Archive - Aug 2012 - Sports Article
August 19th
PAWTUCKET â Daniel Bard admits thereâs somewhat of a weight of his shoulders, knowing that regardless of how heâs fared with the Pawtucket Red Sox â 7.45 ERA in 28 appearances â he remains very much on Bostonâs radar.
Asked to respond to an item in Sundayâs Boston Herald in which an anonymous Red Sox source clarified that he will pitch again for the big-league team in 2012, Bard took the occasion to explain how he can use the remaining few weeks in Pawtucketâs season to his advantage.
August 17th
PAWTUCKET â Who better to clarify any myths regarding the perceived toxic environment that is the Red Sox clubhouse than a player who spent a hearty amount of time inside the ropes?
Ladies and gentlemen, we give you Darnell McDonald, the former part-time Boston outfielder whose access to the team was short-circuited upon getting designated for assignment in late June. Fortunately for this particular exercise, McDonald is seen as the perfect go-to guy to set the record straight in a Red Sox season that has taken on the tenor of a soap opera in terms of firestorms and drama.
August 16th
PAWTUCKET â At this point, you have to feel for Daniel Bard.
The Red Sox can point to the fact that Bard was not touched for an earned run in his inning of work Thursday night, but make no mistake: it was another tough night at the office for the struggling reliever. In case youâre just joining us, Bardâs latest attempt to get back on track provided a nice, tucked-in capsule of what has plagued the reliever during his two-plus month stint with the Pawtucket Red Sox.
PAWTUCKET â If Daisuke Matsuzaka made what he dubbed a âsmall mechanical adjustmentâ prior to taking the mound for the fifth inning Wednesday night, itâs news to both PawSox pitching coach Rich Sauveur and catcher Dan Butler.
âWhatever tweak he made, he made on his own,â stated Sauveur on Thursday, one day after Matsuzaka delivered what could be coined a mixed bag of an outing.
There was good Matsuzaka â four scoreless innings in which he retired 12 of 13 Scranton batters â following by bad Matsuzaka, the damage pertaining to the five runs (four earned) he yielded in the fifth.
WOONSOCKET â Barbara Dixon will never forget the first-ever Blackstone River Valley Greenway Challenge, held in late September of 2001.
In fact, she and other organizers questioned whether they'd be able to take care of the logistics in time.
âThis is how bizarre it was that first year,â noted Dixon, who works closely with the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor Commission, located at the old train station near Main Street.
August 15th
PAWTUCKET â The Elizabeth Beisel Welcome Home Tour made a stop at McCoy Stadium Wednesday evening, as the North Kingstown native and Olympic medalist threw out the first pitch and signed autographs at the ballparkâs Cox Fan Center.
Standing on the field in her Team USA jacket and a PawSox cap, Beisel was presented a Pawtucket team jacket by General Manager Lou Schweichheimer and infielder Tony Thomas, who took the occasion to tweet the following after catching the ceremonial toss: âNot a bad arm for a swimmer; thanks for keeping it close so I could catch it!â
PAWTUCKET â Stop if youâve heard this before, but PawSox pitching coach Rich Sauveur feels that embattled reliever Daniel Bard is closer than the numbers suggest.
Sauveur provided words of reassurance on Wednesday afternoon, one day after Bard had a devil of a time locating the strike zone. You probably know the grizzly numbers by now, but here they are again: On his way to recording one out Tuesday night against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Bard walked four and allowed two runs. Just 10 of the 27 pitches he recorded were strikes.
August 14th
PAWTUCKET â Pawtucket Red Sox Team President Mike Tamburro will never forget the phone call he received from then-Red Sox General Manager Lou Gorman in June 1990.
âHow would you like Johnny Pesky to be your new manager?â was the message Gorman relayed to Tamburro. âI said, âWe would love to have Johnny (pilot the PawSox).ââ
August 12th
Donât tell area high school football coaches that these truly are the dog days of summer. They donât want to hear about such talk.
Monday marks the commencement of preseason training camps across the state and to suggest that teams are seeking to hit the ground running would be a gross understatement. The importance of the coming week cannot be underscored â albeit for a myriad of reasons.
August 11th
OLD ORCHARD BEACH, Me. â By no means should Navigant Credit Union Post 85 feel blue after the local ball club saw its season come to an end Saturday in the Northeast Regional American Legion Baseball Tournament.
Sure, no one wants to lose, but even after a 4-2 setback to Barnstable, Mass., Navigant has much to celebrate. For a team that a week ago came out of nowhere to capture the R.I. Senior Division championship, the local lads enjoyed a storybook ride that saw them put forth quite the fight right up to the bitter end.
