Pitchers Bill Monbouquette and Bob Stanley were named yesterday asthe newest selections to the Red Sox Hall of Fame, and both said theyliked the Sox' chances in the postseason.
'We used to have a lot of power and no speed,' said Stanley, whospent the summer as pitching coach for the Mets' Double A team inBinghamton, N.Y. 'This team has some power and more speed. They'rebetter off because of that. We always had a hard time on the road.We'd go to Kansas City and get killed.
'I think they have a great chance this season. They'd probably fitright into the National League, which will probably help them if theyget to the World Series.'
Monbouquette, a special assignment scout for the Toronto BlueJays, was even more emphatic when asked whether the Sox have a chanceto do well in the playoffs.
'Damn right they have,' Monbouquette said. 'More so than probablyin a long time because of the type of players they've got here. Theymight be throwbacks, the way they get on each other.'
Stanley pitched for the Red Sox from 1977-89, winning 115 gameswith a club-record 132 saves. Stanley is the team's all-time leaderin appearances (637) and relief wins (85).
'If you're around 13 years, you're going to pitch,' said Stanley,a resident of Wenham. 'I'm very proud of that. It's probably a recordthat will stay for a long time. When I die, my kids will be able tosay, `Dad's still on top' in that category.'
Monbouquette, a Medford native who lives in New Boston, N.H., won96 games for some lousy Sox teams from 1958-65. He was a 20-gamewinner in 1963, pitched a 1-0 no-hitter against the White Sox in1962, and struck out 17 against the Washington Senators in 1961.
The last out of his no-hitter, Monbouquette said, was Hall ofFamer Luis Aparicio. He got two quick strikes on Aparicio, then threwa slider away on which Aparicio checked his swing. The plate umpire,Bill McKinley, called it a ball.
'Somebody shouted out from the stands, `They shot the wrongMcKinley,' ' Monbouquette said. 'I remember thinking, `Oh, geez.' '
Aparicio swung and missed at the next pitch.
Secret surgery?
According to this week's issue of Sports Illustrated, RogerClemens underwent surgery early in his Red Sox career to repair apartial tear of his rotator cuff, an operation that was not disclosedby the club. Ian Thomsen writes that orthopedic surgeon James Andrewsmentioned that in Sept. 1985, when Clemens was 23, the team reportedClemens underwent an arthroscopic procedure to repair a small flaptear in his shoulder. What the club didn't say, according to Andrews,who performed the procedure, was that Clemens also had a partial tearof the rotator cuff.
Clemens won his first 14 decisions the next season en route to a24-4 record in 1986, when he won both the American League Cy Youngand Most Valuable Player awards.
Keeping priorities
Author John Feinstein ('Season on the Brink,' 'A Good WalkSpoiled') was among the members of the national media in town for theRyder Cup who spent the evening at Fenway Park. Feinstein recounted astory about the Jewish Red Sox fan who went to his rabbi before RoshHashanah and said, 'Rabbi, I have a problem. I know it's RoshHashanah, but it's Yankees-Red Sox and Pedro is pitching.'
Rabbi: 'It's not such a problem. It's for nights like this thatGod invented VCRs.'
Sox fan: 'So, I can tape the Rosh Hashanah services?'
Delgado is done
Blue Jays first baseman Carlos Delgado, who ranked third in theAmerican League both in home runs (44) and RBIs (134), will miss therest of the season with a nondisplaced fracture of the right tibia.Delgado, who had played in 235 consecutive games dating to lastseason, sustained the injury when he fouled a ball off his leg in theeighth inning Wednesday night . . . Sox first baseman Mike Stanleyhad a painful scare yesterday afternoon while taking battingpractice. Stanley hit a ball that caromed off the padded end of thebatting cage and struck him in the bridge of the nose. Stanley fell,and players and trainers from both teams rushed to his side. Stanleywas able to get up on his own and was in the lineup . . . Three daysafter taking a cortisone injection in his left wrist, center fielderDarren Lewis was back in the lineup. Damon Buford, who made two ofBoston's five errors in Wednesday's 14-9 loss, played right fieldagainst lefthander David Wells. Buford hit eighth, Lewis ninth, asJimy Williams tried catcher Jason Varitek in the No. 2 hole. Bufordsaid he had never dropped a pop fly like he did Wednesday while inthe big leagues. In pro ball? 'If I did, I can't recall it,' said theusually flawless outfielder . . . Ben Mondor, the owner of thePawtucket Red Sox, was named International League executive of theyear . . . Mindful of the cult that has sprung up over broadcasterJerry Remy's ongoing promotion of Wally the beanbag buddy, the Soxhave arranged for an on-line chat with Remy and Wally the GreenMonster Monday at 3:30. The chat will take place on the team's Website, www.redsox.com.
