Red Sox Press Release on V-Mart, 'Tek, Wake, and A-Gon

 
The Boston Red Sox today exercised the 2010 contract option on catcher Victor Martinez and declined to exercise team options on shortstop Alex Gonzalez and catcher Jason Varitek.

Additionally, the club signed right-handed pitcher Tim Wakefield to a two-year contract. No further terms were disclosed.

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

Acquired by the Red Sox from the Indians on July 31, Martinez combined to hit .303 (178-for-588) with 33 doubles, 23 home runs and 108 RBI in a career-high 155 games between Boston and Cleveland in 2009. Named an American League All-Star for the third time in his career, he made 85 appearances at catcher (82 starts) and 70 (66 starts) at first base. Martinez, 30, finished among AL leaders in RBI (T-5th), road batting average (7th, .323) and average vs. right-handers (10th, .316), and also ranked among the league’s top switch-hitters in RBI (T-2nd), batting average (4th), on-base percentage (4th, .381), home runs (5th) and slugging (5th, .480). In his 56 games with Boston, he hit .336 (71-for-211) with eight home runs and 41 RBI.

Martinez has compiled a .299 career batting average (971-for-3,246) with 111 home runs and 559 RBI in 877 Major League games over parts of eight seasons with the Indians (2002-09) and Red Sox (2009). He leads the Majors with 161 doubles and 429 RBI as a catcher since the start of the 2004 campaign.

The 43-year-old Wakefield posted an 11-5 record and 4.58 ERA (66 ER/129.2 IP) in 21 starts for Boston during the 2009 season. He finished fifth among AL qualifiers with a .688 winning percentage and reached double-digits in victories for a club-record 11th time. The right-hander earned his first career All-Star selection this summer and, then 42, was the oldest player to do so since Satchel Paige (46) in 1952.

Wakefield holds the all-time Red Sox record with 388 starts, ranks second in club history with 1,869 strikeouts and 525 appearances, and third with 175 wins and 2,711.1 innings. His 15 seasons with the Red Sox are fifth-most in club history behind Carl Yastrzemski (23), Dwight Evans (19), Ted Williams (19) and Jim Rice (16). He is also one of just 19 pitchers ever to spend at least 15 seasons with a single AL franchise.

Gonzalez, 32, combined to bat .238 (93-for-391) with eight home runs and 41 RBI in 112 games with Cincinnati and Boston in 2009. Traded to the Red Sox on August 14, he hit at a .284 clip (42-for-148) with five home runs and 15 RBI while posting a .994 fielding percentage (1 error/159 total chances) at shortstop in 44 AL games (43 starts).

Varitek, 37, was behind the plate in 108 games for Boston in 2009, including 106 starts. The switch-hitter batted .209 (76-for-364) with 14 home runs and 51 RBI. Over parts of 13 Major League seasons with the Red Sox, he has caught in a club-record 1,381 contests and ranks among franchise all-time leaders in overall games played (9th, 1,439), doubles (8th, 290), home runs (12th, 175), RBI (15th, 705) and walks (15th, 583).

--- RED SOX ---

Tim Wakefield...ALL STAR

After 17 Seasons, Tim Wakefield is an All Star. Tim Wakefield's 10 - 3 record earned him the nod from other players around the league. Wakefield will be joined by Dustin Pedroia, Jason Bay and Jonathan Paplebon, Kevin Youklis and Josh Beckett in St Louis!

Maine Day at Fenway Audio

Photo - CMSB/Pierre's of Exchange St

Here is some audio from Maine Day at Fenway

Justin Masterson

Terry Francona

Tim Wakefield

WEDNESDAY MORNING QUICK HITTERS

Big Papi slamming hs 4th HR of the season (COURTESY BOSTON.COM)

• Here are your Maine High School scores..Eastern Maine and Western Maine

• The Portland Sea Dogs returned home Tuesday, beating the Erie SeaWolves 5 - 0. Sea Dogs Catcher Mark Wagner continues to excel going 2-3 with a sac fly.

• Pete Warner of the Bangor Daily News keeps tabs on where the Maine Baseball team has spread out to since the season has been over.

• Tim Wakefield may have solidified his 1st All Star bid by handling the Florida Marlins 8 - 2 Tuesday at Fenway. David oritz hit his 4th HR in 9 games helping the Sox bat around in the 2nd inning.
  
• John Smoltz makes a rehab start tonight for the PawSox. Clay Buchholz will follow Smoltz out of the pen.
• Sammy Sosa, whom the CMSB had on their list of the "other 103 players", was found to be on the list with A-Rod. Please, hold your surprise. 102 to go...
  

Thursday Quick-Hits

Tim Wakefield takes the mound today (CMSB/Pierre's of Exchange St)

Let's get to the links...

• Josh Beckett's no-hitter was broken up with two outs in the seventh. As Amalie Benjamin described it "The baseball, awash in white cowhide and disappointment, landed on the grass in short right field". The Sox survived a two inning circus that saw Kevin Youkilis leave with a lef injury and Mike Lowell get ejected to beat the Tigers 10-5. Dan Shaughnessy seems relatively calm these days.
• The Sea Dogs came back to beat the Mets thanks to the clutch hitting of Ryan Kalish.
• High Schools scores here
• The Atlanta Braves, hoping to foster more goodwill between the members of their 90's dynasty teams, cut Massachusetts native Tom Glavine after his last rehab start. Satire starts here). The Braves next act of goodwill after low-balling John Smoltz and cutting Tom Glavine will be to set Sid Bream's house on fire, steal Francisco Cabrera's dogs, and to frame Steve Avery for wire fraud.
• The Boston Bruins conference call with Peter Chiarelli is posted here. David Krejci will be having hip surgery in New York.
• The Celtics might be streaming all of their games online for free next season.
  
• Red Sox Baseball this afternoon at 12:20 on The Big Jab. Tim Wakefield and Dontrelle Willis go head-to-head.
  

Wednesday Morning Quick Hitters

After much speculation, the Lewiston Maineiacs will be staying. Lewiston Head Coach, Don McAdam appeared on the Video board before last night’s game to announce the team’s intentions to stick around.

In related news, the Maineiacs got blasted again in the playoffs. Drummondville won game three of the best of seven series 7-2. That’s now a combined score of 29-6 if you’re scoring at home.

Nine straight wins for the USM baseball team, after sweeping Gustavus Adolphis College in a double-header yesterday.

Tim Wakefield pitches well in a spring loss to the Yankees.

Here’s a look at the Patriots’ throwback uniform for the 2009 season.

UMass could be ending the baseball program.

Saturday Morning Quick Hitters

The Boston Celtics had little trouble dispatching the Chicago Bulls Friday Night. The Celtics continued their stifling defense, holding the Bulls to just 31 1st half points. The Bulls Rookie Derrick Rose had 18 points as did Boston's Kevin Garnett, who was playing in his 1000th NBA Game. The Celtics beat the Bulls 96 - 80

The Portland Trail Blazers, minus Greg Oden, pushed the San Antonio Spurs to 0 - 2 for the 1st time since the 1996-1997 season, beating the Spurs 100 - 99.



The Vancouver Canucks beat the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in the 13 round of a shootout, finally prevailing 7 - 6. No emails please...I know they aren't the Mighty Ducks anymore, I just will always fondly remember Emilio Estevez as the head coach...


Seems New York Rangers #1 draft pick Alexei Cherepanov was illegally transferred to the Russian club on which he passed away.


The Boston Red Sox picked up the 2009 option for Tim Wakefield for a $4 Million price tag. Yesterday saw 44 players file for free agency, most noteably John Smoltz and Pedro Martinez.

The New York Mets exercised their 12 million dollar option on Carlos Delgado. Delgado at age 36, had a monster 2nd half of 2008 season hitting .303, with 21 HRs a .606 SLG and a .991 OPS.