5/17 vs. Milwaukee Brewers - Game 1

[Jayhawk Bill]

Interleague play begins. The Red Sox return home. Daisuke Matsuzaka is on the mound. The bullpen is rested. Red Sox Nation's fury reaches a crescendo, and the hapless Milwaukee Brewers are the target.

***

Vengeance time 7:05 EDT.

[Coco's Disciples]

Heeere we go baby.

[Jayhawk Bill]

Tonight's pitchers:

Boston:

Daisuke Matsuzaka
RHP
(6-0) 2.45 ERA

Milwaukee:

Jeff Suppan
RHP
(2-2) 4.63 ERA

Jeff Suppan's 2008 ERA is only 0.01 runs different from his 2007 ERA. More to the point his xFIP has varied only from 4.55 to 4.86 from 2004-2008. What we're seeing is his true level of performance.

As an NL starting pitcher.

Suppan has a 6.10 ERA over his career in Fenway. The AL has better talent than the NL; Fenway is a hitter's park. Suppan had a 10.12 ERA in Interleague games last year: he struggles against the AL.

Boston with Matsuzaka pitching has a better chance to win this game than Milwaukee with Suppan pitching. Keys to the Game:

1) No rainout; no long rain delay.
2) Boston scores early and continues to score late rather than scoring three times and trying to defend that lead.
3) Matsuzaka avoids the long ball and walks less than half as many batters as he strikes out.
4) Fair and accurate game-calling by the new umpire team.

[The Dustball]

According to the weather.com forecast for fenway park tonight there is a 100% chance of rain. There will be periods of rain accumulating about half and inch.

I hope they get this game in tonight. Suppan is just the kind of pitcher we need to break out of our slump. I would really like to see Dice work efficiently tonight and avoid walks that cause his pitch count to rise quickly.

[TheKilo]

Wow. Starting Game Threads on TalkSox is easier than I'd thought.

[Jayhawk Bill]

Originally Posted by TheKilo

Wow. Starting Game Threads on TalkSox is easier than I'd thought.

Thanks, sensei.

[redsoxrules]

game delayed

[The Dustball]

Originally Posted by redsoxrules

game delayed

How long does it look like its going to be delayed?

[redsoxrules]

Originally Posted by The Dustball

How long does it look like its going to be delayed?

15-20 min

[redsoxrules]

lineup

1. J Ellsbury, CF
2. D Pedroia, 2B
3. D Ortiz, DH
4. M Ramirez, LF
5. M Lowell, 3B
6. K Youkilis, 1B
7. J Drew, RF
8. J Varitek, C
9. J Lugo, SS

[The Dustball]

Originally Posted by redsoxrules

15-20 min

Oh sweet! Thanks for the info, although i'm a little worried about bringing Dice-K out there for a couple of innings only to have another rain delay and lose him for the entire night.

[das11209]

We are past that 15-20 minutes - any update?

[redsoxrules]

Originally Posted by das11209

We are past that 15-20 minutes - any update?

just looked on boston globe , says the rain might be moving out around 7 p.m, Its pouring pretty hard

[BoSox21]

always take whatever weather info that comes out of the club with a grain of salt. they just wanna keep fans at Fenway as long as possible

[redsoxrules]

The rain isn’t letting up here at Fenway Park and a very real possibility exists that tonight’s game could be rained out if it is determined that a two-hour window (which would allow for five innings or so) isn’t going to be available. The problem is, however, that it appears unlikely that a doubleheader could be played this weekend due to the exclusivity rights of FOX, TBS and ESPN.
Tomorrow’s game is on FOX-25 and is scheduled to start at 3:55. That would make it extremely difficult to have a night game tomorrow. The Sox are going to want separate admissions and it’s going to take too long to clear the park, clean it and open the gates again. Realistically, it probably couldn’t start before 9 p.m., which makes it unworkable. No game can start before the nationally-televised games due to FOX’s exclusivity rights, which eliminates a noon (or earlier) start.
As for Sunday, TBS has that one at 1:35 p.m., while ESPN has exclusivity rights for any night game on Sunday, meaning the Sox and Brewers wouldn’t be able to televise a night game.
It’s not an easy one to figure out.
The Brewers may have to come back here on a mutual off day. Both teams are off on June 9 but the Brewers are in the middle of a road trip to Colorado and Houston. The next mutual off day is June 26. The Brewers play a day game in Atlanta the previous day and could potentially fly into Boston that night, play a day game on June 26 and head back out that night to resume their road trip in Minnesota the following night. The Sox are scheduled to play in Houston on June 27 and could fly out after a day game on the 26th. Of course, that’s all conjecture, folks