Game Time: 1:05 pm

Scheduled Starters: Oliver Perez v. Curt Schilling

The game will be on ESPN and on mlb.tv. The MLB website has the game on gameday audio through WEEI, but the WEEI website does not have this game, and last night Joe and Jerry said the next radio coverage will be on Saturday. Maybe the game is will be on the Pirates' station? We shall soon find out.


Ft. Myers Weather: 11 am observation at Page Field: Wind out of the east at 9 mph, visibility greater than 10 miles, sky clear, temperature 77F, DP 49F.

Forecast: Highs will be in the low 80's, with a light wind out of the southeast, becoming west by late afternoon.

Anni

From the Ft. Myers News Press

Pirates

Chris Duffy, cf
Jack Wilson, ss
Sean Casey, 1b
Jason Bay, lf
Jeromy Burnitz, rf
Joe Randa, 3b
Jody Gerut, DH
Jose Castillo, 2b
Humberto Cota, c

Oliver Perez, p


Boston Red Sox

Trot Nixon, rf
Mark Loretta, 2b
David Ortiz, DH
Manny Ramirez, lf
Jason Varitek, c
Mike Lowell, 3b
Wily Mo Pena, cf
JT Snow, 1b
Alex Gonzalez, ss

Curt Schilling, p

Trot at the top...looks like Tito wants to get him some at bats against a tough LHP...it's nice that they're on TV today, I was thinking about skipping my classes and watching the game instead, but I think I better go today so I can get away with skipping on Monday.

Schilling's last spring training start. What a wonderful sentence. It's almost here!

Well, if you click the WEEI link on gameday audio you get the Dale and Holley Show!

Looks like the game isn't on gameday audio.

Does someone have the gameday play-by-play link?

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/y2006/gd.ht...mlb_1&brand=mlb

Be advised the play by play is sluggish, it has yet to move off of warm-ups.

Yahoo has no score after a half inning; Pirates got one hit.

Anni

Through 1, no score. Ortiz banged one off the center field wall for a two-out double and then Manny popped out foul.

1-0 Sox after 2, Wily Mo Pena with a rbi double.

Nice catch by Manny to end the 3rd. Manny looks faster out there (based on one play, not a good sample size). AGon made a very lazy/careless pickup and throw on an easy play for an error to start the inning.

ESPN guy said Bronson Arroyo is starting tomorrow for the Pirates, vs. Wakefield, also televised by ESPN.

AGon's error was basically a ST error. He just kind of lazily armed it back to first, and it bounced, instead of planting and firing.


The Arroyo game should be fun to watch...especially when the Sox stack up a bunch of LHH to crush him.

Still 1-0, Sox after 3.

1-1
Top 4TH B:0 S:0 O:0
Joe Randa singles on a fly ball to center fielder Wily Mo Pena.

Top 4TH B:0 S:0 O:0
Jody Gerut singles on a line drive to center fielder Wily Mo Pena. Joe Randa to 2nd.

Top 4TH B:0 S:0 O:0
Jose Castillo singles on a fly ball to right fielder Trot Nixon. Joe Randa scores. Jody Gerut to 3rd.

2nd and third....1 out
Top 4TH B:0 S:1 O:1
With Chris Duffy batting, Jose Castillo steals (1) 2nd base.

Top 4TH B:0 S:1 O:2
Chris Duffy grounds out to first baseman J. T. Snow. Jody Gerut scores. Jose Castillo to 3rd.


2-1 Pittsburgh (Nickel and Diming Schill)

2 - 1, run scoring on groundout to Snow. This is Schilling's last tuneup before opening day. Sure would be nice if he could show more velocity on his fastball.

Ya know it might be the dredlocks, but manny looks slimmer.

Why was Schill pulled after only 4 innings? Was this the plan?

Yes, I spoke with Theo and Tito this morning. This was the plan.
(It was at my pathological liars meeting)

I see those AA meetings are doing wonders for you.

I'm not in AA.

Or am I?

I'll have to mull it over over 13 beers...I'll get back to you (or will I?)

This just in: Oliver Perez is very good.

ESPN interviewed Schilling and asked him that exact question. He said it was only a tuneup and you don't want to overdo it in this case. 4 innings was just right.

Here comes a possible Rudy Saenz explosion. Come on Ultimate Fighter!!

That's what I suspected. But with little to no coverage of the game, it's hard to tell.

ESPN is covering it well enough. Oh, am I the only one that called in sick today?

There is no speed gun in the ESPN coverage, but Seanez seems to bring some heat, at least faster than Schilling today.

Yeah...most of us don't have cable connections in our office!

I need to save my sick day for Monday.


Lord, it's a miracle:

Top 6TH B:0 S:0 O:0
Pitcher Change: Rudy Seanez replaces Keith Foulke.

Top 6TH B:0 S:0 O:1
Jody Gerut flies out to left fielder Manny Ramirez.

Top 6TH B:0 S:0 O:2
Jose Castillo flies out to right fielder Trot Nixon.

Top 6TH B:0 S:0 O:3
Humberto Cota grounds out, third baseman Mike Lowell to first baseman J. T. Snow.

Seanez has given up 1 ER in his last 7 appearances (7 IP) this spring.

Edit: Today makes 7, not 8.

Manny being Manny...he gets hit on the underside of his forearm on 3 and 2, ump decides it hit the bat, Manny doesn't complain at all, then strikes out on the next pitch. I guess he wanted the extra swing more than the HBP.

Pena with 1 one out single.

Not the best pitch to swing at, down and away, but he hooked it, a grounder just out of the reach of Jack Wilson.

Pena with another hit-- seeing eye single-- first hit for the Sox since the 2nd inning.

Willie Harris on to pinch run, Stern is on second after a Lowell BB.

Now a double steal for Stern and Harris

BB loads the bases for Gonzo...

Alex Gonzalez whiffs with the bases loaded-- 2 down...

Basehit to right Nixon-- Stern and Harris score... Sox take 3-2 lead.

Alex Gonzalez needs hitting coach help, or something. He looked bad K-ing on a hanging breaking ball right over the heart of the plate. Nixon nice clutch. They showed Wily Mo go into the dugout when he got lifted for the pinch hitter and he went right over to hitting coach Papa Jack. I like that. They also interviewed Pena and he said Tito explained to him that with all the left handed pitching starters, particularly in the AL East, he'd get good playing time. Pena sounded happy to be with Boston (but what is he supposed to say). Nobody brought up his two big "Dominican brothers".

C'mon Tito, get a MLB pitcher in there and get this win. All subs in now, but not for Pittsburgh as they didn't bring many to the away game for them.

Nope, Victor Ramos in to pitch.
DP, out of the inning on a lineout to right and Pirates runners straying too far off the base. On to the ninth.

Oops, on to the bottom of the eighth.

Ramos did the job. Sox win 3 - 2.

FINAL: SOX 3, Pirates 2

WP - M. Holtz
S - V. Ramos

LP - G. Carrara


SOX - 3R, 6H, 1E
PIT - 2R, 10H, 0E

[codebox]PITTSBURGH (2) AT BOSTON (3)

PITTSBURGH AB R H BI BOSTON AB R H BI
C Duffy cf 5 0 0 1 T Nixon rf 4 0 1 2
J Wilson ss 5 0 1 0 M Hall rf 0 0 0 0
S Casey 1b 3 0 1 0 M Loretta 2b 3 0 0 0
C Wilson 1b 2 0 0 0 T Durrington 2b 1 0 0 0
J Bay lf 2 0 0 0 D Ortiz dh 3 0 1 0
B Correll lf 0 0 0 0 D Mohr dh 1 0 1 0
J Burnitz rf 3 0 1 0 M Ramirez lf 3 0 0 0
N McLouth rf 1 0 0 0 J Corsaletti lf 1 0 0 0
J Randa 3b 3 1 2 0 J Varitek c 2 1 0 0
J Hernandez 3b 1 0 1 0 K Huckaby c 0 0 0 0
J Gerut dh 4 1 2 0 M Lowell 3b 2 0 1 0
J Castillo 2b 4 0 2 1 A Stern cf 1 1 0 0
H Cota c 3 0 0 0 W Pena cf 3 0 2 1
R Doumit c 1 0 0 0 W Harris 2b 1 1 0 0
J Snow 1b 2 0 0 0
I Bladergroen 1b 0 0 0 0
A Gonzalez ss 3 0 0 0
I Suarez ss 0 0 0 0
TOTALS 37 2 10 2 TOTALS 30 3 6 3

PITTSBURGH 000 200 000 -- 2
BOSTON 010 000 20x -- 3

E--A Gonzalez. DP--BOSTON 1. LOB--PITTSBURGH 10,
BOSTON 7. 2B--D Ortiz, W Pena, S Casey. SB--J
Castillo 1 (2).
IP H R ER BB SO HR
PITTSBURGH
O Perez 5 2-3 3 1 1 1 7 0
M Capps 1-3 0 0 0 0 1 0
G Carrara (L,0-1) 1 2 2 2 2 2 0
J Grabow 1 1 0 0 1 1 0
BOSTON
C Schilling 4 6 2 2 1 2 0
K Foulke 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
R Seanez 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
M Holtz (W,1-0) 1 1-3 3 0 0 1 3 0
D Ramos 1 2-3 0 0 0 0 2 0

SO--PIT: C Duffy 3, C Wilson 2, J Gerut, J
Wilson. BOS: A Gonzalez 3, J Varitek, D Ortiz, J
Snow, W Pena, J Corsaletti, M Ramirez, M Loretta,
M Lowell. BB--PIT: J Bay 2. BOS: J Varitek, M
Lowell, J Snow, K Huckaby. T--2:59. A--7,562.[/codebox]