Posted: Sunday, March 29, 2009, 11:09 AM | 7 comments |
 

Sunday's lineup
options
 

The tarp is on the field at Bright House, but the rain seems to be clearing.  Here's the lineup for the 1:05 game against the Bloody Sox.

Rollins SS

Victorino CF

Utley 2B

Howard 1B

Werth RF

Ibanez LF

Feliz 3B

Mayberry DH

Coste C

Pitching: Blanton, Eyre, Durbin, Madson

Cole Hamels was scheduled to pitch in this game, but has been moved to a minor league game, which I'll wander over to watch.  Also related to Hamels, it seems like Madonna has flown to Malawi for an adoption, the African country where Hamels and his wife are focusing their charitable foundation. The AP has an analysis of the complexities of international adoption, in which the Hamels have expressed interest.

UPDATE: Because of the weather (they'll get the main game in, but cancelled those on the minor league fields) Hamels will not pitch in the minor league game today, said Rich Dubee.  Your favorite lefty will appear in either a major or minor league game tomorrow.

FURTHER UPDATE:  In what seemed designed as a public reassurance, Hamels just long-tossed with Joe Blanton in the outfield before the game.
Posted by Andy Martino @ 11:09 AM  Permalink | 7 comments
7
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:48 AM, 03/29/2009
    Any idea why the switch of Hamels from Grapefruit to minor league for today?
    — gbrettfan
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:26 PM, 03/29/2009
    A little bit less stress on the arm than in the big league game. They're being careful with him, but I don't think that's a cause for concern.
    — Andy Martino
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:13 PM, 03/29/2009
    Thanks for the update on Cole. I plan to draft him as my #1 pitcher in our Fantasy Draft this week.
    — CenterCityPhan
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:48 PM, 03/29/2009
    Watched the game today. Even though it was a 3-1 loss, I was encouraged by a few things. Boston scored on two solo home runs and a sacrifice fly (where the runner on 3rd got there on a misplay of a popup by Utley and/or Werth), so it wasn't like our pitchers got knocked around. Blanton looked good. Although I was disappointed that our offense couldn't push a few more runs across, I'll stay optimistic. Lester was sharp over the first couple innings. After that, we had him in trouble and made him throw a lot of pitches. We had the bases loaded a couple times, only to score on a walk by Howard. Still, there were some good things to take away. Ibanez got 2 hits off Lester. Utley and Howard were able to lay off Lester's curveball and get back to back walks. Howard made nice defensive plays on the first two plays of the game (I'll pass over his error for the sake of remaining positive). A few misplays were costly. Hopefully we will sharpen our focus this week so that things like that rarely occur. Overall it was good to see most of our starters go up against most of their starters and to face quality pitching like Lester and Papelbon. One thing I really liked was how quickly the game progressed. I wish we had more crisp-paced 2hr30min games during the season.
    — bski
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:45 PM, 03/29/2009
    I understand they're being careful with him, but why the sudden switch? Why not schedule him for a minor league start from the beginning, and not switch at the last minute?
    — unclecharlie
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:46 PM, 03/29/2009
    Good take bski. I'm not worried about scores at this point. We're in good shape for the season. Everyone should be ready, including Cole to start the fourth game.
    — spinmeister
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:11 PM, 03/29/2009
    Cole probably demoted himself to the minor league game, if I had to guess. He's shown himself to be more cautious than any coach, and that would explain the last minute change.
    — Gmanonskis


7 comments
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