Yaz undergoes triple bypass surgery
BALTIMORE -- Red Sox legend Carl Yastrzemski underwent triple bypass surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital, and was said to be doing well when the procedure was finished at roughly 8 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
Yastrzemski's family released the following statement: "Carl Yastrzemski arrived at Massachusetts General Hospital on Monday after experiencing chest discomfort. After numerous tests and evaluations, it was determined that he needed triple bypass surgery, which was performed this afternoon. The surgery was a complete success and he is resting comfortably. We are most grateful for all of the prayers and support we have received."
Yastrzemski, who is Major League Baseball's last Triple Crown winner, will turn 69 on Friday. He won his Triple Crown in 1967, Boston's "Impossible Dream" season.
There had been no recent reports of any health problems for Yastrzemski.
"I haven't seen him in so long," said Jerry Remy, the NESN analyst who was a teammate of Yaz's from 1978-83. "I see him maybe twice a year at the ballpark. I know he had been walking, and he plays golf."
Yastrzemski, a first-ballot Hall of Famer who played his entire career with the Red Sox, is the club's all-time leader in several offensive categories.
"As a kid, the '67 team was the team I watched," said Remy, a Massachusetts native. "He was the Triple Crown winner. Then having a chance to play with him, it was at the tail end of his career. Personally, I got along very well with him. He was pretty much to himself. One thing, until the day he retired, he refused to miss a fastball. He would not miss a fastball."
An 18-time All-Star, Yastrzemski began his career by replacing the retiring Ted Williams in left field. After struggling out of the gate amid that enormous pressure, Yaz eventually created a legacy of his own.
Fellow Hall of Famer Jim Palmer -- the former Orioles great -- remembers the challenge that came with facing Yastrzemski.
"It wasn't pleasant," Palmer said. "He was a high-ball hitter. Most left-handed hitters like the ball down. He could run the bases, he could hit home runs, he could hit for average, he could hit your best pitch, he could hit your worst pitch. Until late in his career, I don't think we ever got him to take a bad swing at any pitch we ever threw. Obviously, he was a very tough out."
Ever since his retirement, Yastrzemski has kept a low profile. He always comes to Red Sox Spring Training as a special instructor, but prefers to work in anonymity with young prospects rather than be a presence at Major League camp.
"He came to camp a couple of years ago," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "I guess he was never real big on that. He always wanted to stay on the Minor League side. But he came over for a couple of weeks a couple of years ago. I can't say I knew him real well. I was glad he did it. I thought it was kind of an honor for us. I know the guys enjoyed it. He'd go hang out in the cage. But every time I've seen him, he's been very, very nice."
Yastrzemski won three batting titles in his illustrious career, clubbing 452 home runs and producing 1,844 RBIs. He had 3,419 hits while batting .285. On defense, Yaz was a maestro in left field, playing the caroms of the Green Monster to near perfection at a time the wall was covered by tin instead of the padding it currently has.
Yaz's No. 8 is on the right-field facade at Fenway Park, along with the numbers of Williams, Carlton Fisk, Bobby Doerr and Joe Cronin.
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Youk's blast saves Sox from shame
BOSTON -- Remember that roller-coaster ride during your youth that seemed liked it twisted and turned so much you thought it would never end? Turns out the Red Sox decided to construct one of their own on Tuesday.
This "Fenway Park Fiesta" had about everything. A 10-run outburst in the bottom of the first inning from a team that was unable to stroke a base hit until the seventh the night before. Then, of course, there's the fact that the Red Sox had two separate 10-run leads and somehow headed into the bottom of the sixth down by a run.
So naturally, a lone walk in the bottom of the eighth inning to a pinch-hitter changed the complexion of the evening.
Jacoby Ellsbury walked with one out in the eighth and crossed the plate with a Dustin Pedroia double to tie the game, and Kevin Youkilis hit his second homer of the game to propel the Sox to a 19-17 win over the Texas Rangers.
"The roller-coaster ride in Boston is always fun," Youkilis said.
Just how wild was it? After the final out was recorded, the official scorer in the press box uttered, "The scoreboard totals, I think, are correct."
"I don't think I've ever played a four-hour game that's 8 1/2 innings long," Jason Bay said. "A win's a win, but it was definitely one of the more interesting games I've been a part of."
The 36 runs for which the two teams combined tied an American League record, set between the Red Sox and Philadelphia Athletics on June 29, 1950.
It started about as out of control as it ended. With 28-year-old starter Charlie Zink making his Major League debut, an early 1-2-3 inning was more than enough to make the sellout crowd of 38,004 electric from the start.
At that point, with a 10-run bottom of the inning, those in the dugout were feeling as though Zink's first tilt in the Majors would be a memorable one for the young hurler. They had no idea.
"I was just excited for Charlie," said catcher Kevin Cash of his emotions during the early big inning. "We were giving him a lot of run support, let his emotions calm down a little bit."
The first-inning tirade by the Red Sox would have put the 1927 New York Yankees to shame. David Ortiz smashed two three-run homers in the inning, as Boston put up a 10-0 lead before Texas starter Scott Feldman could blink.
It marked the first time a Red Sox player knocked two out of the park in the same inning since Nomar Garciaparra did so in 2002, and the six RBIs in a single frame made Ortiz the third to do so in Red Sox history.
For a moment, nothing seemed to go wrong for the Sox. They couldn't produce an out if they tried.
Then, it all turned around.
A 10-0 lead turned into a 12-2 advantage. Suddenly, it was 12-10. Then 14-12. And then, in an unspeakable turn of events, the once seemingly insurmountable lead turned into a 15-14 deficit.
"We had some really good at-bats," Pedroia said. "Hitting the ball well; seemed like everything was falling for us. And then, later in the game, everything was falling for them. It was a wild game.
"Shoot, it seemed like everything they hit was right on the barrel and in the gap. And we came back and won; it was huge for us."
Pedroia was right in the middle of the offensive juggernaut that Boston sent to the field on this night. He went 5-for-6 with five runs scored and two RBIs. In fact, in the first four innings alone, Pedroia, Ortiz and J.D. Drew -- the top three hitters in the Sox's lineup -- accounted for eight runs crossing the plate.
Ortiz's 3-for-4, six-RBI effort chipped in enough in the early frames, but Youkilis' two big homers in the fifth and eighth set this game apart for the Sox.
"Both teams were as frustrated as the next, but you just have to play it out," Youkilis said. "You've got to play until you get that 27th out."
All this happened around Zink, who might be lost in this whole equation when onlookers think back at this wild ride through the Fens years down the road. Despite retiring the side in order in the first and fourth innings, Zink was tagged with six runs in the fifth, and was yanked by manager Terry Francona after 4 1/3 innings of work.
Francona mentioned before the game how Zink had battled through the Minors "without getting anything handed to him," and that he earned this chance to start. For Zink, it was a matter of letting the night slip away.
It's the same game, just throwing strikes and having those guys get themselves out," said Zink, who was demoted after the game to Triple-A Pawtucket in order for the club to make room for newcomer Paul Byrd on Wednesday. "But in the fifth inning, things really sped up on me, guys kept getting more and more hits and I couldn't really slow myself down at that point."
That, and the fact that both these clubs are stacked with an arsenal of quality hitters. Along with the scrolling list of numbers the Red Sox's hitters put up, Rangers right fielder Marlon Byrd notched a 5-for-6 game of his own.
"I didn't expect this kind of offense," Zink said. "When I'm down in Triple-A [Pawtucket], we don't really pay attention to what's going on up here. But this offense is amazing."
On this night, it was exceptional. And considering this hard-fought win coupled with a Tampa Bay loss brought Boston within three games of the AL East lead, it was the type of contest that Ortiz said might springboard this club to where they want to be come October.
"We needed it," he said. "We need that kind of game, the way everybody relaxed and loosened up. We've got two more months to decide where we're going to be at the end of the season. So that's the kind of game that puts you in the mood and gets you going."
Copyright 2008 Sporting Life UK Ltd, All Rights Reserved.
Hampton gets first win in three years
SAN FRANCISCO -- Over the span of nearly three full years, there were many who wondered if this moment would ever arrive.
At times, Mike Hampton wondered the same and still remained committed to eventually proving his doubters wrong.
It will take some time before Hampton loses the tag of being an injury-prone pitcher. But during the early stages of a journey that he hopes leads him back to his previously successful form, he has already gained a reward that eases some of the pain and frustration the past three years have brought.
Looking like the successful pitcher that he was during the days that his body parts were cooperating, a determined Hampton helped the Braves gain an 11-4 win over the Giants at AT&T Park on Tuesday night and earned his first Major League victory in nearly three full years.
"It's just a great feeling," Hampton said. "After all I've been through, I've learned this is something you don't take for granted. There was always some doubt whether I'd get another one."
Hampton's first Major League victory since Aug. 14, 2005, energized a Braves clubhouse that was certainly thirsting for something like this to celebrate. For one night, they could enjoy the fact that one of their teammates had overcome multiple elbow surgeries and other ailments and proved that his future may include something more than just returns to the disabled list.
"It's big for them to see Mike get a win," Braves manager Bobby Cox said. "It's been a long time. He certainly deserves it with all of the work that he's put in."
The tentativeness that was present in his previous two starts this season was replaced by the tenacity that he displayed before his elbow began to fail him in May 2005. While limiting the Giants to two earned runs and four hits in seven innings, he showed confidence and his patented sinker, which helped him record 13 groundouts.
During a bullpen session Monday, Hampton finally relocated his normal grip on his sinker, and during Tuesday's game he said it felt much different than it had five days earlier against the Cardinals.
"That was the old bulldog Hampton," Cox said. "He was on the attack."
Although he might not have been as impressive as he was while going 15-2 with a 2.61 ERA in the 22 starts he made before his elbow became a problem, Hampton at least felt like his former self. Braves outfielders recorded just three of his 21 outs and his only damaging mistake came when Fred Lewis began the seventh inning with a homer.
Determined to finish strong, Hampton retired the next three batters after Lewis' homer. This was the first time the 35-year-old southpaw pitched more than five innings since he tossed a two-hit shutout against the Astros on May 9, 2005.
"That's as close as I have been to feeling normal in a long time," Hampton said. "I wouldn't say everything was working. But that was pretty close."
When three-time All-Star catcher Brian McCann made his Major League debut, Hampton was just one month into his three-year struggle. The veteran hurler missed the entire 2006 season recovering from Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery and the 2007 season while recovering from a surgical procedure that fixed a damaged tendon in his elbow.
This year's attempted returns were delayed by a strained pectoral muscle and minor groin strains. When Hampton returned to the Majors to face the Phillies on July 26, he was tentative. Last week against the Cardinals, he began to gain the comfort that was fully present Tuesday night.
"He had it going tonight," McCann said. "All of his pitches were working. Tonight ranks up there with me with the first times I got to catch [John] Smoltz and [Tom] Glavine. Tonight was special."
Proving he hasn't lost the skills that enabled him to win four National League Silver Slugger Awards, Hampton keyed a three-run fifth inning with an RBI double off the left-center-field wall against Jonathan Sanchez. His two-out double was sandwiched between those hit by Yunel Escobar and Kelly Johnson, who enjoyed a three-hit night.
The Braves produced a three-run seventh inning and then saw Jeff Bennett surrender two runs while recording just one out in the eighth inning. Bennett's struggles cut the Giants' deficit to two runs and had Hampton wondering if he'd have to wait even longer before realizing this win.
But a five-run ninth inning, keyed by doubles from Casey Kotchman and Omar Infante, allowed Hampton to once again breathe easy and prepare to celebrate this long-awaited moment.
"What he's gone through for the past three years, you wouldn't wish on anybody," McCann said. "This just shows you the kind of guy he is. He put in all of that rehab and he works out harder than anybody. Tonight he got to enjoy all of that work."
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Shoppach's success stifled by loss
CLEVELAND -- As he became just the sixth player in the modern era to rack up five extra-base hits in a ballgame Wednesday against the Tigers, Kelly Shoppach had one thought going through his mind.
"We couldn't stop [the Tigers] from scoring," Shoppach said.
Indeed, while there was no stopping Shoppach in a historic performance at Progressive Field, the Indians' 14-12 loss was what ultimately mattered most to the Tribe catcher.
"It's kind of bittersweet," Shoppach said. "Personally, it's a great feat. ... But coming out on the losing end is going to level out."
Shoppach did everything he could during the game's regulation innings to keep the Indians from losing. He had three doubles in his first three at-bats, scoring twice to help the Tribe put together an 8-1 lead against Nate Robertson. He hit a two-run homer off Todd Jones in the sixth to make it 11-7. And when the Indians were two outs away from a 12-11 defeat in the ninth, he smacked a 96-mph Fernando Rodney fastball into the left-field bleachers to tie up the game and send it to extras.
With that, Shoppach became the first Major Leaguer to reach five extra-base hits in a ballgame since the Dodgers' Shawn Green did so on May 23, 2002. He became the first American Leaguer to reach the mark since Indians legend Lou Boudreau did it on July 14, 1946.
"To hear some of the names talked about and the length of time it's been since someone's done that, it definitely makes you feel small," Shoppach said, "It was a lot of fun."
Shoppach, a backup catcher since he joined the Tribe before the 2006 season, has been having plenty of fun filling in for the injured Victor Martinez the last two months. Shoppach has hit safely in seven of his last eight games, batting .419 with four homers and 11 RBIs in that span.
What wasn't so fun for Shoppach was the end result of tonight's game, and he had his part in the way it turned out. The Tigers intentionally walked him in the 10th but had no choice but to pitch to him with the bases loaded and none out in the 12th. Shoppach worked the count full against Casey Fossum but went down swinging with a big cut.
"All I needed was a sac fly, nothing special," he said. "I was looking to get something elevated. I had some pitches to do it on, but I just didn't get it done."
Unfortunately for Shoppach, that's one bad memory he'll have to take with him from an otherwise incredible night.
"The way the game ended up turning out is going to be kind of a blessing for me," he said. "Sometimes when you have a good night, you can take that and get carried away in the next game. Obviously, it's great individually to have a game like that, but it still hurts so bad to lose those games."
Boudreau knew the feeling. When he had five extra-base hits in that game in '46, the Indians lost, 11-10, to the Red Sox.
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Monroe presses Tigers in Central battle
MINNEAPOLIS -- Craig Monroe's home run trots always involve a small show of emotion.
But in his sprint around the bases following his three-run homer in the fourth inning of the Twins' 6-4 victory over the Tigers on Tuesday night, Monroe carried a little more spring in his step than usual.
A combination of the early-season frustrations in his new bench role, plus facing the team that released him last season led to Monroe's special trot, as well as a spirited celebration in the dugout.
Clearly this one meant something special.
"To be in Detroit and be a Tiger for a long time, the respect for my ex-teammates is always there," Monroe said. "But the desire to go out and do something against them burns inside too. So it's great to get the opportunity to do something special against that team and more importantly, to do it for the Minnesota Twins."
A lead that, unlike the night before, the Twins would not relinquish -- although the Tigers did make an effort at a comeback.
Twins starter Scott Baker looked dominant early in his outing, retiring 10 of the first 11 batters he faced. But the Twins weren't able to give him any support despite six batters reaching base over the first three innings. That included Carlos Gomez reaching third base in the first inning with no outs. However, a late jump by Gomez off the bag on a ground ball to first base proved costly when he was thrown out at home on what turned into a double-play ball.
After allowing a one-out hit to Carlos Guillen, Baker gave up a double in the ensuing at-bat to Marcus Thames to put runners on first and third. That's when Baker made a wild pitch to Matt Joyce, allowing Guillen to score from third.
In a series that has already seen its share of intense moments, the Twins were looking for a momentum shift of their own.
It came in the bottom half of the fourth inning when Monroe came to the plate for the second time against Detroit starter Nate Robertson. With runners on first and second, Monroe took a 2-1 fastball to deep center for his eighth home run of the season.
"He knocked the living fire out of it," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "He's been working really hard ... I'm sure he would like to be playing and hitting a lot more. But you've got to keep working because everybody has a role. It was a big home run, a big lift."
Monroe has altered his swing in recent weeks, dropping his trademark leg kick and focusing on limiting the movement in his swing. It's helped Monroe overall at the plate and particularly against lefties.
The Twins traded for Monroe this past November to get a player who could hit lefties -- Monroe had a career .273 batting average against southpaws.
But early this season Monroe has struggled in that role, hitting just .103 vs. lefties with one home run. Numbers that he believes now will start coming around.
"All these things you talk about, being a good bench player, I wasn't allowing myself to do it," Monroe said. "I was having so much success having the high leg kick and being in there every day. But this is a new chapter in my career. I've got to find a way to be a better bench player. Right now I think I'm starting to take the steps in the right direction."
The homer was one of two hits that Monroe would tally in the contest. Monroe singled to left field in his first at-bat off Robertson (6-7) and nearly hit his second home run of the game, pulling it just foul, when he faced right-hander Zach Miner in the fifth inning.
It isn't the only success Monroe has had against his former club. The 2-for-3 night with a walk brought Monroe's average against Detroit this season to .389 (7-for-18) with two homers and six RBIs.
"There is obviously some revenge there he would like to have a bit [against them]," Baker said. "I'm thankful to see him in the lineup every time I'm out there and play these guys. I know he's going to do the best he can and put some good swings on the ball."
The Twins added on to their lead with a three-run fifth inning. Alexi Casilla delivered an RBI double to left field. Mike Redmond's single up the middle then scored two more runs, making it a 6-1 ballgame.
That long fifth inning took a toll on Baker (5-2). When he came back out for the sixth -- his final inning -- Gardenhire said the pitcher's velocity was down a touch and he appeared a bit fatigued. Baker also was leaving a few pitches up, including the one that Thames hit for a two-run homer in the inning.
It seemed at the time like the start of another trademark Detroit comeback.
"There are a few of those teams in this league [where no lead is safe]," Gardenhire said. "Detroit is definitely one of them. They just have so many professional hitters and players and guys with a lot of at-bats in this league. They just keep coming at you."
The Tigers diminished Minnesota's lead to two in the eighth when Brian Bass allowed one run. But Dennys Reyes got the final out of the inning and Joe Nathan came in to record a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his 23rd save of the season.
Squeaking out the victory didn't erase the fact that the Twins had plenty of chances to break the game open. Against Robertson, 13 of the 22 batters he faced reached base, but only six of them would score.
The Twins also loaded the bases in the sixth inning with one out, only for Redmond to ground into a double play. It was one of five on the night for the Twins, which tied a club record.
"We easily could have scored way more runs than we did," Redmond said. "We played a little sloppy, too. But you still have to win those ballgames even when you don't play great. And tonight, we did."
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
Outfielders working on communication
MIAMI -- Three times in the past three weeks, B.J. Upton and Gabe Gross have had communication problems, resulting in dropped balls in the gap between right and center field.
"Yeah, it can't keep happening," said Upton, the Rays center fielder. "It's kind of tough -- one day you've got Gabe out there [in right] and one day you've got [Eric] Hinske out there. They're a little bit different players out there. I think it's just a matter of me getting used to the both of them."
On Wednesday night, Matt Treanor hit a ball to the gap prompting the "I got it, you take it" scenario and resulting in Upton dropping the ball for an error.
"We're talking about it," said Rays manager Joe Maddon of the glaring communication problem. "Primarily, we just have to make sure B.J. understands it's his ball first, that's all. And it is."
Maddon went into a basic fielding explanation that the outfielders always make the call on balls between infielders and outfielders and when the ball goes to a gap, it's the center fielder's call.
"And, of course, with [Upton's] range he can take almost anything," Maddon said. "So we just have to continue to promote that. He'll get to the point where that's not going to happen anymore, and he will.
"It is frustrating and it's got to go away. But primarily when you've got a guy like him who has that kind of significant range he's got to understand he just has to go for it and the border guys pretty much just have to acquiesce to it."
Left fielder Carl Crawford said communication is one of the harder aspects of playing the outfield.
"Especially when you've got range like B.J. does," Crawford said. "You've got to adjust to that, because he can cover so much. And when you're not used to that, you can easily have a miscommunication, because you can see what happens. I've learned because I have a feel for it, so you don't see it happen too much between me and him. Seems like him and Gross, they're still feeling it out."
Crawford pointed out the fact Upton hasn't even played the position a year yet, and Maddon understands that point as well.
"That's why I'm not overtly frustrated by it," Maddon said. "He is still learning. We've seen all the wonderful things he's done; there are a couple of things he's messed up. And as he continues to grow in that position, those mistakes are going to go away."
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
White Sox blast past Pirates
CHICAGO -- Jermaine Dye, Joe Crede, Orlando Cabrera and Jim Thome shared one thing in common Tuesday night: Each hit one of the team's four home runs. But only Thome's tied a historic mark.
Thome's 521st career home run capped a five-run seventh inning, and the White Sox scored a season high in runs as they clobbered the Pirates, 16-5, at U.S. Cellular Field. The win halted a losing trend that saw Chicago lose five of its last six and average just 2.8 runs per game in that span.
Thome's homer tied him for 16th on the all-time list with Willie McCovey and Ted Williams. Just being mentioned in the same breath as two of the game's greats was difficult for the slugger to fathom.
"Hard to imagine -- it really is," Thome said. "I remember my dad talking about Ted Williams -- what a great hitter he was and just the great things he did. And just to be mentioned in that group is very special. It's hard to imagine being in the same class or the same group as those names."
"Those names ring forever," added catcher A.J. Pierzynski. "They are unbelievable players, incredible players. For Jim, you couldn't be happier for as good of a guy as he is for the career he has had. I know I've been back there when he's hit a lot of them. It means a lot to see it and how special it is. It's just amazing."
Every White Sox starter reached base at least twice, and all of them scored at least once.
Nick Swisher appears to be well out of his prolonged slump, going 3-for-3 with two doubles, two walks and three runs scored.
Even DeWayne Wise, who was recalled before the game to replace the injured Paul Konerko on the roster, got in on the extravaganza, singling twice and scoring. The hits were his first in a White Sox uniform.
"Well, we gotta get it when we gotta get it," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said of the team's breakthrough. "Hopefully this week is the one where we explode and we swing the bat the way we know we can swing the bats. ... I think all those guys put good at-bats together."
The game went back and forth early, with the lead changing sides three times in the first three innings. A 5-5 tie was broken up in the fifth when a fielding gaffe by Jason Michaels turned into a Crede double and allowed the White Sox to score the go-ahead run. Then the floodgates were open.
Swisher walked to lead off the inning, and Crede lined Pittsburgh starter Ian Snell's offering to left. Michaels came charging in to make the play, but the ball sailed over him, bouncing off his glove and rolling all the way to the wall. Swisher came around to score from first base, and Crede reached third on the throw home.
Crede scored on Alexei Ramirez's second RBI single of the game to give the White Sox a 7-5 lead. But that was only the beginning.
Pirates relievers couldn't stop the bleeding. Franquelis Osoria, Marino Salas and Sean Burnett gave up nine runs in relief of Snell (3-7).
"You guys wanted consistent, so we thought we would be consistent," Swisher said. "It was a one-through-nine effort, and guys off the bench came in and got [at-bats]. It's nice to build off these games. The big thing was Javy [Vazquez] battled and gutted it out so much. We wanted to get him that win.
It's rare for the White Sox offense to overshadow the performance of their starting pitcher, but that was the case Tuesday. Vazquez (7-5) worked through six innings, giving up five runs while striking out three. As Swisher said, though, his performance was good enough to pick up the win.
The majority of the damage came during the second inning. Vazquez walked Ryan Doumit to open the frame, and he proceeded to give up four consecutive hits and a sacrifice fly during a four-run inning, surrendering the team's early 2-0 lead.
"Besides that second inning, I thought I threw the ball better. But the guys went out there and put on a show out there," Vazquez said. "You have to forget. As a pitcher, you give up four in an inning, [and] you have to forget about it. There's a lot left in the game, and you just have to battle and keep working and hopefully your team will score a lot of runs -- and that's what they did today."
"He struggled," Guillen added. "He struggled all game long, and was a little bit erratic, but he went out and got the innings. When you're erratic like that and you pitch six innings, it helps the ballclub. It wasn't his best game, but a win is a win, and he battled through it."
If the White Sox offense keeps displaying the kind of potential it flashed on Tuesday, though, the team can handle a rough outing from its starter.
Copyright 2001-2008 MLB Advanced Media, L.P. All rights reserved.
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