Yankees Defeat Red Sox to Advance in the Playoffs

New York fans everywhere wish the title of this post pertained to the pinstriped debacle that play in the Bronx. While the title of the post is true and accurate, it pertains to last night's AAA playoff game between the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees and the Pawtucket Red Sox. The game was scoreless in the bottom of the 10th inning when Sandy Duncan hit a 2 run walk-off home run to win the game, and the series.

Why is this important here? Two reasons. First, I just hate to miss an opportunity to tease Yankee fans. The news of their major league franchise is not good. The title of the lead article on the Yankee's web site says "Mussina, Yanks endure setback in playoff hunt". Excuse me? A "setback"? They have just lost 2 out of 3 games to the (get this) Seattle Mariners! With the Blue Jays going on a tear and winning 8 straight games, the Yankees are now in 4th place in the AL East and 4th place in the Wild Card. I am afraid there is no playoff hunt for the Yankees this year, therefore, there is really no setback.

Now, where was I? Oh, yes, the real reason the AAA playoff game mentioned above is of interest is that the starter for Pawtucket last night was Bartolo Colon. How did he do, you ask? Well, he simply pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings, only needing to throw 84 pitches, struck out 3, allowed only 2 hits and walked nobody. Hmm, I think he's ready. The tentative plan calls for Colon to pitch one of the double header games this Saturday against Toronto. Beyond that, I'm not sure what the Sox will do with him. My guess is they'll try to give most starters an extra day of rest leading up to the playoffs, and will use Colon to help make that happen. If he's hot, he could sneak in to the playoff roster, we'll see.

And speaking of Toronto, their 8 game winning streak included a 3 game sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays. Toronto is truly doing everything they can to help the Sox. Can we call them our "wing men" (get it - Blue Jays, wings?)? This is the Ray's very first taste of the September playoff hunt, and many people have been wondering how they'd hold up. They were terrific in August, and steady all year, but in September they are now 1-5, and find themselves clinging to a 1 1/2 game lead over the Red Sox. And, they kick off a 3 game series tonight in Boston, where they have lost six straight times this season. Yes, their back are against the wall. Time to fight, or take a step back.

The Red Sox, in contrast, are 5-1 in September, and are doing what a playoff contender needs to do. They are winning. Last night's 7-2 victory over the Texas Rangers was their 6th straight series win. That's how you enter the playoff hunt. Paul Byrd has turned out to be a very nice pickup by Theo Epstein. Byrd now has earned 4 straight wins for the Red Sox and has simply been steady and reliable. Big Papi and Jason Bay both provided home runs, and the Sox had an all-around solid night.

Coco Crisp has been getting hot, and if he keeps it up, he'll get more playing time this post-season that he did last year. But, Coco has to remember that Manny Ramirez is no longer in left field. In the 6th inning last night, Joaquin Arias sent a soft line drive to shallow left center field. Both Crisp and Jason Bay took off in hot pursuit. With Manny in left, Coco know he is the only chance the Sox have of getting that out, and that is how he went after that ball. However, Bay actually had a better angle, and a good jump. They both arrived at the same time, and nearly collided, Jason making the catch and tumbling safely away. The look on Crisp's face said, "where'd he come from - oh yeah, that ain't Manny out there any more".

So, tune in tonight when Jon Lester sets the tone for the main event. With the Rays sending Edwin Jackson to the mound, I like the Sox' chances in this one. Tomorrow, Scott Kazmir faces off against Daisuke Matsuzaka. That is a tough match-up, one I'll be watching in person (weather permitting). Then, the two teams wrap it up with Josh Beckett against Andy Sonnanstine. Lester, Dice-K, and Beckett? Well, you can't ask for more than that. This is the time to grab a piece of the lead!

(Photos Courtesy of ESPN)

Red Sox Will Miss Texas

The Texas Rangers came in to town on a bit of a roll and looking like they could become a legitimate wild card contender. After 3 games in Fenway, they left town battered, bruised, and a little embarrassed (I imagine). After waging a fierce battle in game 1, only to lose 19-17, it seems they had very little left in the offensive tank. In game 2, they managed to put 4 runs on the board as part of a late inning comeback attempt, but succumbed 8-4.

Then, last night turned into more of the same. In the second inning, the Sox scored a whopping 9 runs, and the Rangers just did not have it in them to fight back this time. Even Texas manager Jimmy (JJ) Walker (or was that Ron Washington?) had no answer to get the Rangers back in this one.

Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched 7 scoreless innings. He was not perfect, but in his usual style, he allowed base runners, but refused to let that get in the way of trying to deny hits to batters. Thus, the 5 walks he allowed to go with 5 hits, but 2 double plays and 2 base runners caught stealing helped squash any attempts at getting any momentum going.

Big Papi seems to be feeling fine, apparently not hindered by the nagging wrist as he launched another 3 run home run as part of the second inning rally. Dustin Pedrioa, Kevin Youkilis, and Jed Lowrie continued feasting on Texas pitching. The only batter stymied by the Rangers has been JD Drew, going 0 for 9 in the last two games, but no one really noticed or cares right now.

Even the bullpen got a shot at redemption last night. In particular, Manny Delcarmen and Mike Timlin both got another shot at Texas. Manny was roughed up and charged with a blown save in the first game of the series, and Timlin gave up a 3 run home run in the second game. But last night they turned that around with Manny pitching a 1-2-3 8th inning, and Timlin pitching a 1-2-3 9th inning.

Unfortunately, Tampa Bay has been keeping pace with the Sox and refusing to let them creep forward. The Sox remain 3 games behind the mighty Rays, but gained a half game over the idle Yankees. Tonight, Sox fans get their first look at the newly acquired Paul Byrd as he tries to prove his value against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays, predicted by many in the off-season to be the team to beat, have been far from it. But, even though they appear out of playoff contention for this season, that doesn't mean they are incapable of doing a little bit of damage here and there.

(Photos Courtesy of ESPN)

Who Needs Pitching?

The Red Sox and Rangers adopted a new strategy last night. They abandoned the silly notion that you need good pitching to win games. Instead, both teams opted to forget about pitching and focus on a little hitting! By the time the dust had settled, the Red Sox had managed to cling to a 19-17 victory, inching a game closer to the "what are you doing in first place this late in the season" Rays.

I attended the game last night, and was thrilled that I got to my seat in time for the first pitch. Charlie Zink looked nervous, but settled in nicely after retiring the first three Rangers he faced. He threw a pretty nice knuckleball, although not with quite as much movement as Wakefield's. He does mix in a fastball that was clocked around 84 mph, as well as a reasonable curve. His key to success is to keep hitters off balance and guessing.

Then, the Sox came to bat with a vengeance. JD Drew lead off with a walk, followed by a single by Dustin Pedrioa, his first of 5 hits last last. Then, Big Papi stepped up with his waskally wist all wested from a night off, and planted a home run deep in right field that landed about 40 feet to our left as we were sitting. The guys in the seats next to me missed the home run waiting in line for food. When I filled them in on what they missed, they calmly replied, "well, he'll just have to do it again for us now that we're here". Who knew prophets still walk the modern day earth?

Papi sat on the bench watching 8 teammates take their turns at bat, and when his name came up again, he saw a familiar situation. JD Drew was standing on second base, and Dustin Pedroia was on first. Just like back in the first inning. Oh, wait, this is STILL the first inning. In fulfillment of my neighbors' prophesy, Papi crushed a long shot into the seats in center field for his second 3 run home run of the inning. The only two Red Sox batters who failed to reach base in the first inning were Coco Crisp, who flied out, and Kevin Youkilis, who struck out twice, amazingly enough.

So, the Sox were winning ten to nothing after one inning. My friend realizes this game is over and decides to make an early exit to beat the traffic (just kidding - but he did leave after the 7th inning with the Sox losing 16-15, a sure sign that a dramatic win was coming up shortly thereafter). Zink, with a more than comfortable lead, settled in and pitched quite well through the 4th inning. The Rangers put two runs on the board in the second inning, but the Sox erased those with 2 of their own in the 3rd inning. The 12-2 score held up until the 5th inning, and then the wheels came off the wagon, and no one knew how to put them back on.

Zink, who was pitching on only 3 days rest, clearly began to tire out and started leaving pitches out over the plate. The Rangers are not a team to refuse gifts like that and went to work on the unfortunate rookie. Soon enough, the Rangers had scored one run and had runners at first and second with only one out. Time for a nice double play ball? Not exactly. When Zink chatted with pitching coach, John Farrell, at the mound, I think Farrell asked for a double play, but Zink only heard the word "double". Which might explain why he proceeded to give up back to back to back doubles, allowing 3 more runs to score. With the score now 12-6, we began joking about the possibility of losing the lead as we watched Javier Lopez take over for Zink. How silly was that? After all, the Rangers were starting to score, but those runs were all against a poor rookie in his first outing on only 3 days rest. Surely the well seasoned bullpen will shut things down and ensure the victory, right?

Not exactly. Lopez gave up a single to score another run, before striking out Ramon Vazquez for the second out. That was all Tito wanted from Lopez, and he called for David Aardsma to take a shot at the Rangers. This was only Aardsma's second outing since coming off the DL, and I'm not sure coming off the DL was a good idea, based on what we saw. Aardsma gave up a two run home run to the first batter he faced, before striking out Michael Young to end the inning. The Sox were now clinging to a 12-10 lead.

The action was far from over. Big Papi lead off the bottom of the 5th with a towering drive to center field for, what looked like, his third home run of the night. A fan caught the ball, but from our vantage point it seemed like the ball had cleared the wall before being caught. The umpires apparently did not have the same angle we had, and ruled the ball a ground rule double due to fan interference. That cost Papi a home run, and the poor guy who caught it got thrown out for his troubles. But, Youk, tired of missing out on all the fun, quickly made up for it, sending a long drive into the Monster Seats in dead center field. We all breathed a sigh of relief. Surely this 14-10 lead would now hold, right?

Not exactly. Aardsma started off the 6th inning giving up a walk, followed by back to back singles, allowing one run to score. Francona realized that Aardsma was just throwing batting practice up there, and sent in Manny Delcarmen to move the game along. Well, Manny moved it along all right, but not in the direction we were hoping for. Six batters later, the inning thankfully ended. Manny had given up a double, a single, two sacrifice flies, and watched Youk make a rare error on a hard hit grounder, before it was over. The Rangers had just scored 5 more runs to take an incredible 15-14 lead!

Okay, joking about losing the lead was no longer funny. This was now serious. The Sox failed to score in the 6th inning, ending the inning with Coco Crisp getting thrown out at second while trying to steal himself into scoring position. But, the Rangers were on to him as they executed a perfect pitch out to cut him down. Then, to our surprise, Francona sent Delcarmen back out to start the 7th inning. Manny started the inning off by giving up a double, struck Milton Bradley out, then gave up an RBI single to allow the Rangers to put an insurance run on the board.

Now, Tito, in frustration, yanked Manny off the mound by the ear and dragged him into the clubhouse for a sound beating (we hope). Tito finally stopped fooling around and went for the big guns, starting with Hideki Okajima. Oki got the first batter he faced to fly to right for out number two. Then, he decided to have a little fun with the crowd by loading the bases with a walk and a hit batter. He looked around playfully at all the worried faces, gave a quick chuckle, and proceeded to get Vazquez to fly to center to end the inning. So funny, Hideki, so funny!

The Sox still had some making up to do, and managed to send 6 batters to the plate in the 7th, but only scored one run off of an error. Okajima saw his joke did not go over so well, so rather than repeat it, he dispatched the Rangers 1-2-3 for a quick 8th inning. Time was running out, and the Sox were still losing 16-15. The bottom of the 8th did not start out promising. Crisp and Drew both flied out, while Jacoby Ellsbury, pinch hitting for Kevin Cash, managed to get on with a walk. So, two outs, a man on first, and a one run lead for Texas. Dustin Pedroia, who had already recorded 4 singles on the night, upped his average with a 5th hit, this one a double that scored Ellsbury all the way from first base to thankfully tie the game. Now, Big Papi stepped to the plate. Well, the Rangers were not going to fall for that again. After watching Papi light up the night sky over Boston, they decided not to pitch to him with the game on the line, and walked him to face Youkilis instead. But, wait. didn't Youkilis homer tonight too? I guess the odds "seemed" better, but odds can be rather odd sometimes.

This time the odds were on the Red Sox' favor. Kevin Youkilis joined Papi in a two home run night, this one a clobbered shot to left field off the Sports Authority sign. The Sox were now back in the lead by a comfortable score of 19-16. All we need is for Papelbon to wrap things up. Papelbon starts off striking out Milton Bradley, and the crowd was on their feet. Then, the odds came back to bite Youkilis. Youk had moved over to third base to take over for Mike Lowell, who had left the game with a strained oblique (I don't like the sound of that). Marlon Byrd laced a grounder to Youk at third, and the ball just ate him up. Two errors in one night for Youk? Would this game ever end? Brandon Boggs then put a scare into the Fenway Faithful as he laced a double to score Byrd who had stolen second base. The Rangers were coming back again!

Thankfully, this tale has a happy ending. Paps got the next two batters to line out, and a sigh of relief went out from the entire crowd, one moment before "Dirty Water" began to blare out of the speakers.

Well, that was exhausting, but incredible to witness. The last game I attended was a near no-hitter. This one was pretty much the opposite. Not sure what to call that. Maybe a "no-pitcher"?

Jon Lester Rights the Ship

Amid all the new found Manny Ramirez controversy, there was an actual game played yesterday. Not just any game, but a pivotal game against an historic rival who had just taken two straight games in Fenway Park. A loss would have allowed the Yankees to move into a tie with the Red Sox for second place in the AL East.

Boston went on the attack early and often, scoring runs in 5 out of the first 6 innings. Big Papi got his groove back and led the offensive charge with a 2 for 4 night, driving in 3 runs, 2 of them coming off of a home run with Dustin Pedroia on base and two outs in the 4th inning. Manny Ramirez, who even now is being escorted out of town by radio talk show callers, paired up with Papi, just the way it is supposed to work, going 3 for 5, driving in 2, and scoring 2 runs. In fact, every Sox starter had at least one hit, except for JD Drew who went 0 for 2, but did walk twice. Even Jacoby Ellsbury, relegated to the bottom of the order to work on getting his swing back, went a cool 3 for 4.

But, what would all that offense be without some good pitching to go along with it? It would be like lobster without butter, Laurel without Hardy, Charlie's Angels without Cameron Diaz. Playing the part of butter, Oliver Hardy, and Cameron Diaz yesterday was Jon Lester. Lester has truly become the cornerstone of the starting rotation. This season he has been more steady than even Josh Beckett. Nothing seems to rattle Lester anymore. His steely gaze shines across the plate when he looks in for the sign. Most times he looks like a cat toying with a helpless mouse. Yesterday, he went 7 innings (again), allowing 9 hits and a walk, but struck out 8 batters, holding the Yankees to just 2 runs. He would bend, but he would not break.

Manny Delcarmen and Mike Timlin pitched a scoreless inning each to secure Lester's 9th win of the season. Meanwhile, the newest Yankeee starter, Sidney Ponson, got knocked around like a judge on an Aruban beach. Ponson only lasted four innings, and left the game trailing an impossible 7-0. But, the games must go 9 innings, so the Fenway faithful were treated to 4 1/2 more innings of watching the Red Sox chase the Yankees around the boxing ring before the inevitable TKO in the 9th, and a 9-2 victory.

What about Manny? What about him? Am I surprised Manny has, yet again, turned into a petulant child? No, quite the contrary. After 4 seasons of Manny loving the Red Sox, wanting to be traded, being so happy in Boston, demanding to be traded, so thrilled to be part of baseball in Boston, etc., etc., I have simply been waiting for the next shoe to fall. Manny is on a part of this team right now, and a critical part of the team at that. As long as he is here, under contract, he will play hard, and do his best to win ball games. When he does not, I will shout down to him how he is letting us down. Will he be here next year, does he want to be here next year? We'll see.

As far as everyone was concerned, Manny was gone years ago. He asked (through his agents) to be traded before. The Red Sox even put him on waivers, and offered him in a possible deal for Alex Rodriguez. Yet, he is still here. So, will he be here next year? Who knows. I do not think Manny has planted deep roots in Boston (ala Johnny Damon). He is pretty happy here, has good friends on the team, and has had a supportive fan following to go with all of his success (including being named the MVP of the 2004 World Series). So, you would think Manny would be happy here.

But, I think Manny was actually much happier in Cleveland, and look where that got him. Manny has the evil Scott Boras as his agent. The Red Sox will not be stupid. They want Manny here, playing hard, batting 4th, and anchoring the offensive lineup. But, they will not keep him here at all costs. They'll wait until the end of the season to decide what to do next in terms of exercising Manny's option for next year.

Will they trade Manny before the deadline? Not likely, but maybe. Same as every other player on the team. If, and only if, there is a deal that Theo feels will improve the team, give them a better shot at another championship, without costing the team too much, then he will swing that deal. I am doubtful that deal will present itself with regards to Manny, but you never know. For a trade to take place, you need both side to like the deal. Many teams would love Manny's bat, but he's expensive and the Red Sox will want significant compensation in return. They would be foolish to do anything else. My guess is that no other team will be able to come up with the right offer, nor will they want to take on the risk that Manny walks once free agency hits. I think they'll all wait until the end of the season and make a run for him in free agency if the Sox do not lock him up.

Meanwhile, what happens the rest of the year? Same old thing. Manny will go on a hot streak, he'll forget about the contract stuff for a while, and he'll contribute. The fans will steam and yell, then they'll cool down and watch the games. We'll enjoy a fun playoff run, and then we'll rejoin the debate after the season. Manny's performance, overall, will be no different. If he stays, let's enjoy watching the guy hit, and hope he minimizes the childishness.

(Photos Courtesy of ESPN)

Exciting New Prospect in Pawtucket

The start of the second half of the season always brings with it a host of trade talks. The trade deadline is July 31st, and fans everywhere will be inventing some pretty incredulous trades to either attempt to jettison players they don't like, or bring in players they'd love to have (very often both in the same trade).

This year, there is not big need to look outside the organization if you are in the market for a power hitting left-hander. Watching the Pawtucket Red Sox the last two days, I couldn't help but notice just such a player. He is big, strong, and looks locked in. He homered in both of the past two games, and one of those home runs was on an outside fastball that he was able to stay with and drive the other way to left field. That is the sign of major league material.

The one drawback that I can see is that the guy is a bit slow afoot and seems to have the most value as a DH. He can play some first base, but I sure wouldn't worry about his job if I were Kevin Youkilis.

The guy's name is David Ortiz, and you need to keep your eye on this guy. I assure you, he'll be called up before you know it, perhaps as early as the upcoming series against the Yankees when the Sox return to Boston. This guy would be perfect in the number 3 hole batting in front of Manny Ramirez. I know, you are now saying, "but we already have a power hitter in front of Manny - JD Drew". That is true, and JD Drew did win player of the month honors for the month of June. But, I'm telling you, this Ortiz guy can be even more effective. Imagine a guy like that in front of Manny, and then you bat JD Drew in the #5 hole behind Manny! That is what a lineup should look like. Instead of simply being in first place in most team offensive statistics, the Red Sox would be in mega-first place!

But, what about pitching and defense? Well, good point. Clay Buchholz sure did not have a game to remember yesterday, getting clobbered right out of the gates by the Angels in an 11-3 loss. In two starts since returning from Pawtucket, Clay has only proven that sending him down to Pawtucket was a good idea, and maybe they brought him back a bit too soon. Reworking a guy's delivery and arm angle is not something that takes root overnight! If it were not for Clay's past success and his amazing no-hitter, we'd all be shouting for him to be not only sent back, but including in some blockbuster trade deal.

Defense? If your goal for defense is to have a few laughs, then there is no need to worry about defense! Last night Manny provided plenty of laughs in left field. He got a terrible jump on a weak fly ball, feebly dove for it in a last ditch effort, but came no where near the ball. As the ball rolled past him he tried to quickly get up and chase it down, but in getting up he tripped, stumbled, and fell over the ball. As he rolled, the ball ended up under his butt, and he had to arch his back to reach under and retrieve it. Of course, by then, the batter was on third base, trying to suppress a good belly laugh. Did anyone really ant to catch the ball after watching where he had to retrieve it from?

Okay, so the Sox lost their opener against the California Angels of Los Angeles who play in Anaheim. Fear not, for a well rested Josh Beckett will make everything right today. Look for Jed Lowrie to make a significant contribution, and for some small ball to come into play. The home runs did not work yesterday (Youk and Manny), so let's do it with singles, stolen bases, and timely doubles today.

(Photos courtesy of ESPN)
(David Ortiz Photo courtesy of Yahoo Sports)

Colon Strong as Red Sox Beat Orioles 6-3

Bartolo Colon bounced back from a mediocre outing in his last start with a very nice outing last night. He needed 93 pitches to get through 6 innings, allowing only one run on a solo home run to Luke Scott to lead off the 5th inning. Otherwise, he held the Orioles in check all night, striking out 7 batters while only giving up 5 hits and 1 walk. Colon is now 4-1 for the Red Sox and it is becoming more and more apparent that Theo Epstein scored the steal of the off-season by having confidence that Colon would be able to bounce back from prior injuries and regain his Cy Young Award form. When we look back on the 2008 season, this may very well stand out as a key strategic move that put the Sox over the top.

The Orioles had Garrett Olsen pitching last night, and Garrett is a tough starter. The Sox were fortunate that Olsen seemed to need an inning to get settled in. They took advantage of that, and quickly jumped on Olson, scoring 5 runs in the bottom of the first inning, before Olson settled down and held serve the rest of the way. In the 1st, Jacoby Ellsbury singled, stole second, and advanced to third on an errant throw. The red hot JD Drew wasted no time, and drilled a double to bring in Ellsbury. Manny Ramirez grounded out, moving Drew up to third base. Drew would score on a wild pitch for the second run of the inning. Olsen remained shaky, walking both Mike Lowell and Kevin Youkilis to set the stage for Jason Varitek, who hit a monster shot high over the Green Monster, giving the Sox an early 5-0 lead. Mike Lowell contributed the 6th run from a solo homer of his own in the 6th inning.

The win last night was well timed, as every other team in the AL East lost last night. So, when the leader told all the teams to take one step forward, only the Red Sox remembered to say, "Mother, may I?", and now hold a 2 game lead over the Tampa Bay Dirty Rays, and a 7 game lead over the rest of the division. Tonight, the Sox and Orioles wrap up their three game series with Jon Lester shooting for his 5th win of the season. I'll tell you right now, put this one in the win column.

Then, get ready for the National League. Tomorrow the Sox hit the road for 3 games in Cincinnati, where recent 500 home run hitter, Manny Ramirez, can mingle with recent 600 home run hitter, Ken Griffey, Jr. Then the Sox head to Philadelphia for 3 games. The timing of these NL road games is pretty good for the Sox. Interleague rules dictate that the rules of the home team are used. Therefore, there will be no designated hitter for the next 6 games. Well, wouldn't you know, our designated hitter is currently on the disabled list? So, we don't have to stress about whether to bench David Ortiz for a few games, or play him at first base. The only hope is that Manny Ramirez resolves his hamstring issues by then so that he can head back out to left field.

Meanwhile, Daisuke Matsuzaka is making good headway in his recovery from a shoulder strain. He's throwing aggressive side sessions, and the Sox will decide tomorrow on his next step, which could be a start in Pawtucket, or they could have him jump right back into the rotation, which I'd prefer them to do. He hasn't been out very long, and can probably contribute right away, providing the shoulder feels good. In this case, it might be prudent not to waste good innings in Pawtucket.

One final note. Please congratulate David Ortiz, who took the oath to become an American citizen yesterday at the JFK Library along with 226 other immigrants. Welcome to America Papi! Now, Papi has a few additional things to worry about, like who to vote for in November!

(Big Papi photo Courtesy of Boston.Com)
(Game Photos Courtesy of ESPN)

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)

Holy Hit Parade, Batman!

Were you waiting for the Sox to have a big offensive night? If so, your prayers have been answered! Last night looked like it had all the makings of a pitchers' duel with a rematch of Josh Beckett going up against the Rays' James Shields. In their match-up last Sunday, Tampa Bay scraped out a 3-0 victory, with Shields pitching a complete game shutout allowing only 2 hits, while Beckett allowed 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits in 7 innings, taking the loss.

But last night was all about offense as the Red Sox had at least one hit all but one inning. Every Red Sox starter had at least one hit in the game, seven starters scored at least one run, and seven starters drove in at least one run.


The punishment started right from the start as the first four Red Sox batters in the game all had hits, scoring 3 runs in the inning. Welcome to Boston, Rays! Big Papi is officially out of his slump. Last night he went 3 for 5, scoring two runs and driving in two runs off of 2 doubles and a single. What you need to know is that Papi's 2 doubles were both well executed opposite field hits to left. That is exactly what he needs to do. If the defense is going to shift to the right, you hit to the left.

JD Drew was back in the lineup and went 2 for 4, scoring 2 runs and driving in 2 more. Smart move to sit sit out a couple of nights to be able to get back and contribute quicker. Manny Ramirez ended a short drought of not driving in any runs by driving in two with a single in the first inning. He is still stuck on 496 home runs, but he is driving in runs again - one step at a time. Jacoby Ellsbury was also menacing at the plate recording a single, double and a walk in 4 at-bats, scoring 2 runs.

But last night had defense too. Mike Lowell was stellar, making a terrific play on an attempted bunt single by Akinori Iwamura in the 3rd inning, and robbing Jason Bartlett of a sure double in the 5th inning leaping up to grab a hard hit line drive. Manny Ramirez (again) showed off his throwing arm in the 4th inning. With bases loaded and only one out, Nathan Haynes hit a line drive to Manny in mid-left field for out number two. Carlos Pena wanted to score badly, so he tagged up and took off for home. Manny fired a perfect strike to Jason Varitek for out number 3, inning over.

Josh Beckett was good, but not great. He was not lights-out dominating, but he did go deep into the game allowing 4 runs on 7 hits in 8 innings. Three of the four runs were scored off of two home runs. I am not worried about that yet, but it is something to keep an eye on. Two years ago Beckett had a fine year for the Sox, but it was marred by too many home runs. The two last night give Beckett 4 for the season. Hopefully just a blip on the map.

Now, one more win tomorrow would allow the Sox to extract sweep revenge on the Rays. The game will feature two talented, young lefties as John Lester faces off against Scott Kazmir. This will be Kazmir's first start of 2008. He has been nursing an inflamed elbow all season, so we will see if he is truly ready. Kazmir has historically been tough against the Sox, but I am not so sure his first outing of the year will be as successful as he hopes. My guess is that he'll look fantastic for 3 or 4 innings and then be done. By then, the Sox will either have solidified a lead, or kept close enough to bash the bullpen.

We are looking sweep here folks.

Frustration Mounts for the Red Sox

Hey, I'm back from a bought with the Red Sox flu. Hope my old pal Marty entertained you in the meantime. He'll make occassional appearances for me as the season goes on.

My first thought after last night's game was, "man, I'd hate to be David Ortiz' cat tonight", after Big Papi went 0-6 including hitting into a double play in the 11th inning (for all us animal lovers out there - it is just an expression). All-in-all it was not a bad game, and the Red Sox bullpen held their own, which was nice to see. I cringed when Brian Corey came into the game, but he battled well and held down the fort.

The real frustrating part was having two men on with one out TWICE in extra innings and BOTH TIMES ending those opportunities with double play ground balls, in the 10th by Julio Lugo, and in the 11th by Big Papi himself. You have to tip your hat to Papi for trying, as he dove headfirst into first base in a desperate effort to keep the inning alive. The grounds crew for Tampa Bay will have some work to do to repair the damage that dive left behind, I'm sure.

Another frustrating moment was when Sean Casey had to leave the game with a strained muscle in his hip. He will not be available tonight. Now, unless the Sox make a move, that leaves them with four infielders tonight, Youkilis, Lugo, Pedroia, and Lowrie (who is getting a lot more playing time than we all expected). If one of those guys gets hurt, who plays infield? Ellsbury, Drew, Crisp? That would be interesting. Mike Lowell is doing well in his rehab with Pawtucket, but won't be available until later in the week. The Sox are also carrying 13 pitchers on the roster right now, which has been necessary. I would guess they'd have to send a pitcher back to Pawtucket (Corey?) and bring up an infielder for tonight, just in case. We'll see.

Bonehead play of the night was made by Rays' second baseman, Akinori Iwamura. In the ninth inning, with Kevin Cash on first and one out, Dustin Pedroia hit a grounder to Iwamura which looked like an easy inning-ending double play. But Cash was running towards Iwamura who, rather than fire to second for the force, thought about tagging Cash and throwing to first. When Cash put on the brakes, Iwamura suddenly realized he was in trouble of even getting one out, and fired to first, but it was too late as Pedroia beat the throw. Cash had taken off for second and beat the throw from first too. Safe on both bases. Unfortunately, the inning ended after Papi popped out and Manny struck out.

Tonight Clay Buchholz tries to show his last start was not a fluke. What we need from Clay is 6 or 7 strong innings, leave with a lead, and let Okajima and Papelbon take the last innings tonight. Give the rest of the bullpen a rest. The Rays are starting their own promising youngster, 24 year old Edwin Jackson, who was born in Germany, interestingly enough. Jackson sounds similar to the Sox' young pitchers, in that when he has his good stuff, he looks terrific, but when he's a little off he gets clobbered. Boston fans are hoping for the latter tonight.

Lastly, isn't there anything in the rule book to prevent an idiotic, 8 foot tall, blue monstrosity from standing right behind home plate intentionally trying to distract the pitcher? This is not the NBA you know. How about a little class?

(Photos courtesy of Yahoo Sports)

Red Sox Bullpen Lets Masterson Down

This must have been one of the best days of 23 year old Justin Masterson's life - his very first appearance in a major league game! This wasn't just any game either. It was a game pitching for the reigning champion Boston Red Sox, in Fenway Park, in front of 37,848 rabid baseball fans, against the AL West leading Angels. What could make it any more perfect? How about pitching your very best and getting your first big league win?

Well, Justin certainly did his part impressing Red Sox fans everywhere. He showed off an impressive repertoire of pitches, featuring a fastball in the low 90's, a change up in the low 80's, a slider, a splitter, and an occasional curve ball. Only Dice-K has more pitches in his bag of tricks. He lasted 6 innings facing exactly 4 batters in every inning except the 6th, when he only faced three. He never really got into trouble, his only mistake being a solo home run on a slider that stayed out over the plate to Mike Napoli in the 5th inning. This kid appears to be for real, and left the game with a 3-1 lead, thanks to a based loaded RBI ground out by Coco Crisp in the 2nd, and back to back ground rule doubles by Crisp and Kevin Cash in the 4th.

But, turning the game over to the bullpen, especially a bullpen battling the flu, is a risky proposition these days. Javier Lopez got the damage started in the 7th by allowing the only two batters he faced to reach base with a walk and a single. Manny Delcarmen was summoned to help out, and looked like he was still suffering flu side effects as he walked his first batter on four straight pitches to load the bases with no outs. We all knew this would not end well. Manny allowed a single to the next batter, scoring a run. This brought on the usually dependable Hideki Okajima, who gave up back to back singles allowing 3 more runs to score.

David Aardsma and Julian Tavares each gave up a run in the 8th and 9th innings respectively, leaving the Sox in a deep 7-3 hole going into the bottom of the ninth.

But, David Ortiz gave the Sox one last glimmer of hope. With two outs in the 9th, and Ellsbury on with a single, Ortiz thrilled the crowd with a home run to right field, further boosting everyone's hopes that the real Big Papi is finally back. The home run made the score 7-5, but it was too little too late as Manny Ramirez, who was a terrific 3 for 5, flied out to center field to end the game.

The Sox are lucky they have been winning as much as they have with the health issues they have been battling. Maybe what they need is a trip down south to Florida for a little R&R, as Tim Wakefield will kick off three games against the "Rays" (formerly known as the Devil Rays). That is unless Wake gets the flu, then it is anyone's guess who'll pitch!

#24 is Now 24th

With a tremendous swing of the bat, Manny Ramirez (number 24) moved into a tie for 24th on the all time home run list. It was home run number 493 for Manny tying him with Fred McGriff, and the legend Lou Gehrig (whose number 4 I wore on my back for most of my baseball playing days). I am sure that swing rubbed a lot of already irate Indians fans the wrong way. If you had not heard, there has been a movement in Cleveland to bean Manny for his "transgression" of watching his home run in game 4 of LAST YEAR's playoff series against Cleveland. Have you ever heard of fans holding a grudge like that? Sheesh.

There were a number of heroes yesterday, and for me, a notable one was David Ortiz. I have mentioned a number of times that the Sox offense has been weak, in part due to Big Papi's slump. That does not mean he has to hit home runs all the time, but when he goes 'o-fer' it leaves a big hole in a critical part of the lineup and shuts down the offense. Just look at the ninth inning last night. Two outs, bases empty, tie ball game. Ortiz gets on base with a bloop single, then Manny wins the game. Had Papi struck out, we lose that opportunity. Nice job Papi!

Jon Lester, I thought, was very heroic. Yes, he had a mediocre night all together, but battled well in the 4th. It looked like the Indians were about to completely blow the game open, but even though Lester was against the ropes, he did not go down. He kept the damage to 2 runs, kept the bullpen off the field a little longer, and kept the team in the game. His stuff was good again, but he needs to stay closer to the strike zone - his big issue.

The middle relief out of the bullpen was great (sigh of relief). Julian Tavarez was tremendous, coming into the game in the 5th inning with bases loaded and only one out. He proceeded to strike the next two batters out to save the day, and then went two more innings of overwhelming shutout ball to stymie the Indians. Mike Timlin, who has looked incredibly hittable recently, followed Tavarez with a snappy 1-2-3 8th inning, setting up the late heroics for Manny in the ninth.

All in all a fun game to watch. It was encouraging to see the Sox put up a great fight like that. The Sox are now 5-5 on this very challenging 13 game stretch in the schedule. We all realized that if they go roughly .500 in this stretch, they'll be doing fine. So far so good.

A few days ago I pondered how the Sox would use Jed Lowrie, who is primarily a shortstop, as an aid to the ailing Mike Lowell, who plays third base. Tonight we will find out as Terry Francona has indicated Lowrie will be in the starting lineup. Terry has not committed to where Lowrie will play, but he seems to be leaning towards putting Lowrie in at third, moving Kevin Youkilis back to first, and giving Sean Casey the night off. Always fun to get a look at the young talent. Let's hope he has a good, and memorable night.

(AP Photos/Mark Duncan - from ESPN.com)

Weekend Yankees Winless

I re-wrote an old poem that I feel truly sums up everything I wanted to say today (my apologies to Dr. Seuss)...

To preface... the Steinbrenners were too busy counting money to watch the games this weekend, and wake up today to hear the good news...

Three thousand feet up! In the Yankee Boss’ den,

The Steinbrenners tuned their TV to ESPN!

"Pooh-pooh to the Sox Fans!" he was Yank-ish-ly humming.

"They're finding out now that no wins will be coming!

"They're just waking up! I know just what they'll do!

"Their mouths will hang open a minute or two

"Then all the Sox Fans down in Beantown will all cry BOO-HOO!"


"That's a noise," grinned the Boss,

"That I simply must hear!"

So he paused. And the Boss put a hand to his ear.

And he did hear a sound on the ESPN show.

It started in low. Then it started to grow...


But the sound wasn't sad!

Why, this sound sounded merry!

It couldn't be so!

But it WAS merry! VERY!


He stared down at Beantown!

The Boss popped his eyes!

Then he shook!

What he saw was a shocking surprise!


Every Fan down in Beantown, the tall and the small,

Was singing! Without any tears at all!

He HADN'T stopped the Wins from coming!

They CAME!

Somehow or other, they came just the same!


And the Boss, with his feet all buried in money,

Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be funny?

It came without Schilling! It came without Papi!

"It came without Mike Lowell, or Doug Mirabelli!"

And he puzzled three hours, `till his puzzler was sore.

Then the Boss thought of something he hadn't before!

"Maybe my players," he thought, "don’t play very well.

"Or maybe...perhaps...we’re under a spell!"


And what happened then...?

Well...the very next day

The Boss got a jackhammer

And hammered away!

And he dug a big hole in the locker room floor,

He searched for a Sox shirt buried there before

And he lifted the shirt! And on it read “ORTIZ”!

And he...


...HE HIMSELF...!



Cursed to heaven on his knees!

Return of the Jedi

When the Red Sox play the Yankees, it is fun to win, and it is even more fun to make a statement while you do it. Yesterday, our spokesperson for that statement was Jonathan Papelbon. What an inspiring performance! Two runners on base, two outs, one run lead, eight inning, Alex Rodriguez coming to the plate, Francona bringing in ace closer Papelbon to face him. Power versus power. Yankees' best hitter against the Sox' best fireball closer. It was so dramatic, God himself hit pause on the game by throwing lightning bolts over Boston, so he could reload on snacks. When God hit play again (over two hours later!) , Papelbon came out charged with that very lightning, striking out A-Rod on three straight pitches! For regular readers, you know I have been intrigued by Papelbon working on a new and improved slider this spring. He threw it on the second pitch and got A-Rod to whiff at it. And look at those three pitches, 97 mph fastball (fouled off), 90 mph slider (swing and miss), wrapped up with a 98 mph fastball (swing and miss).

Paps came back out to wrap up the game in the ninth getting Giambi and Posada to both strike out swinging, and then survived a drawn-out battle against Robinson Cano (the guy I called most fearless in the Yankee lineup) who forced Papelbon to throw 10 pitches in a terrific showdown until he finally put one in play, grounding out to second.

Pitching wins ballgames, and Josh Beckett looked great until he began tiring in the 6th and 7th. Francona obviously wanted to avoid bringing out the middle relief and stretched Beckett as far as he could. Beckett will need a few more starts to build back his strength with the delay he had in spring training from the strained back. Manny Delcarmen and Okajima did their jobs holding the Yankees at bay for Papelbon's drama to commence.

As I indicated yesterday, I expected Manny Ramirez to surely hit against Mike Mussina, and he did, with a home run and a double driving in 3 of the Sox' four runs. I love to point out and examine strategy here and there. The situation...runners on second and third for the Sox with one out and David Ortiz coming up with Manny on deck. First base is open, and we have seen managers in the past walk Big Papi intentionally only to get burned by Manny. But, with Big Papi struggling right now, new Yankees' manager, Joe Girardi, makes a prudent decision to pitch to Ortiz. Ortiz struck out, making that move look good. Now, he's got 2 outs, and first base is still open. Do you pitch to Manny, who already clobbered a home run against Mussina earlier in the game, or do you put Manny on first and go after Youkilis? This time he opted to pitch to Manny, who stroked the first pitch for a game turning double. Oops.

The 18 game series against the Yankees is all tied up at one game a piece. Next up, Dice-K Matsuzaka will try to continue his hot start against the Yankees' promising rookie, Phil Hughes. Hughes had an iffy outing, only lasting three innings against the Royals in his last start because he had trouble spotting his fastball. That is a correctable problem. So, no guarantee he will pitch poorly tonight. I can't imagine Papi going hitless again - so look out fans in right field! Dice-K has really looked good - I think he is more confident in the strike zone that MLB umps are giving him, and working well with Varitek to exploit that zone using his tremendous arsenal of pitches. If his location is good, with a favorable ump, we could see another pitching gem tonight!

Power Outage Continues

Red Sox lost last night 7-2 to the long overdue Tigers. We knew that was coming - just didn't know when. A team like the Tigers was certainly not going to winless for much longer.

I spoke about Jon Lester in the past stating that he has to have sharp command to be effective. Last night he looked very strong, regularly hitting 93 mph with his fastball, but he had trouble consistently spotting it. His off speed pitches were good, but like I said before, when his fastball command is off, batters take advantage. The result was 5 hits, 4 walks, and NO strikeouts. The good news is that he looked strong - perhaps too strong. Sometimes when a pitcher is feeling too strong he has trouble with control - ball tends to sail a bit coming out of your hand.

Mike Lowell made a terrific play in the second inning, but twisted his thumb fielding the ball and is now day-to-day with a sprain. Luckily it is only a sprain. Francona moved Youkilis over to third and inserted Sean Casey in at first base, batting in Mike Lowell's spot. This created a bit of an achilles heel for Tito in terms of baseball strategy. The new lineup now featured Casey (lefty), JD Drew (lefty), Varitek (switch but prefers lefty), and Ellsbury (lefty). Tigers' manager Jim Leyland took advantage of that in the 6th inning by bringing in the left handed pitcher, Bobby Seay with no outs, and Manny Ramirez on first. The strategy worked for Leyland as Casey flied out, Drew struck out, and Varitek flied out. Seay came back out for the 7th and got the last lefty, Jacoby Ellsbury to also fly out. So, while Casey batted well in Lowell's spot (going 4 for 4 and scoring a run) it did make the lineup vulnerable to a good lefty reliever.

Julio Lugo's name appeared quite a bit. In the 4th, he barely escaped a throwing error as the ump missed a close call in the Sox' favor, but in the 5th he made a great play on a tough shot getting Gary Sheffield out at first. Lugo also contributed with the bat, going 2 for 3 with a double and an RBI, and a stolen base. Oh, wait, the ump missed that one too, this time not in ourfavor as Lugo was called out stealing. My read of the replay was that he was safe by a beat.

The real trouble, again, was an offense that still cannot get going. The Sox had 9 hits, but only scored 2 runs, with the top of the order (Pedroia, Youk, and Ortiz) going a combined 0 for 12. Papi still can't hit his way out of a paper bag, and it is hurting our run production.

Through 9 games this season the Sox are 4-5 and have been outscored 41-30! Consider last season at this point they had outscored opponents 43-28. They were 5-4 at this point last year, so it is not like they have suddenly dropped off. But, the bats need to get going, particularly the bat of Big Papi.

Anemic Offense - where's the bullpen?

I'm going to presume you watched the game. If so - you saw the Sox are not playing like a Champion caliber team right now. Josh Beckett looked very good, better than Roy Halladay, until he began to tire a bit in the fifth inning. When I say he tired, I do not mean basic arm strength. What I mean is that there are a lot of intricate mechanics involved in throwing a pitch not only 98 miles per hour, but also within an inch or two of where you want it to go. In the 5th, he was still throwing strong (his changeup was effective at 91 mph), but he was starting to lose his location - that was mostly due to his conditioning needing to stretch out a little more to get him over 100 pitches while maintaining all the necessary mechanics. With two outs, he gave up a single, followed by two walks. Now, this puts Terry Francona in a tough spot. It is early in the season, your ace is coming off of a back injury and has not gone too deep yet. He just walked two straight batters, and Frank Thomas is coming to the plate. On the one hand, Beckett is such a competitor, he may bear down and get that last out (that might have been my guess). On the other hand, his control may be done, and Thomas will kill him. Terry decided to go with a fresh arm, and on one pitch, Manny Delcarmen left a pitch out over the plate, and Thomas ended the game with his 11th career grand slam.

Yes, that ended the game. Again, the Sox (other than JD Drew!) are having a tough time hitting right now. What does the box score tell you? There are two things that should jump out at you. First, the Sox had 10 hits, but only 4 runs. The Blue Jays had 5 hits and 7 runs. Without even seeing the game, you can see the Sox are not stringing together enough hits to generate a rally. They are getting a hit here, and a hit there. The only reason they even had four runs was that 3 of their hits were solo homers. Yes, all three were solo. Jacoby Ellsbury, Jason Varitek, and JD Drew all went deep, but with no one on base. Now, against a pitcher like Halladay, you should be happy with that. But, the grand slam took that luxury away.

David Ortiz finally got another hit, his thrid of the season, and it was an RIB double. Love to see that.

Oh, I forgot. I said there were two things that should jump out at you in the box score. If you have been screaming, "what about the four errors!", then yes, you got it. Now, let's not run out and lynch the guy, but Julio Lugo had the worst day I've seen for him on a Sox uniform. Well, that happens. These guys are human, and some days they go home and wonder why they play this game. Tonight is like that for him. That's not the reason why we lost the game, and that's why I'm not making a big deal out of it. Chances are, a guy with his talent will not make another error for a week or two. He did not cost us the game, but he does need to tighten up.

Lastly, I am simply NOT on the same page as Terry Francona yet this year. I love the guy, don't get me wrong, but a manager has to not only read the numbers, but also get in a groove and fell out what will work. Taking out Beckett when he did, did not work. Now, of course, a rational fan knows why he did it. Beckett is in his first outing coming off an injury, and starting to lose control. But, on the other hand, his middle relief has been terrible. When I looked into Josh's eyes (in HD) I saw determination. His pitch count was not so high that one more batter would have mattered. Just let him get out of the jam himself. Instead, Francona turned it over to the bullpen, and in one pitch it was over. I know - 20/20 hindsight. But, that is how I felt as it went down. The other thing I disagreed with was no pinch hitting for Lugo in the 9th. Lugo was clearly not having a sharp day - that happens. So, bottom of the ninth, two men on, and the tying run at the plate - isn't that the kind of situation we have Sean Casey for? That was supposed to be the point of a guy like Casey - to hit in those kinds of situations. Now, surely Casey may have struck out. But, Lugo was having an off night, Lugo is not likely to hit a home run. So...

Now the Sox come home to friendly Fenway, where they will hopefully get a huge boost from us fans. Let's get these guys going! We are the tenth man - let's do our part.

Tune in tomorrow for some Yankee talk in the off day.

Let's Go Beckett - Where's Big Papi?

When Abner Doubleday came down from the mountains and showed everyone the commandments etched in stone by the baseball gods, the first commandment said, "Thou shalt not walk thy leadoff batter". Kyle Snyder definitely owes us twenty readings of "Casey at the Bat" as penance for walking both the leadoff batter and the second batter of the 6th inning. Of course, both batters scored, and Brian Corey conspired with Snyder to open the floodgates for Toronto as they built up an insurmountable 10-2 lead. Corey was intent on getting that Toronto lead up there. When Snyder came out, he left with men on second and third and one out, thanks to a sacrifice bunt. Then Corey came in and gave up a single to David Eckstein that scored the two baserunners, followed by a pop-out by Matt Stairs. So, two outs, runner on first, time to stop the bleeding and get back to the dugout? No, not yet. Corey then proceeded to give up a double, a single, and a home run to the big guy, Frank Thomas. The good news from there is that Julian Tavares came in and finished off the last 2 1/3 innings and looked very good!

Any rational Sox fan knows that someone was going to get taken off the active roster to make room for Josh Beckett's return, as it has been prophesied (sorry, got stuck in biblical mode again for a second there). Sox fans now had two finalists to be cut on their scorecards. In a bit of a surprise, the cut goes to Karl Snyder. Why a surprise? Because Karl does not have an option to go to Pawtucket and be called up later.

One last note on pitching. Starter Clay Bucholz looked better than he has looked this spring. He gave up 3 earned runs in 5 innings on 6 hits, 2 walks and 7 strikeouts. He showed some toughness, which is very promising. The second inning started with a walk and two singles scoring a run, but rather than let things get out of control, he struck out the next two batters followed by a pop-up to end the inning. He got into trouble again in the 4th, and may have gotten out of it with less damage, but for an error by first baseman Sean Casey filling in for the error-free Kevin Youkilis. The good sign here was when Bucholz came back out in the 5th and had an easy 1-2-3 inning.

Last note. Again, the Sox offense looked pretty inept. When is someone other than JD Drew going to start hitting (just had to write that sentence for my man JD). Seriously. It is very easy in a 10-2 loss to point all the fingers at the pitching. But, if the Sox only score 2 runs, the ONLY way they can win is to hold the opponent to zero or 1 run. That's pretty easy math, but while Snyder and Corey provided Toronto with a huge lead, and an emotional let down for the Sox, the game was over once the Blue Jays scored their 3rd run in the 4th inning.

Where do fingers point for that? I hate to say it but Big Papi is a key culprit. Toronto has been employing the "shift" against David Ortiz, and it seems to have him off balance, more so than I've seen in the past. I think he is in a little bit of a slump. Combine that with looking out at the field and seeing all of your hot areas covered, and you can find yourself really pressing. The Sox have played 6 games this season, and so far, in 22 at-bats, Papi has a mere 2 hits creating a .091 batting average. Manny Ramirez is faring better, batting .250 with 6 hits in 24 at bats, but he, along with Ortiz, has been batting poorly in the clutch. Just look at last night, for example. Second inning, runners on first and second with one out and Ortiz grounds out to first sending runners to 2nd and third. That opens up first base, so they intentionally walk Manny, and Lowell, who also has had a slow start, softly lines out to end the inning. Then, in the 7th inning with one out and runners at second and third, Ortiz strikes out and Manny grounds out to end the threat.

So, you're a little worried about pitching? You should be worried about offense.

Yankee review tomorrow - how is the enemy looking this year?