Batters:

Ellsbury – “Let It Rock”, Kevin Rudolf (f. Lil’ Wayne)

Pedroia – “Dre Day”, Dr. Dre

Ortiz – “Somos De Calle”, Daddy Yankee; “My Destiny” by Yomo

Youkilis – “Crank That (Soulja Boy)”, Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em

Drew – (no music by choice)

Bay – “Alive”, Pearl Jam

Lowell – “Bombtrack”, Rage Against The Machine

Varitek – “Kryptonite”, 3 Doors Down

Green – “Bet That”, Trick Daddy; “I Run”, Slim Thug

Lugo – “Como Yo”, Juan Luis Guerra

Kottaras – “Sad But True”, Metallica

Baldelli – “All Along The Watchtower”, Jimi Hendrix; “Strange Times”, Black Keys

Bailey – “Moby Dick”, Led Zeppelin

Lowrie – “The Kids Aren’t Alright”, The Offspring

Carter – “Stronger”, Kanye West

Kotsay – “Low”, Flo Rida

 

Pitchers:

Beckett – “Living Hard”, Gary Allan

Lester – “I Use What I Got”, Jason Aldean

Matsuzaka – “The Next Door”, Exile (theme to Street Fighter IV!)

Wakefield – “How Bad Do You Want It”, Tim McGraw

Penny – “Red Rider”, Lunatic Fringe

Delcarmen – “I’m From Boston”, MAV Entertainment

Jones – “My Wave”, Soundgarden

Ramirez – “Lucha”, Nancy Amancio

Masterson “Rebirthing”, Skillet

Saito, “Zenryaku Michino Ue Yori”, Issei Fubi

Okajima – “The Oki-Doki”, Tatami

Papelbon – “I’m Shipping Up To Boston”, Dropkick Murphys

 

For Immediate Release

May 10, 2009

 

RED SOX SELECT RIGHT-HANDED PITCHER DANIEL BARD TO ACTIVE ROSTER;

DESIGNATE LEFT-HANDED PITCHER JAVIER LOPEZ FOR ASSIGNMENT

 

BOSTON, MA—The Boston Red Sox today selected right-handed pitcher Daniel Bard to the active roster from Triple-A Pawtucket.  To make room on the 40-man roster, left-handed pitcher Javier Lopez has been designated for assignment.  Bard, who will wear number 60, will be active for tonight’s game against Tampa Bay.

 

The announcement was made by Executive Vice President/General Manager Theo Epstein.

 

For Bard, 23, it is his first stint at the Major League level.  The reliever has gone 1-0 with a 1.13 ERA (2 ER/16.0 IP) in 11 appearances for the PawSox and is tied for the International League lead with six saves.  The right-hander leads Pawtucket with 29 strikeouts compared to five walks and his ratio of 16.3 strikeouts per nine innings ranks second among all minor league relievers.  Bard has held opponents to a .115 batting average (6-for-52) this season.

 

Selected by Boston in the first round (club’s second pick) of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, Bard was named last season’s Red Sox Minor League Pitcher of the Year after combining for a 5-1 record with seven saves, a 1.51 ERA (13 ER/77.2 IP) and 107 strikeouts between Single-A Greenville and Double-A Portland.  In nine relief appearances as a non-roster invitee this spring, Bard went 1-0 with one save, striking out 14 batters in 10.1 scoreless innings.

 

Lopez, 31, was 0-2 with a 9.26 ERA (12 ER/11.2 IP) in 14 relief appearances for Boston this season.  Acquired by the Red Sox in a June 2006 trade from the Chicago White Sox, Lopez is 5-3 with one save and a 3.30 ERA (47 ER/128.1 IP) in 172 career games for Boston.  He is 11-7 with four saves and a 4.62 ERA (125 ER/243.2 IP) in 343 career Major League appearances for Colorado (2003-05), Arizona (2005) and Boston (2006-09).

 

— RED SOX —

For Immediate Release

May 7, 2009

 

RED SOX ACTIVATE OUTFIELDER ROCCO BALDELLI FROM 15-DAY DISABLED LIST;

OPTION OUTFIELDER JONATHAN VAN EVERY TO TRIPLE-A PAWTUCKET

 

BOSTON, MA–The Boston Red Sox today activated outfielder Rocco Baldelli from the 15-day disabled list and optioned outfielder Jonathan Van Every to Triple-A Pawtucket.

 

The announcement was made by Executive Vice President/General Manager Theo Epstein.

 

Baldelli, 27, has been on the disabled list since April 21 with a left hamstring strain.  He made two rehabilitation appearances with Pawtucket and went 0-for-7 with an RBI and run scored as the designated hitter.  In five games with Boston this season, Baldelli has hit .231 (3-for-13) with an RBI, two runs scored and a walk.  He has made four starts in the outfield, including three in right and one in center.

 

Signed by the Red Sox as a free agent on January 8, 2009, Baldelli has a career .281 average (491-for-1,749) with 94 doubles, 17 triples, 52 home runs, 235 RBI, 257 runs scored, 91 walks and 58 stolen bases in 452 career games with Tampa Bay and Boston.

 

Van Every, 29, has hit .364 (4-for-11) with a home run and three RBI in seven games with the Red Sox in 2009.  He began the season on the disabled list with a right ankle sprain and was activated on April 24.  Signed by Boston as a free agent on December 1, 2007, Van Every made his Major League debut with the Red Sox last season and has hit .286 (8-for-28) with a triple, home run, eight RBI, one run scored and three walks in 18 career Big League games.

 

— RED SOX —

As I mentioned in our weekly Insider e-newsletter, I’m including my notes below from our Red Sox Nation Governor’s Conference Calls.  If you have any questions or thoughts, please let me know by putting your response below or by emailing me: insider@redsox.com 

 

RSN West Governors Call – 4/29/09

Brian O’Halloran – Red Sox Director of Baseball Operations (started in 2002) one of Theo’s right-hand men gave the Western states’ Governors a good summary of our organization as it stood as of last week.  Below are some notes I took from this call – while not exact quotes, it’s as good as I could get – I’m not the fastest scribe…

 

BOH

We feel really good about where we are – a game out of first place.  On pace to win 105 games

5^th in ERA

3^rd in Runs Scored

Could play better defense – not as well as we hoped

We’ve been a deep, well-rounded team, capable of weathering a storm of injuries.  Farm system is a strength due to the great work of our scouting and player development departments.

Van Every, Bailey, Hunter Jones, and Bowden have all stepped in, with Masterson moving to starting role due to injury.  We still have more depth in the minors

Nick Green has done a very nice job for us

Injury update

Smoltz – he’ll be able to help out a lot (HOF caliber guy) – better than a mid-season trade.  He’s on track for a return in June.  It’ll be exciting to see how he might be able to help us.

Kotsay – think is going to be a key for us (versatility).  Had a setback, but expect a rehab assignment soon

Lowrie – around the allstar break

Rocco – just started running – shouldn’t be too long

Dice-K – bullpen today, some rehab starts

Farm System – Feel well-positioned to have a few of the guys step in.  Tazawa, Buchholz both pitching well.  We hope we won’t have to have Lars Anderson in the bigs this year, but feel if a need arrises he’ll be ready

Daniel Bard is very exciting

PLEASED ABOUT – Lowell (coming off an injury); middle of our order has been very good; bullpen is a strength – Delcarmen and Ramirez in particular; Wakefield with the key win to start the streak, complete game(s)

TO IMPROVE – Defense, we expect to improve, expect it to be a strength over the course of the season; more consistent performances from some of the starting pitchers; Road Performance- look to improve

Tampa‘s off to a slow start – we expect they’ll be right there; Toronto is a good team; Yankees will be there; we’re in the toughest division in baseball.

 

We’ll look over the next couple of weeks and months to see where we might be able to improve, headed towards the trade deadline.  Hopefully we won’t need much, but it rarely ends up that way.

 

 

RSN Midwest Governor’s Call

 

Special Guest – Mike Hazen Director of Player Development (who is in Salem right now looking at our newest minor league affiliate; oversees all of our farm teams and affiliates) – his work has produced a lot of the talent we’ve recently seen and grown to love.

 

Impact of the younger player at the minor league level has been pretty significant.  We can’t have any success without our scouting staff.  Player Development is a way to feed our Major League club as well as to offer trade chips for Theo – serves as a dual product.  We’ve been pretty aggressive about pushing our players at a younger age to move on up through the system.  Younger players have more value.  For any of our affiliates, you’ll notice the players who perform well at a younger age have more value.  The development of our players comes before winning at the minor league level.

 

Players to watch this year  – Major League level you’ve seen some of the players (Masterson, Jones, Bowden) a year prior, they were all in Double A.  There are a couple of guys getting ready to make that next step now.

AAA – Bowden, Buchholz (hopefully will make an impact in 09)

AA – Lars Anderson (off to a very good start); Josh Reddick (OF with very high ceiling of talent)

Casey Kelly 19 years old, Stolmy Pimentel pitcher from the Dominican – (we could certainly see them in Boston over the next few years)

 

That’s all I have for now…hope my notes at least made a little sense – I was trying to type as fast as I could!

All the best from the Front Office!

“The Voice of the Nation”

For Immediate Release

May 5, 2009

 

RED SOX EXTEND FENWAY FAMILY HOUR IN MAY

Mother’s Day Walk in The Park to Take Place on Sunday; Other Family-Friendly Initiatives continue at the ballpark during 2009 season

 

BOSTON, MA – The Boston Red Sox announced today that the Fenway Family Hour program, which features concession price reductions and other select discounts the first hour after gates open, has been extended to the month of May.  The announcement comes as part of ownership’s continuing desire to make Fenway Park more family-friendly by introducing programs and initiatives that provide fans with more value at the ballpark.

 

The Red Sox also announced the annual Mother’s Day Walk in the Park presented by Red Sox Banking only at Bank of America, which will take place on Sunday, May 10, 2009 from 9:30 – 11:30 a.m.  This free-of-cost event gives fans an opportunity to bring their mothers to the ballpark and take a leisurely stroll on the warning track at America’s Most Beloved Ballpark.  Fans can have their photos taken with the 2004 and 2007 World Series Trophies and Wally the Green Monster.  Other entertainment options are also being planned for the Walk in the Park. 

 

Fenway Family Hour, a joint effort between the Red Sox and ARAMARK, was launched in April.  During the month of May, nine popular food items will again be available at up to 50% off in price, including: Fenway Franks, pizza slices, pretzels, popcorn, cotton candy, fruit cups, veggie cups, slider boat (two sliders & fries), and Hoodsie ice cream cups.  The discount is available at all locations throughout the ballpark and there is no limit on the number of items purchased.  The Red Sox Team Store on Yawkey Way will continue offering a $5 discount on all Red Sox hats and apparel during the family hour period. 

 

Other fan-favorite activities will continue throughout the ballpark this season, including special sessions once a homestand where fans attending games can meet and take a photo with a player or coach.  The first session, which featured Manny Delcarmen, took place on Sunday, April 26, and the next session is scheduled for Thursday, May 7, 2009 (subject to change).  The photo session is located in the Gate A concourse next to the Boston Public Library display, and will take place for 30 minutes after the end of Red Sox Batting Practice.  The Red Sox and FanFoto will have a photographer present and will provide each fan with a complimentary coupon good for one photograph that can be downloaded from the FanFoto website.

 

As always, fans also are invited to watch batting practice as soon as the gates open two hours before game-time; enjoy live entertainment, face painting and balloon artists in the Big Concourse; and take in the festive Yawkey Way atmosphere featuring a stilt walker, musical entertainment, and the NESNHD Yawkey Way stage.  The Best Buy Players Club has also been fitted with flat-screen televisions, video game consoles and other amenities to provide fans with a comfortable place to relax and seek shelter from the weather.  Located in the Big Concourse behind the Bleachers, the Club is available to all ticketholders once the game commences.

 

Two special baseball events held at Fenway Park this summer will also provide fans with family-friendly options.  Futures at Fenway, a minor league doubleheader, is scheduled on Saturday, August 8, and will showcase the Red Sox stars of tomorrow from the Pawtucket Red Sox and the Portland Sea Dogs.  The first game is scheduled to start at 12:05 pm, and both teams will face Orioles minor league franchise squads.  Futures tickets range from $5 (for Upper Bleachers) to $30 (for Green Monster Seats, Dugout Seats, the EMC Club and the State Street Pavilion Club), and discounted concession items will be available.  On Thursday, July 23, Fenway Park will host The Under Armour Cape League All-Star Game, scheduled to start at 7:05 p.m.  All seats are general admission, tickets are priced at $10.00, and discounted concession items will be available.  The day will also feature an autograph session with the all-stars and family entertainment in the Fenway Park concourses.  Tickets for both events can be purchased via the internet at www.redsox.com or by touch-tone telephone at 1-877-REDSOX-9.  Fans with disabilities may also call (877) REDSOX-9 to purchase accessible seating (while supplies last). The Red Sox’ TTY number for hearing-impaired fans is (617) 226-6644. 

 

–RED SOX–

The Big I got to take a Big Trip to the Big City this week…so without further ado…below are his Best of the Rest Photos! 

Michael Ivins/Boston Red Sox

Michael Ivins/Boston Red Sox

Michael Ivins/Boston Red Sox

 

 

 

Back with some more great shots from this past week…including Captain Phillips’ emotional Ceremonial First Pitch!  Phillips, who actually met his wife at Fenway Park was invited to throw out the pitch by Red Sox Chairman Tom Werner.

 

Cindy Loo/Boston Red Sox

 

Michael Ivins/Boston Red Sox

 

Michael Ivins/Boston Red Sox

 

Michael Ivins/Boston Red Sox

 

Michael Ivins/Boston Red Sox

Michael Ivins/Boston Red Sox

 

After a great outing last night, Michael Bowden has been sent back down to get some more work in and make room for Julio Lugo’s return.  I’m sure most of you know that this is a necessity as we badly needed another infielder (or risk Youk playing shortstop).  So hopefully Lugo’s back to full health and is ready to continue the hitting stroke that made him one of the hottest hitters in Spring Training!

 

For Immediate Release

April 27, 2009

 

RED SOX ACTIVATE SHORTSTOP JULIO LUGO FROM 15-DAY DISABLED LIST;

OPTION RHP MICHAEL BOWDEN TO PAWTUCKET

 

BOSTON, MA–The Boston Red Sox today activated shortstop Julio Lugo from the 15-day disabled list. Following last night’s game, right-handed pitcher Michael Bowden was optioned to Triple-A Pawtucket.

 

The announcement was made by Executive Vice President/General Manager Theo Epstein.

 

Lugo, 33, was placed on the disabled list April 4, retroactive to March 27, after undergoing arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.  The shortstop suffered the injury in the first inning of a spring training contest against the New York Yankees on March 13.  Following a four-game stint in extended spring training, Lugo went 4-for-17 with one double, two walks, one run scored and five strikeouts over four rehab starts with Triple-A Pawtucket beginning April 22. He will be active for tonight’s game in Cleveland.

 

The right-handed hitter batted .268 with one home run and 22 RBI over 82 games, 79 at shortstop, for Boston in 2008 before being sidelined for the remainder of the season with a strained left quad.

 

Bowden, 22, was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket prior to yesterday’s game against the New York Yankees.  The right-hander threw two perfect innings of relief, fanning two batters, to help Boston to a 4-1 win at Fenway Park.

 

—RED SOX—

 

For Immediate Release

April 26, 2009

 

RED SOX RECALL RIGHT-HANDED PITCHER MICHAEL BOWDEN FROM TRIPLE- A PAWTUCKET;

OPTION INFIELDER GIL VELAZQUEZ TO PAWTUCKET

 

BOSTON, MA–The Boston Red Sox today recalled right-handed pitcher Michael Bowden from Triple-A Pawtucket of the International League.  Following last night’s game, the club optioned infielder Gil Velazquez to Pawtucket.

 

Bowden will wear #64 and be in the bullpen for tonight’s 8:05 p.m. contest vs. the New York Yankees at Fenway Park.

 

The announcements were made by Executive Vice President/General Manager Theo Epstein.

 

Bowden, 22, is 1-0 with a 0.64 ERA (1 ER/14.0 IP) in three starts for the PawSox this season.  He has recorded 15 strikeouts compared to five walks while holding opponents to a .189 mark (10-for-53).

 

Selected by Boston in the supplemental round (club’s fifth pick) of the 2005 First-Year Player Draft, Bowden made his Major League debut with the Red Sox in a start on August 30, 2008.  The right-hander earned the win in his only Big League outing, yielding two runs on seven hits and a walk with three strikeouts over 5.0 innings (3.60 ERA) vs. the Chicago White Sox.  In 2008, Bowden also combined to go 9-7 with a 2.62 ERA (42 ER/144.1 IP) in 26 appearances (25 starts) between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Pawtucket.

 

In 85 career minor league games (82 starts) over parts of five seasons in the Boston organization, Bowden is 30-19 with a 3.07 ERA (143 ER/419.2 IP), 404 strikeouts and 111 walks.

 

Velazquez, 29, was selected to Boston’s Major League roster from Pawtucket on April 13 and has played in five games with the Red Sox, making three appearances at shortstop and two at third base while going 0-for-2 at the plate.  In his four games with Pawtucket this season, he went 4-for-18 (.222).

 

— RED SOX —

Enjoy this beautious shot from the Big I!  Here’s hoping for a repeat performance tonight!!!