Boston Red Sox Nation News, Born Into It.Com June 2005 Archives

Wake scores from first after a Johnny Damon triple. Wakefield rounded the bases in a less then gracious fashion and slid home just beating the tag. He had a good laugh about it following the game saying he hasn't had dirt on his jersey like that since college.

At this point it looks like the Wild Card may not come from the A.L. East. It is a very likely possibility that we must win the division this season to make the playoffs. We have a six game home stand starting tomorrow night. Here is how the standings look right now:

Scotian Scratches

by Don Hyslop

Who would have ever thought that the Bill Goat Curse would have more staying power than the Curse of the Bambino? But yes, the Cubbies are still without a World Series suffering from a drought that has lasted since 1908. Are their hopes any better this year. I don't think so!
Red Sox Nation can actually come up with rational reasons why we took 86 years to break our long drought. Harry Frazee selling off not only Ruth but numerous other stars besides Ruth to the Yankees, racist ownership and management who failed to sign top black players like Robinson and Mays who could have both been Red Sox and terrible decisions by Red Sox managers.
Meanwhile how do you explain the Cubs failure to not even being close to winning. Why the last World Series they were in was in 1945. Meanwhile their neighbors the White Sox have not won since 1917.
The only rational reason that can come to mind is incompetent ownership and that is an awful condemnation of the Wrigley's and now the Tribune Corp.
To get a feel of how the Cub fans now feel and how we used to feel( thank God no longer) read this link to a Cub fans lament.
http://www.baseball1.com/twiles/dirt49.html

``This is my fault. The guys have to play better or we've got to make some changes. I think we've allowed something like (77) runs in our last 10 losses. We're out of games. It's time for changes. Soon.''

Having had a chance to look at many of the Sox's picks on this first day of the Draft, I would like to let you know a little bit about many of them.
The Sox first pick of the day was outfielder, Jacoby Ellsbury from Oregon State. He stands at 6' 1" and weighs 190 lbs. He bats left and throws left. He was named to the Pre Season Third Team All-America. He was said to be the Pac 10's fastest runner and Baseball America called him the best defensive outfielder available. He was also captain of the team. His career average at Oregon is .341. He played in the Cape Cod League last summer where he hit .245 but had 12 steals in 15 attempts.
The Sox second choice was Craig Hansen. Hansen is 6' 5" and weighs 185 lbs. He played with St. John's University where he ranked second in the Big East in saves. He was 2-2 with a 2.90 ERA. He struck out 59 in 40 innings.
The third choice of the day was Clay Bucholz of/P with Angelina College. This player batted .360 while going 9-0 on the mound with a 1.13 ERA. He has reached 97 mph with his fastball. He had 84 Ks in 55 innings.
Our next choice was Jed Lowrie, a second baseman, from Stanford University. He batted .446 this past year with 4 homers. He is also a switch hitter.
The Sox fifth pick was 18 year old high schooler Mike Bowden. His record was 8-1 with a 0.46 ERA. He is 6' 3" tall and weighs in at 215 lbs. He has been clocked at 92-93 mph with his fastball and had 135 K in just 61 innings. He also has good control walking only 7.
The sixth pick of the day for Boston was high school catcher Jonathan Egan from Cross Creek High in Georgia. He is 6' 4" tall and weighs in at 210 lbs. Some describe him as having the best power of any high school player in the draft.
Number seven was Scott Blue. Blue is a 6' 2" pitcher/outfielder from Morrow Bay High School.
Reid Engel was next a center fielder from Louis Palmer High in Colorado. He hit .431 with 6 homers and is said to have outstanding speed. At his young age he stands 6' 2" but is only 160 lbs. He is said to have committed to Baylor U. for next year.
At number nine for the day was Jeff Corsaletti, a center fielder, from the University of Florida. He is 6' and 190 lbs. He batted .378 this past season. Projections have him being a fourth outfielder at best. Thank God for intangibles which hopefully will make this player succeed beyond the scouts predictions. He is already my favorite because of this label attatched to him.
Florida International star Yahmed Yema was the Sox tenth choice. At 6' 182 lbs., this outfielder led the team batting .404 and hit 15 homers. Every critic loved this pick.
James Zink a RHP from Everett Community College was next. His season gave him a 6-3 record with a 1.51 ERA. He has a 91 mph fastball at present.
A catcher from the University of California- Irvine was next. At 6' 1" and 205 lbs this player rose his batting average to .362 from .279 the previous year.
He was followed by Kevin Guyette a RHP from University of Arizona, Ismael Casillas a RHP from Benedictine College, Kyle Fernandes a left handed pitcher from Massasoit Community College. He had a 0.79 ERA and 105 Ks in just 57 innings. Opponents only hit .094 against him. He was followed by Jay Johnson an outfielder from Xavier. He set a record for career hits there with 256.
At number seventeen was Pedro Alvarez an infielder who has played shortstop in high school at Horace Mann H.S. in New York. He had a .526 BA.
Here is the complete list for Day 1
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Red Sox Draft Picks

r1 #23 Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, Oregon St.
r1 #26 Craig Hansen, RP, St. John's
r1s #42 Clay Bucholz, OF/RP, Angelina College(TX)juco
r1s #45 Jed Lowrie, 2B, Stanford
r1s #47 Michael Bowden, RP, Waubonsie Valley (IL) HS
r2 #57 Jonathan Egan, C, Cross Creek (GA) HS
r4 #138 (William) Scott Blue, RP, Morro Bay (CA) HS
r5 #168 Reid Engell, CF, Lewis Palmer HS (CO)
r6 #198 Jeff Corsaletti, OF, Florida, Sr.
r7 #228 Yahmed Yema, OF, Florida International
r8 #258 JT Zink, RP, Everett CC (WA)
r9 #288 Mark Wagner, C UC-Irvine
r10 #318 Kevin Guyette, RP, Arizona
r11 #348 Ismael Casillas, RP, Benedictine College, Sr
r12 #378 Kyle Fernandes, LP, Massasoit CC (MA)
r13 #408 Jay Johnson, OF, Xavier, Sr.
r14 #438 Pedro Alvarez, SS/3B, Horace Mann HS (NY)
r15 #468 Patrick Thomas, RP, Jeffersonville HS (IN)
r16 Matthew Mercurio,3B, Florida Southern U.
r17 Dominic Ramos, SS, Texas State University
r18 Nick Criaris, C, St. Peters Prep School, (N.J.)

All in all any draft is a gamble but I look forward to the Sox signing as many of these guys as possible and getting to follow them either at Lowell or in the Gulf Coast League this summer.
Anyway following the draft and looking forward to seeing these young players take their place in Red Sox Nation helps get my mind off of what is happening in St. Louis for the second straight night.

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