What Manny was Really Doing

In last night's 6-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, Manny Ramirez provided the entertainment with another memorable "Manny Moment". In the fourth inning with runners on first and second and one out, old pal, Kevin Millar, hit a deep fly ball to left that looked like a sure double. Both runners took off, confident the ball would drop in for a hit. Manny raced back and to his left and somehow managed to catch up to the ball, catching it at full speed heading towards the outfield wall with about three strides to go before reaching it. Manny let his momentum carry him to the wall, planted a foot on the wall and pushed off, propelling high up enough to reach the fans. In fact, sitting in the front row, right in front of Manny, was a fan in a Red Sox shirt. While he was there, it appeared that Manny gave the fan a quick "high five" before dropping back down to the field. Meanwhile, there was still a play going on, as that was only the second out. The runner from first was now between second and third and racing to get back to first base before Manny noticed. Manny fired a throw to Dustin Pedroia, who relayed the ball to Kevin Youkilis to complete the double play and end the inning.

Now, most people wonder what the heck Manny was doing high fiving a fan in the middle of a play, but the Rational Sox Fan has the inside scoop for you loyal readers. A "source" (who will not be named, but is the same source Boston Herald reporter, John Tomase, used for his piece about the Patriot's filming of the Rams pre-Super Bowl practice session) happened to be at the game and provided the information. Apparently, as Manny was chasing the ball down, the fan in the Red Sox shirt was heard yelling, "Manny, I'll give you ten dollars if you make that catch!!", and held a ten dollar bill in his outstretched hand. Manny apparently heard the shout, made the catch, and leaped up to snag the ten dollars from the generous fan. If you watch the replays closely, you can see Manny slip the bill inconspicuously from the fan's hand. Very clever move - and very entertaining. But, now you know the inside story.

Jon Lester pitched a pretty good game, holding the Orioles scoreless until the 6th inning when a single, double, and another single put two runs on the board for Baltimore. He got out of the inning, striking out Aubrey Huff and Millar, and had only thrown 86 pitches to that point, but Brad Mills, filling in for Terry Francona for the night, opted to go to the bullpen to start the 7th inning.

Javier Lopez started the 7th, and did a nice job. He got the first two batters out and induced Freddie Bynum to hit, what looked like, an inning ending ground ball to Pedroia. Pedroia, uncharacteristically misplayed the ball and Bynum was safe at first. Somehow the official scorer did not see the play as an error, but the play would be the beginning of the Sox' downfall. At this point, the Sox were holding on to a 3-2 lead, thanks to solo home runs by Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek and a single by Pedroia that plated Jacoby Ellsbury from second base in the 1st inning.

Now, cue up the funeral march music as it all unravels. The left handed batters had passed, so Brad Mills got Lopez out and sent in Craig Hansen in to get the quick out and hold the lead. But, Hansen instead gave up a single and a walk to load the bases and make things interesting. Mills apparently was uncomfortable with the situation, and decided to go for the "sure thing" and sent Hideki Okajima in to replace Hansen. What Mills failed to notice in making his decision was that Okajima has been awful this season when he enters a game with inherited runners. Going into that inning, He had allowed 8 of 11 inherited runners to score this year. Those runs get charged to the pitcher who put the runners on base, so Okajima's ERA stays nice and low. But, we've discussed here how Okajima does does not have the same success as when he comes in with bases empty. Well, Jay Payton liked the second pitch Okajima threw, an 85 mph fastball, and planted in the outfield stands for an Orioles inspiring, and Red Sox deflating, grand slam. Now that the bases were empty, Okajima felt more comfortable and got the final out of the inning, and pitched a 1-2-3 8th inning.

The Sox were out of time, out of energy, and done for this game. So, the Sox still struggle to find pitching relief that can handle the 6th and 7th innings effectively and consistently. Hansen may still be that guy, but not last night. And please, let's hold off on bringing Okajima into an inning with runners in scoring position for a while!

In other news, Clay Buchholz has been placed on the 15 day disabled list (DL) because of a split fingernail. Now, I know fingernails are important in controlling the ball on certain pitches, but 15 days to heal sounds excessive for a fingernail. There is a possibility that this move is partly to let Buchholz heal, partly to give him a rest and help him through his first full season, but could also be partly to set up a scenario to call up Bartolo Colon. If my sources are correct, Colon would get one more start in with the Pawsox, and then his next start would be set for Tuesday. The Sox would need a replacement for Buchholz on Tuesday. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not.

So, the Sox head home having lost 6 out of 10 games on this road trip and get today off as they limp back to Boston. Tomorrow they kick off three games against their one-time AL East rival Milwaukee Brewers. They were a team we were used to kicking around pretty well, other than their one shining year in 1982 when they made their one and only World Series appearance, which they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals. In 1994, the Brewers left the AL East and joined the AL Central when MLB added the third division, and in 1998 the Brewers joined the NL, and have not been seen around these parts since. The Brewers are at .500 right now, and let's hope they play more like the hapless Brewers of the 70's and the Sox can get a couple of wins under out of them.

(Photos courtesy of Yahoo Sports) (Source shall remain nameless ;-)

Beckett Suffers Bruise in Sox Loss to Orioles

The Red Sox lost to the Baltimore Orioles by the score of 5-4 last night, and watched in frustration as their health woes continued to pile up. Alex Cora and Sean Casey have thankfully just returned from the DL and Cora was starting at shortstop for Julio Lugo, who is recovering from a mild concussion. In the 3rd inning, JD Drew made a diving attempt to catch a soft fly ball from Freddie Bynum. The ball landed in his glove, but the momentum pulled the glove back as Drew rolled with the dive, forcing his wrist to get painfully bent back and the ball spilled loose. Drew came out of the game and was replaced by Jacoby Ellsbury, who had the night off nursing a bruised knee. Then, as the Red Sox took the field for the 6th inning, Coco Crisp did not join them. He had to come out of the game, suffering from stomach pains and a headache. With two of the Red Sox four outfielders out, the Sox were forced to move Kevin Youkilis to right field, shift Ellsbury over to center, and send Sean Casey in to first base. The only position player left on the bench was Kevin Cash. One more injury would have made for an interesting move.

Luckily no further injury moves were required last night, but the Rational Sox Fan has discovered that Josh Beckett was also hurt during the game, but had managed to play through it, lasting 5 2/3 innings before turning the game over to the bullpen. His injury, like JD's, also came in the 3rd inning. With two men on base, two outs, and one run already in, Josh watched a 95 mph fastball to Luke Scott get hit a long way to right field and settle into the stands for a 3 run home run. As Beckett turned to watch the ball arch through the air, he claimed he felt a sudden pain to the right side of his powerful ego. "It was kind of a quick, jabbing sort of pain, like being punched in the shoulder after hearing a passenger say 'punch buggy blue, no punch back'", said Beckett during post-game interviews. He was able to work through the pain and managed to hold the Orioles scoreless until his departure in the 6th inning.

We talked with trainer Paul Lessard about what we can expect from Beckett next. "Well, the injury does not look too bad", said Lessard. "We'll give him the next four games off to let it rest and heal up." According to Lessard, the Sox will start with some rest and some basic ego massages. Newspaper clippings of past excellence will be posted around his locker, and his 2003 World Series MVP trophy will be prominently displayed in the locker room. These sorts of gentle ego massages will be followed with more active ego strengthening exercises. The first will be playing cribbage against the notoriously bad Dustin Pedroia. We all know Terry Francona likes to beat Pedroia in a hand or two of cribbage before each game. It is one thing Francona does to boost his own ego, and the Sox feel Beckett will benefit from it as well. Presuming the cribbage goes well, the last stage of rehab will involve pitching a simulated game to Pawtucket outfielder, Joe Thurston. Thurston has played 4 games with Boston, and has gone 0-8 with a 0.000 batting average. "A few innings pitching to Thurston ought to really boost Josh's ego and get him ready for his next start", said pitching coach John Farrell.

Red Sox Nation is nervous today. The Sox will decide today if JD Drew will need any time off, and what moves might need to be made as a result. Thankfully, the prognosis for Beckett is not as bleak.

Tonight, Jon Lester takes the mound to try to stop the Red Sox' 3 game losing streak and send the team home to Boston on a happy note. Facing Daniel Cabrera, this seems to be the likely scenario. Lester is 3-0 in his three career starts against Baltimore, while Cabrera has gone 1-9 with a 7.84 ERA in 12 career starts against the Red Sox. Alex Cora has had the best success against Cabrera with 11 hits in 20 at bats. Let's hope Lugo needs one more night off.

(Photos courtesy of Yahoo Sports) (Beckett's bruise is fictional - all other elements of the post are fact)

Red Sox Crawl Out of Minnesota

The Red Sox lost by a score of 7-3 last night to the Minnesota Twins. After just having won three out of four from the Tigers, the Sox have now lost three out of four to the Twins to break even on the current 10 game road trip. Last night it was Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz who got things going in the first inning. Coco Crisp lead off the game with a double (and he was not even using his powerful pink bat), Dustin Pedroia bunted him over to third (what better player for some small ball than little Dustin Pedroia?), and David Ortiz singled to score Crisp. Manny followed Ortiz with a long shot over the 'Hefty Bag' right field wall for his 498th career home run. When Manny is hitting with power to the opposite field, it is a sign he is getting in a groove. Watch for him to have a hot week or so.

With the Sox opening the game with a 3-0 lead, things looked promising for the Boston nine. But, unfortunately those were all the runs the Sox would score, as Minnesota was able to keep the Sox off the scoreboard behind the crafty pitching of Livan Hernandez. Livan did not use blazing speed, he simply dazzled with good location, lots of off-speed breaking stuff, and kept the Sox guessing all night. Clay Buchholz looked more dazzling, and also more predictable to the Twins hitters. For the second straight night, the Red Sox got a sub-par performance from their starter as Clay only lasted 4 1/3 innings giving up 7 earned runs on 8 hits, 5 walks, and 4 strike outs. No surprise that Clay remains a work in progress. He clearly has talent, and occasionally throws a gem of a game, but can easily follow that up with a few mediocre games. He is in a good place to grow, learn, and evolve as a big time pitcher. We'll just have to accept that we'll be on a bit of a roller coaster this season with him.

The Sox bullpen looked great last night with Javier Lopez, Craig Hansen, and Mike Timlin combining to hold the Twins scoreless over the last 3 2/3 innings allowing only 3 hits and no walks. Shame to waste such a solid effort on a night where the offense could not keep up. The bullpen morphed again last night as Julian Tavarez was designated for assignment to make room for the return of Sean Casey from the DL. I like the move as it shows Hansen the Sox have confidence in him and want to see him stick in Boston and make this his true debut season. They may miss Tavarez, as he provides reasonably dependable long relief, but with the quality of starters, and the tendencies they've noticed this season, the Red Sox just did not feel like they'd be taking a big risk by letting Tavarez go. Hansen seemed to get a lift from the news and channeled the excitement into an impressive 7th inning, feeding the Twins a steady dose of fastballs and sliders to induce two ground outs and a strike out. If Hansen is truly ready, he can be an important part of this bullpen, providing the critical bridge to Okajima and Papelbon - a role that Manny Delcarmen was expected to fill, but has so far fallen short.

The Sox head east to play two games in Baltimore. Josh Beckett faces off against Jeremy Guthrie tonight. You can count on Beckett halting the current two game losing streak. Wednesday it will be Jon Lester facing Daniel Cabrera in a more evenly matched game. If Manny stays hot, stealing two from the Orioles will be within reach, and a great way to wrap up the road trip.

Sox Lose Mother's Day Battle to Twins

The Red Sox lost last night 9-8, in a hard fought battle against the Minnesota Twins. Red Sox starter, Tim Wakefield, got the action going early...for the Twins, unfortunately. Somehow, Wakefield followed up his best outing of the season (a 5-0 win over the Tigers), with easily his worst of the season. After a quick 1-2-3 first inning, things looked promising. But, in the second inning the knuckleball went suddenly flat and the first three batters of the inning greeted Wakefield with a single, a double, and a home run to get the scoring started. Then, with one out, Wakefield walked Mike Lamb (you'll be hearing this name quite a bit) to set up the second home run of the inning, a 2 run shot for Adam Everett, his first of the year. The Red Sox escaped further damage in the inning, and saw a long road ahead of them staring at a 5-0 deficit heading into the third inning.

Twins' starter, Nick Blackburn came out a little wild to start off the third inning and hit the first two Red Sox batters, Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia, putting runners on first and second base. The free passes would leave bruises, but allow the Sox to get on the scoreboard in an inning where the Sox' bats and the Twins' defense waged quite a battle. David Ortiz followed Pedroia with a single to load the bases with no outs. The battle picked up when Kevin Youkilis stepped in and ripped a line drive to the gap between short and third. It looked certain to score at least one run, until third baseman, Mike Lamb made a highlight film dive to his left to snare the ball for the first out. Mike Lowell then put some wood on the ball send a shot to right fielder Michael Cuddyer. Now, get this straight, Cuddyer does not have a limp noodle throwing arm like the Yankees' Johnny Damon. Cuddyer has one of those throwing arms you treat with respect and don't test very often. Unless, that is, you are blessed with little wings sprouting out of each of your ankles. Jacoby Ellsbury, who was tagging up at third base, has such wings. It felt like there was a moment where time stood still for just a fraction of a second. The ball had settled into Cuddyer's glove and his eyes had just popped up and focused on Ellsbury at third. Ellsbury had one foot on the bag, body braced to explode out of the tall grass like a cheetah after his prey. Their eyes met for just that split second and they both knew the race was on. Suddenly time sped up again. Ellsbury launched his body towards home, Cuddyer's arm launched the ball on a perfect arc to meet him at the plate. They both arrived at home at nearly the same time, but the fraction of a second the catcher needed to secure the ball and apply the tag was all the advantage Ellsbury needed as he slid across the plate just ahead of the tag for Boston's first run. The Twins defense ended the inning as Adam Everett reeled in a JD Drew flare.

In the bottom of the third, the Twins continued to take advantage of Wakefield. A single, a walk, a passed ball, and a wild pitch all added up to a situation where the Twins had runners on second and third with two outs. Wakefield could not get out of the jam as Mike Lamb laced a single to center scoring both runners. That was all Terry Francona could handle. With the Sox now trailing 7-1, Wakefield got an early shower as Julian Tavarez came in to try to settle things down long enough for the Sox to catch up. Tavarez would do his job, ending the third inning, and only allowing one unearned run on the fourth on an error by the usually steady Mike Lowell that would have otherwise ended the inning.

In the top of the fourth, Coco Crisp would remind us that Ellsbury is not the only Red Sox player on the team with speed as he hit a ball to deep left field and raced all the way to third base for a lead-off triple. You won't often see a triple hit to left field! The Sox pounded on Blackburn in that inning scoring two more runs. David Aardsma then came in for Tavarez and did a terrific job of holding the Twins scoreless through the 5th and 6th innings. Blackburn also held the Sox scoreless and Boston was now behind 8-4 going into the 7th.

Yesterday, Coco Crisp was swinging a pink bat as part of MLB's efforts to raise breast cancer awareness on Mother's Day. Players may opt to play with pink equipment which is signed and auctioned off afterwards to raise money towards the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation. Maybe Crisp should swing a pink bat every day! In the 7th inning, with 2 outs, and JD Drew having singled before him, Coco used that pink bat to launch his second home run of the season to edge the score closer to 8-6. But, in the bottom of the 7th, Mike Timlin surrendered a lead off home run to Craig Monroe, his second homer of the game, to provide the Twins with the insurance run they would end up needing to win.

In the ninth inning, with the Twins still leading 9-6, closer Joe Nathan came in to ice the game. The Sox did not make it easy for him. After Ortiz grounded out, Youkilis and Lowell hit back to back singles, which JD Drew followed with a clutch double to center field scoring both runners and closing the score to 9-8. This set up another dramatic moment, as Crisp stepped in with his powerful pink bat ready to do more damage. Crisp scorched a pitch back up the middle that glanced off of the pitcher and rolled towards third base. JD Drew already had a sizable lead off second base, and when he saw the ball get away, his instincts kicked in and he took off for third. A runner at third with only one out would greatly help the Sox tie the game. But, Joe Nathan somehow made a fantastic play, as he managed to quickly recover the ball and toss it to third base just ahead of Drew for the second out. Kevin Cash was due up next, and although he was 2-4 so far that night, manager Terry Francona thought that sending Manny Ramirez in to pinch hit would be the safer bet. Manny had the night off with a sore quad, but made it clear he could pinch hit if needed. But, the odds did not play out for the Sox this time as Manny hit an easy ground out to end the game.

Lots of drama on Mother's Day. It is a shame when you can score as many as 8 runs, but not get the pitching to line up for an easy win. Wakefield had a tough night, but he'll bounce back, he always does. Alex Cora started at short for Julio Lugo, who was given one more night off. As expected, Jed Lowrie was sent back to Pawtucket to make room for Cora, and get more playing time in. Cora did not disappoint, playing flawless defense and going 3 for 4 at the plate.

Tonight, Sean Casey will be added back to the lineup and all expectations are for a reliever to be cut to make room. The question is, who? A good bet would be Craig Hansen, since he still has options to be sent back to Pawtucket. However, Manny Delcarmen, Julian Tavarez, and Mike Timlin have all had struggles this year. If the Sox are confident in using Hansen steadily now, we might see one of those players cut, which would require putting them up for waivers. My guess is they'll feel it is too early to make that strong of a move and simply send Hansen down for now. If not, I'd put my money on Timlin getting the cut. He's been fabulous for the Sox up until now, but his time in Boston is clearly winding down, and this might be the moment the Sox chose to part ways.

Stay tuned.

(Photos Courtesy of Yahoo Sports)

Twins Knee to the Head Leads to Red Sox Win

After a disappointing loss the day before to the Minnesota Twins, the Red Sox were able to bounce back yesterday with a 5-2 victory behind the solid pitching of Daisuke Matsuzaka, who improved his record on the season to 6-0. In Dice-K's last outing, he defeated the Detroit Tigers 6-3, but had to survive an amazing 8 walks in the process. Last night started out eerily familiar. Dice-K walked one batter in the first inning, and in the second inning he walked the lead off batter, and later with the bases loaded, he walked in the Twins' first run of the night. Three walks in two innings was sounding ominous. But, Dice-K was able to straighten things out and complete 7 innings without walking a single other batter. He countered those 3 walks with 7 strikeouts, while limiting the Twins to only 2 runs on 6 hits.

Good thing too, since the Twins' starter, Glen Perkins, was also having a great night and found himself clinging to a 2-1 lead heading into the 7th inning. Last night was Perkins' first appearance in the majors this season, and his first start ever for the Twins. In a situation like that, you are typically hoping to get 5 innings, maybe 6 from your young starter. Last night the Twins liked what they saw and thought they could stretch their good fortune to 7 innings. They were wrong.

Coco Crisp, leading off the 7th, got a hold of a Perkins fastball that came in too high, and sent it deep into the left field stands for his first home run of the year. With the game tied, the ninth batter for the Sox came to the plate. No, not Julio Lugo. Were you wondering about the title to today's post? The night before, Julio Lugo took a knee to the head on a close play at second base. After the game he was feeling "woozy" and was given the night off as a precaution. Jed Lowrie was given the start at second base, and again, showed Boston fans why he should be considered the shortstop of the future (possibly the near-future?). Lowrie followed Crisp with a home run of his own - his first one in the Major Leagues to give the Sox a 3-2 lead. All told, Lowrie went 3-4 last night, scored two runs, and completed a nifty double play to end the 5th inning. A big knock on Lugo has been his errors. Lowrie did go error-less last night, but he only had the one opportunity on the double play. Funny story about the home run. The Red Sox managed to retrieve the home run ball for Lowrie, but had to do a little negotiating to get it. They managed to swing a trade for an autographed Josh Beckett baseball in return for the home run ball. Lowrie commented with a smile, "Apparently, [Beckett's] signed ball is worth more than my first home run."

In the 8th inning, Mike Lowell hit a solo home run to add to the Sox total. For the second time in the past 3 games, both Lowell and Kevin Youkilis hit home runs on the same night. Youk continued his hot hitting with a solo shot of his own in the 2nd inning. The four solo home runs last night were the most by the Sox this season, and had there been a few more base runners, the game surely would have been a blowout.

Hideki Okajima confidently nailed down the 8th inning, as we are so used to seeing him do. He really does seem to perform much better when he is brought in to start off an inning, rather than get sent in with runners already on base. And finally, the ninth inning was wrapped up by Jonathan Papelbon, who showed no ill effects coming off of two straight blown saves. He was sharp, and even mixed his pitches up more than usual, but with solid results. Consider this, with two outs in the ninth, Papelbon welcomed pinch hitter Craig Munroe with two straight curveballs! I am not sure he has done that in his entire Red Sox career (I've got my stats people researching that one). Papelbon's line shows he gave up one hit, but the hit was actually a high pop up that hit a cable near the ceiling of the Metrodome and deflected away from the awaiting Jason Varitek. Also a positive sign that Papelbon has bounced back quickly, of his 20 pitches last night, seven of them went for strikes untouched - either called strikes or swinging strikes. Those numbers are more in line with his usual performance, unlike last night when only one pitch went for a strike untouched.

Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz will try to take turns with the new home run combo of Lowell and Youkilis. Last night Ramirez and Ortiz went a combined 0-9 and served only as casual observers to the victory. Perhaps tonight will be their turn to provide the power.

Keep an eye open today for player moves. Both Alex Cora and Sean Casey have completed their rehab assignments and are due to be added to the roster today. You can count on a pitcher being moved, as the Sox are currently carrying 13 pitchers. The easy move would be to simply send Craig Hansen back to Pawtucket, but if the Sox want to keep him and continue his progress, there will have to be a bigger, more permanent move of a player like Mike Timlin or Julian Tavares. We'll have to see how confident the Sox are in Hansen at this point in the season.

Unfortunately, the other move would have to be last night's hero Jed Lowrie. Lowrie should not be wasting too much time sitting on the bench as a backup. Smarter move would be to get him playing every day in Pawtucket. Only chance to keep Lowrie for a few more days would be to move Lugo to the DL, but I would not hold my breath for that. If Lugo needs one more night off, I expect we'd see Alex Cora start at short tonight. Terry Francona likes to get people involved right away.

Tim Wakefield faces off against Nick Blackburn tonight. Wakefield is coming off his best outing of the year. No reason to think he'll have anything other than a solid night, as his knuckleball generally enjoys the indoor environment.

Hide the Gatorade Cooler

The Red Sox lost to the Minnesota Twins last night 7-6. It was the second time in three days that they lost via a blown save by Jonathan Papelbon in the 9th inning. Papelbon, usually a sure thing, suddenly looks vulnerable. In Detroit, Papelbon took his frustrations out on the Gatorade cooler, last night he only publicly beat up his hat. In Detroit the game was lost through a series of strange events, including an accidental hit on a check swing and a damaging error.

But, last night was a straight out loss. He just was not intimidating to the Twins, and that forced him to fatally mix in an ineffective splitter. Consider this. Papelbon threw 18 pitches in the 9th inning. Out of those 18 pitches, he had zero called strikes, and only one swinging strike. Every other pitch was either a ball, a foul, or a hit. Since the fastball was not quite doing the trick, he went to the split finger, but was not able to execute it well. He looked "okay" after the first three batters giving up a lead-off single, followed by a sacrifice bunt and a foul pop out. But, with two outs, the Sox allowed Delmon Young to steal third base, setting up a dangerous situation with the Sox clinging to a one run lead. After four straight fastballs to Gomez leading to a 2-2 count, Papelbon went to the split finger, but Delmon was not biting as he watched two of them go by for ball 3 and ball 4. Young proceeded to steal second base, putting the winning run in scoring position for Mike Lamb. But, Papelbon could not get the fastball by Lamb. The count was 1 ball and 2 strikes after four straight fastballs in the upper 90's when Papelbon again went to the split finger, and Lamb stayed with it, sending a lofting single into left field to send both runners home and win the game. So, what went wrong? The splitter was not effective and lost the game.

On another sour note, Julio Lugo continues to ring up the errors. Last night's damage came in the 2nd inning and cost the Red Sox 2 unearned runs. With two outs and a runner on second, Lugo blew an inning ending ground ball to keep the Twins at the plate. A quick steal and a single then sent two runs across the plate. Sloppy play forced the game to be closer than it should have been.

The offense did well, making Bonser go "BOOF" in the 5th inning. Bonser was unable to get out in the 5th. A single by Dustin Pedroia, a walk to David Ortiz, and a single by Manny Ramirez loaded the based for Mike Lowell. Lowell hit a double, two runs scored, and Bonser went - "BOOF" - time to hit the showers big guy. Every batter in the Sox lineup had at least one hit, and the six runs scored would normally be enough for the win. But not last night. Put that one in the column of wins that got away.

Tonight, Daisuke Matsuzaka heads to the mound to right the ship. Dice-K has had a good start to the season, as evidenced by his 5-0 record. It will be important to keep the ball around the plate against this Twins team that seems to have a very good eye for the strike zone and rarely chases bad pitches - a favorite tactic of Dice-K's. The Twins counter with 25 year old left-hander, Glen Perkins, who will be making his first appearance with the Twins this season, and his first start for them ever. Perkins has made a few appearances over the past two years, all in relief. He struggles in the minors earlier this year, but has gotten back on track recently, giving the Twins the confidence to call him up in place of the injured Scott Baker.

This one won't be easy.

(Photos courtesy of Yahoo Sports) (Gatorade kick - AP Photo by Duane Burleson)

Kevin Youkilis, Cookie Monster

After the Red Sox' 5-1 win to take 3 out of 4 from the Detroit Tigers last night, Detroit manager, Jim Leyland had this to say about Kevin Youkilis; "You have to execute pitches to get people out, and we just gave him cookie after cookie for three days. He just beat our brains out." The Tigers fed Youkilis cookies, and Youkilis feasted. In the four game series, Kevin hit four home runs, to go with seven RBI's, two doubles, and five runs scored while batting at a .350 clip. Last night's home run came in the 5th inning with two out, Jacoby Ellsbury on first base, and gave the Sox a 5-1 lead. With an effective Josh Beckett on the mound was all the Sox would need.

Josh Beckett was in control the entire game as he went 7 innings holding the Tigers to just one run on 6 hits to go with 8 strikeouts and zero walks. The 7th strikeout of the night, courtesy of Brandon Inge, was the 1000th of Beckett's career (only 4713 more to go to catch Nolan Ryan)! Tigers' rookie, Matthew Joyce, got his first up-close look at Beckett last night. His observation was one that fans in Boston are well aware of. "The ball just exploded out of his hand. That's why he's one of the best pitchers in the game". Indeed he is, as Beckett was determined to lead his team to a series win over the Tigers, while improving his record to 4-2.

Justin Verlander was not up to the challenge of facing the World Champs. The Red Sox got to him in the second inning. Singles by Mike Lowell and JD drew, followed by a wild pitch, put runners on second and third for Jason Varitek. The Captain singled to left field, scoring two runs, with the throw from left glancing off of JD Drew's left forearm, which appeared to hurt, but luckily caused no damage. Varitek ended up sneaking down to second on the throw, and one batter later, Coco Crisp bunted him over to third. He scored off of a Jacoby Ellsbury sacrifice fly giving Beckett a 3-0 lead, which was more than enough for the future Cy Young award winner.

Josh came out of the game after 7 innings, having thrown 102 pitches. Terry Francona turned the ball over to Craig Hansen, giving the rookie another chance to show off his stuff. In his previous outing, Hansen looked great in his first inning, but got in trouble as he tried to complete a second inning. Tito may have taken note of that and gave him only one inning last night, in which Hansen retired the Tigers 1-2-3, only using 12 pitches to induce two ground outs and a pop out.

Francona must have been feeling lucky last night. Rather than cash his chips in with either Papelbon or Okajima in the ninth, he opted to let it ride, putting all of his money on number 17 on the roulette wheel and giving it a spin, calling in Manny Delcarmen to wrap the game up. Last night was Francona's lucky night. The wheel spun, the ball bounced around, looked for a home, and came to rest gently on number 17. Manny got 2 quick outs, striking out Miguel Cabrera, and getting Matthew Joyce to ground out to Pedroia on the first pitch. He almost got into trouble as Marcus Thames singled to left, but four pitches later Brandon Inge flied out to end the game.

Taking 3 of four on the road against Detroit is a terrific way to start this road trip. Now on to Minnesota for four games against the AL Central leading Twins. This will be the first meeting between the two teams this year, and tonight it kicks off with Jon Lester matched up against arguably the funniest name in baseball today, Boof Bonser, who just edges out Coco Crisp for the distinction. Did you know he legally changed his name from John to Boof in 2001? Apparently, Boof had been a childhood nickname that he loved enough to make it legal. (Hmm, Rooster as my legal name?) Lester has looked sharper in his last two outings, while Bonser (2-4) is still trying to get into a rhythm. The pitching match up should lean in the Sox' favor, but don't expect the Twins to roll over, having won 7 of their last 10 games.

(Baseball Photos courtesy of Yahoo Sports)