-game series that all but ensured their eventual elimination from division contention, and the Yankees left town feeling even better about their chances in their inevitable postseason.
Pre-Game
Wells, Yankees cruise
Garry Brown, Springfield Union-News
In tonight’s finale of this short series, Pedro Martinez (17-3) goes for the Red Sox against Mike Mussina (15-7). It will mark the 15th start for Pedro after a Red Sox loss.
Pedro to the rescue tonight … again
Joe Murphy, Eagle-Tribune
In those old Greek and Roman plays there was what was known as Deus Ex Machina — the machine of the Gods. … Fast forward to 2002. The villains are the New York Yankees, the good guys are the Red Sox and the Deus Ex Machina is, who else but, Pedro Martinez. … No Red Sox pitcher in modern times has been as dominant as Pedro Martinez. And don’t give me that Roger Clemens stuff! For all his flashy stats, Clemens isn’t even close.
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