When the Cat's Away, Mice Will Play

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Slam Blam Thank You Maam!

The Red Sox rode the good fortunes of not one, but two grand slams en route to a, not as close as it sounds, 11-8 victory to complete a four game sweep of the Kansas City Royals. The sweep of Kansas City comes on the heels of a three game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers, leaving the Sox perfect on their latest home stand as they take off for the west coast to meet the Oakland A's.

Red Sox starter, Daisuke Matsuzaka, earned the win to improve his already impressive record to 8-0 on the season. Dice-K had a good game, but not a great game. He, once again, tried dancing around the strike zone with mixed success. While refusing to give in to batters, he also ran his pitch count up to 118 pitches, throwing 67 for strikes. He struck out 7, but walked 6. He gave up 6 hits, but held the Royals to only 3 runs, going 5 2/3 innings before handing the ball over to Javier Lopez, holding on to a 5-3 lead. Lopez did his job, striking out the only batter he would face to end the 6th inning.

The big story of the day was the offense, specifically from JD Drew and Mike Lowell, both the authors of devastating grand slams. JD Drew's was an opposite field shot into the Green Monster seats that gave the Sox a 4-1 lead in the 2nd inning. Mike Lowell's came in the 6th inning after the Sox had already plated two runs and lifted the lead to an insurmountable 11-3 advantage for the home team.

The Red Sox bullpen, however, decided that a blowout was not exciting enough for the fans at Fenway Park. Fearful that fans would start streaming out of Fenway too soon, Terry Francona sent Craig Hansen in to level things out in the 7th inning. Hansen got to work early allowing a lead off home run to stop any early exiters in their tracks. That seemed to slow some fans from leaving, but many fans were still feeling a bit too confident. So, a walk and a double later put another run on the board narrowing the score to 11-5. Hansen finished up the inning without further damage, but fans returned to their seats, afraid that Hansen might come back out for the 8th inning. When Francona opted to send in David Aardsma, fans breathed a sigh of relief and began packing again. Well, Aardsma did what he could to hold the audience, so with two on and two outs, wisely surrendered a powerful three run home run to narrow the score to 11-8.

At this point the bullpen had done their job. They had returned excitement to the game and left the outcome in doubt. Fans would be foolish to leave now. Holding on to a three run lead, the Red Sox now had a save situation, and we all know what that means - this is a job for ... Jonathan Papelbon! Papelbon started the 9th inning off with two quick ground outs, but when he noticed a few people starting for the exits, he quickly allowed back to back singles to draw them back in. Not that all eyes were riveted, and the stage was set, Papelbon wrapped it up with a fly out to Jacoby Ellsbury to seal the win.

So, has Manny Ramirez been saving his 499th and 500th home runs for the west coast fans? If so, today might be the day! Manny is 3 for 8 in his career against today's starter, Rich Harden. Those three hits? All home runs!

(Photos Courtesy of Yahoo Sports)

Colon Looks Sharp Earning First Win for Red Sox

Bartolo Colon made his much anticipated first start for the Boston Red Sox last night, and walked away with his first win of the season as the Sox defeated the Royals 6-3. As anticipated, Terry Francona planned to limit Colon to 80 or so pitches while he continues to build up his strength. Colon lasting 5 innings, throwing 74 pitches (60 fastballs, 12 sliders, and 2 change ups). The grounds crew had to continually reinforce the pitcher's mound as Colon's imposing size kept packing it down (just kidding), but Colon was able to put his weight behind his pitches, regularly keeping his fastball in the low 90's, but topping out at 96 mph. For a guy who relies on power to overwhelm batters, this is a good sign - he has the strength to still throw with power, and if he is fortunate enough to suffer no physical setbacks, he'll only get stronger, and the Sox will continue tightening their hold on first place (currently 2 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays).


Facing the Kansas City Royals at home may be helping the Sox' pitching look even more imposing, but in 3 games against the Royals, the Sox have only given up a total of 4 runs. Last night Colon gave up only 2 runs in 5 innings and walked off the mound with the Sox behind by a score of 2-1, Jacoby Ellsbury providing the one run with a lead off homer in the first inning. In the bottom of the 5th, Jason Varitek got things rolling with solo home run of his own, and by the time the inning was over, the Sox had put 4 runs on the board for a 5-2 lead that would provide Colon with the win. The Red Sox bullpen had a terrific night. Craig Hanson, Javier Lopez, and Manny Delcarmen each pitched a scoreless inning to get to the ninth, where Mike Timlin came in to wrap things up. With a 6-2 lead heading into the ninth, this was not a save opportunity, so Papelbon got the night off. Timlin preserved the win, allowing a single run resulting from a walk, stolen base, and a single, all with two outs.

So, for now, Bartolo Colon is an official part of the Red Sox starting rotation. He will be pitching every fifth game for the near future at least. If he continues to improve, the Red Sox will clearly have the most imposing rotation in the AL. If anyone goes down, Clay Buchholz will be able to quickly step right in. With the success that Justin Masterson has had, the red Sox pitching talent goes even deeper. Right now, you have to feel real good about the Red Sox starting pitching.

Speaking of starting pitching, the NY Yankees are not only jealous of the Red Sox, and regretting not securing Johan Santana in the off season, they are also starting to take some desperate measures to improve theirs. Specifically, they are officially beginning to alter Joba Chamberlain's workouts to get him ready to move from the bullpen to the starting rotation. Prior to spring training they were leaning towards a starting role for Joba, but he ended up in the bullpen. Brian Cashman wanted him there, Hank Steinbrenner wanted him as a starter. Hank ranted about it in April when the Yankees obviously needed to improve their starting rotation, Cashman held his ground. Well, the boss won! It could be a good move for NY, whose young starters have not come close to the success that Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz have achieved. It is nice to see the Yankees squirming, and it will be interesting to see how well, and how quickly, Joba can make the switch. I think the biggest concern is whether he is ready to handle the load of pitching a full season yet. But, by waiting until June to make the switch, it may have shortened the season enough for him to last just fine.

This afternoon, Daisuke Matsuzaka will be gunning for his 8th win. Manny Ramirez will still be gunning for his 499th home run. I think they need to remove the "498" countdown from left field. It feels like he has not hit one (at least at home) since they put it up. Baseball jinxes are alive and well you know.

If Red Sox fans don't already have enough to smile about, take a look at the cover of this month's Sports Illustrated! Derek Jeter getting clobbered by a hefty Rays player in a comic book spoof cover.

(Photos Courtesy of Yahoo Sports)

Masterson Masterful in First Big League Win

Justin Masterson has made two major league appearances. His first was a terrific debut on April 24 against the Angels, in which he went 6 innings only allowing 1 run and left the game with a 3-1 lead. Unfortunately, the Red Sox bullpen combo of Javier Lopez and Manny Delcarmen could not hold the lead, and the Red Sox lost that game 7-5. Masterson looked incredibly solid, and made Sox fans pay attention and wonder if this kid was for real.

Last night Masterson added to the sentiment that he is indeed for real. He pitched a very similar game as his first outing, going 6 1/3 innings only allowing 3 hits and 3 walks to go with 5 strike outs. When he walked off the mound in the 6th inning he had a 2-0 lead, with one out, and a runner on second base. The next two pitchers in line from the bullpen? Javier Lopez and Manny Delcarmen! Was history going to repeat itself? Not last last! Lopez did his job, striking out the left-handed Ross Gload. Then Delcarmen came in and his first pitch, a curveball to John Buck, stayed too high in the zone and Buck sent it up the middle for a single, scoring the run from second. The score was now 2-1. But, Manny settled down and was able to strike out the next batter to end the inning, preserving the slim lead.

Hideki Okajima, pitching for the first time in 6 days while nursing a sore wrist, did not look as sharp as usual, giving up a leadoff double to David DeJesus. The inning was not smooth. He did induce a groundout and a strikeout, but also walked two batters to load the bases. With the game on the line, Terry Francona handed the ball to Jonathan Papelbon. You know the rest of the story. Four Royals batter later, the game was over, and the Sox had won their 5th game in a row, this one by the narrow score of 2-1.

The Red Sox pitching depth has been impressive so far this season. Clay Buchholz and John Lester have been fine additions to the rotation, and when needed, the Sox have confidence in spot starts from guys like Masterson, David Pauley, and Devern Hansack. Yesterday's announcement that Julian Tavares has agreed to an assignment in Pawtucket give the Sox some additional depth for middle relief. But, what about experienced pitching depth? How about Curt Schilling, who is still making progress in his recovery from shoulder problems, and has increased his throwing distance to 100 feet. He'd be a nice last season addition for a playoff run!

Want more veteran help? How about former Cy Young award winner, Bartolo Colon, making his season debut tonight against the Royals? Colon has been getting progressively better in his recovery from elbow troubles suffered last season. He has shown his strength is returning as his fastball has been clocked in the low 90's. Tonight, he'll most likely be limited to 80-90 pitches. The hope would be that he can get the Sox into the 6th inning on that pitch count, and be able to go deeper with each successive outing. If Colon is effective, what an incredible addition to the rotation! It could push the Sox over the top, so keep those fingers crossed that he stays healthy, and still has the stuff to get big league batters out.

Meanwhile, things are looking bleak in Gotham City. Alex Rodriguez returned from the DL and contributed to last night's game with a 2 run home run. But it was, once again, too little too late for A-Rod as the Yankees lost their 4th in a row getting spanked by the Orioles 12-2. This was one night after being spanked by the Mets 11-2! In the game, Derek Jeter was hit on the hand by a pitch. X-rays were negative, but he may be out for a couple of days now. The Yankees are looking up from the basement of the AL East today, 7 1/2 games behind the Red Sox. But, if there is any consolation for Yankee fans, it is this. Last year, through 45 games, the Yankees were 21-24, ten games behind the Red Sox, and they ended the season 94-68, only two games back. This year they are 20-25, and only 7 1/2 behind the Red Sox. So, if this season plays out like last season, they are within striking distance.

So, let's hope the Red Sox good fortunes continue, in the form of a healthy Colon, and we can keep the Evil Empire in the rear view mirror.

(Photos Courtesy of Yahoo Sports)

Lester Becomes Legend

John Lester has written himself into the history books, thanks to an inspiring performance last night, as he dominated the Kansas City Royals' lineup on his way to a thrilling no hitter! There was something different about Lester last night. I was not able to tune in to the game until the 5th inning, having just coached my daughter's softball team on a cold and windy day. The first thing I saw was the 5-0 lead - all right! Then, with the first glimpse I got of Lester, I immediately saw a deep fire in his eyes and confidence just emanating from him. I thought, "excellent - Lester has a 5-0 lead and looks like he is 'on' tonight!". NESN was showing replays of a terrific diving catch in center field by Jacoby Ellsbury. This looks like a fun game!

I had no idea what the game situation was, other than the 5-0 lead, and was forced to bounce between activities until the 7th inning. But, I was impressed with his confidence, swagger, and command. He KNEW what he was doing with every pitch, he was getting ahead of hitters, and his location was the best I've seen this year. With the no-hitter in progress, Don Orsillo and Jerry Remy, in my glimpses bouncing in and out of the room, never mentioned "that which cannot be spoken" during a no hitter. So by the time I settled in to watch the game for good, it was the 7th inning, and I still had no idea there was a no hitter in progress. They mentioned his low pitch count and I wondered if he had a shot at a complete game, but assumed Terry Francona would rest him in the ninth if the score held up.

Then they showed the scoreboard. My eyes lit up. Was that a zero in the hit column in the 7th inning? No wonder Don was being so coy in his commentary. Now, this was exciting, but there are still nine outs to go, so let's not get too excited. Then I watched as Lester, with brutal efficiency, breeze through the 7th 1-2-3, ending with a swinging strikeout to Jose Guillen. The butterflies in my stomach began stirring. Six outs to go. Terry Francona tried to give Lester as much help as possible, removing future gold glove left fielder, Manny Ramirez, replacing him with the defensive expertise of Coco Crisp. Coco took over center field, and Jacoby Ellsbury moved to left. With JD Drew in right field, the Sox now had in place one of the fastest group of outfielders in the game. I wanted to assemble the family to witness this, but maybe it was too soon.

First batter in the eighth inning - called out on strikes. Second batter - strike out swinging. Butterflies in full flight now. Third batter puts the bat on a curveball and sends it to center field. Coco Crisp is ready and waiting - three outs.

Okay, we are heading in to the ninth inning - time to assemble the troops. The kids are a little confused, as I cannot say the words, "no hitter", out loud, but they quickly catch on. With everyone in position, we watched the ninth inning. Francona tightens down the defense one more time - this time sending in Alex Cora for shortstop Julio Lugo. First batter, walks! Uh oh! Well, its not a hit, and could set up a double play. Next batter hits a high chopper towards third, this could be trouble. The incredibly high bounce could give the runner time to beat the throw to first. Mike Lowell charges, plays it perfectly, and fires to first beating the runner by a full step. We all jump in the air and cheer. Runner on second base, one out. Left-hander, David Jesus, hits a ground ball towards first base. We hold our breaths as Kevin Youkilis easily scoops the ball and tags first base himself. Youk does not even glance at Lester after the play - superstition is alive and well in Boston.

We are all on edge, and we remember just last year when Curt Schilling carried a no hitter right down to the last batter, who ruined it with a single to right. This was not over.

The final batter, Alberto Callespo, was not going to go down easily, and he was looking for a hit. Callespo swung and fouled off the first pitch, swung at and missed the second pitch. He watched the third pitch go by for a ball, before swinging at and fouling off the 4th pitch. With every swing we cringed, praying it would not result in a hit. Lester was about to throw pitch number 130. He had plenty of adrenaline flowing, and looked even stronger than in the earlier innings. His eyes grew fierce, his lips tightened. Lester had had enough - everything he had left would go into this pitch. He wound up, and let loose a 96 MPH fastball. Callespo, down 1-2, could not let it go by. He swung, but all his bat got was air. The ball popped into Jason Varitek's mitt - strike three! We leaped into the air with cheers, mimicking the celebration on TV.

What a day for Lester! Two years ago he was on extended leave, fighting a battle against cancer. Last night, he culminated his fight back reaching one of the highest pinnacles a pitcher can reach. Congratulations John - Boston loves you!

(Photos courtesy of Boston.com)

Brewers Short on Braun, Swept by Boston

No, the title does not have a misspelling. Milwaukee Brewers' left fielder, Ryan Braun, had an impressive afternoon yesterday, hitting two home runs off of Red Sox ace, Josh Beckett, accounting for 4 RBI and 2 runs scored. Shortstop JJ Hardy also had a 2 run home run, and Prince Fielder contributed with a solo home run of his own. All four home runs came off of Beckett, who was not his usual masterful self, yet amazingly, the Brewers would need more brawn than that if they hoped to beat the Red Sox yesterday, as Boston completed the three game sweep with an 11-7 victory.

David Ortiz led the way for the Red Sox offense, and with Manny Ramirez' bat acting a little bashful lately, Ortiz had to look for another dance partner. He found one in Dustin Pedroia, and what dance partners they made! In the first inning, Pedroia walked and Big Papi drove a beautiful double into the left center field gap to score Dustin from first base. In the third inning, Pedroia lofted his second home run of the year into the Green Monster seats, and Papi followed with a solo home run of his own around the Pesky Pole in right field. The dance continued in the fifth inning when Pedroia led off with a single and Papi drove his second home run of the day into the right field seats, this one 3 rows behind the visiting bullpen. Between the two of them, Papi and Pedroia drove in 6 runs and scored 5! Quite a 1-2 punch. But, they were not the only ones with offense. Jacoby Ellsbury drove in two with a bases loaded single in the 4th, and Kevin Youkilis hit a 2 run home run in the 7th, his 9th of the year.

With all that offense, Josh Beckett did not need to be brilliant, and he really was not as bad as the score looked. He went 7 innings, saving a tired bullpen, and struck out nine batters while only walking one. Three of the four home runs he gave up came on curve balls, and the fourth was on a change up. The curve balls all stayed up in the zone, and when they do, they are very vulnerable. The fact that it was the curve ball that got Beckett in trouble is better news for Sox fans than if the home runs came off of ineffective fastballs. But, this is something to keep an eye on. Beckett pitched reasonably well for the Sox in 2006, but a rash of home runs (36) prevented him from having a stellar season. Last year he kept the ball in the park much better, only giving up 17 home runs, and nearly won a Cy Young award. Let's hope this is just a blip on the radar, as he has now given up 9 so far this year.

Jacoby Ellsbury, even with his blinding speed, finally got thrown out stealing in the 4th inning on a perfectly executed pitch-out by the Brewers. The pitch-out was the only way they could have caught Jacoby, and it was inevitable that someone would time that play right.

We talked about this briefly yesterday, and at the time I thought it was only a one-time oddity. But, for the second day in a row, Terry Francona pulled Julio Lugo out of the game prior to the 9th inning in favor of Alex Cora, presumably only for defensive reasons. I am struggling to recall a time when a starting shortstop was ever pulled late in a game for defensive reasons only. Starting shortstops become starters because they are good and don't need to be replaced for defensive reasons! Typical defensive substitutes are terrific batters who are playing first base or outfield, but are defensive liabilities (think Jason Giambi), but not your starting shortstop! I am surprised I have not heard anything about this yet, but after you all read this, spread the word and let's get the talk going.

Every relief pitcher, other than Hideki Okajima who was resting a mild wrist sprain, was used on Saturday, so the Red Sox called up pitcher Chris Smith from Pawtucket as an insurance measure on Sunday. Van Every was sent back to the minors to make room. Smith did not get in to the game on Sunday, and that is unfortunate as he'll most likely be headed back to Pawtucket shortly. It appears the Red Sox were indeed planning on bringing up Bartolo Colon to pitch on Tuesday to take Clay Buchholz' spot. But, with the rain out Friday, Daisuke Matsuzaka was bumped up to Saturday. If Dice-K takes his next scheduled start on Wednesday, he'd be doing it on only three days rest, something the Sox would rather avoid. So, rather than have only one start to fill, the Sox now have two to fill. So here's the plan...

Justin Masterson will be called up for the second time this year to pitch Tuesday's game, and Bartolo Colon will pitch on Wednesday. Justin will be sent back to the minors after his start to make room for Colon, and it is clear that Smith will be sent back to Pawtucket to make room for Masterson. As long as the plan holds up, get ready for the Bartolo Colon experiment to begin! At least we are going up against the Kansas City Royals, so a little experimentation does not feel as risky as if we were going up against serious contenders, like the New York Yan....wait, strike that, I meant the Tampa Bay Rays!

(Photos Courtesy of Boston.Com)

Sox Take Two from Brewers

In a day that featured plenty of sloppy play, patches of brilliant pitching, and a few timely home runs, the Red Sox managed to sneak away with two wins over the Milwaukee Brewers, moving them into a tie for first place in the AL East. It was also a day for the fans to show their heartfelt appreciation for the visiting Gabe Kapler as he was treated to a rousing standing ovation. Boston fans honor and respect loyalty with a passion. Gabe Kapler, like Trot Nixon before him, are fine examples of that. Not all ex-Red Sox players demonstrate such loyalty, and are not greeted as warmly (are you listening Johnny Damon?).

Daisuke Matsuzaka was the star of the first game going 6 2/3 innings and improving his record to 7-0 on the season. He also lowered his ERA to 2.15, third best in the American League. Dice-K held the Brewers scoreless through 6 innings, and then allowed 2 runs in the 7th inning, both of them unearned thanks to a fielding error by Kevin Youkilis with 2 outs. The error ended Youk's streak of errorless baseball, and kept the inning alive for Mike Cameron, who took advantage by hitting the first pitch he saw from Dice-K for a 2 run home run. Dice-K was effective all day mixing in all his pitches, only walking 2 batters, and fighting his way out of a couple of jams. The Red Sox also got some effective pitching out of Manny Delcarmen, who got the last out of the 7th inning and pitched a scoreless 8th, only allowing one hit, and preserving the lead for Jonathan Papelbon in the 9th. Papelbon got the save, but took one bruise in the process as he gave up a solo home run to Ryan Braun with two outs.

The Red Sox got one run in the first inning when JD Drew walked with the bases loaded, but the big runs came from the Big Papi in the second inning. With two outs and two men on base, Big Papi launched his 8th home of the season into the Green Monster seats giving the Sox a 4-0 lead. Manny Ramirez, only 2 home runs away from 500, did not go deep yesterday keeping us all in suspense for this afternoon's game.

In game one, both the Sox and Brewers had an error each. As the day wore on, the players got more tired, and the errors mounted. In game two the fans were treated to a total of 13 runs, but only 7 of them were earned as the Red Sox committed 3 errors and the Brewers committed 4! The Red Sox and Tim Wakefield were cruising into the 6th inning holding a 5-0 lead, but the Brewers fought back scoring 3 in the inning. Terry Francona went to Craig Hansen in the 7th. Hansen looked like he was going to fare well. He gave up a leadoff single to Prince Fielder (who really looks like more like a softball player), struck out Corey Hart, and then induced the next two batters to hit ground ball to the infield. Unfortunately, the first ground ball put another runner on when Mike Lowell's throw to first went for an error, and the second ground ball loaded the bases when Alex Cora bobbled the ball for another error. Rather than being out of the inning, Hansen now had his job cut out for him. A ground out plated one run, and before Hanson could end it, Craig Counsell got a hold of a slider for a double, plating two more runs and giving the Brewers their first lead of the day.

The lead would not last as a pair of errors by the Brewers in the bottom of the inning allowed the Sox two squeeze two more runs in for a 7-6 lead that they would manage to hold. Mike Timlin would make sure of that as he earned his first save of the season with a nifty 1-2-3 ninth inning.

Interesting moves by Francona in the first game. To open the ninth inning, Francona not only sent in Papelbon to close the game, he also made a couple of defensive moves. He moved Youkilis to first replacing Sean Casey, and sent in Mike Lowell to third. Was it to shore up defense at third, which Youk having made one error there, or to shore up defense at first base, where Youlikis still has an errorless streak going? He also made a move pulling Julio Lugo and sending in Alex Cora to play short stop. Now, I can't imagine he'd pull his starting shortstop for defensive reasons (although many fans would make the move for that very reason). My guess is that Lugo may still be feeling some side effects from the mild concussion he had.

Today, Josh Beckett will try to complete the three game sweep. Josh was not happy after his last performance. If he is feeling healthy and strong, he will come out firing and the Brewers will take the brunt of his frustrations. Perhaps Manny Ramirez will take it out on them too and treat us to another step towards baseball's history books.

Lastly, MLB has tentatively listed Bartolo Colon as Tuesday's starter for the Red Sox. They admit that no such announcement has been made by the Red Sox, but the mystery continues!

(Photos Courtesy of Yahoo Sports)