Top Ten Red Sox...

Excuses for Late Season Losing Streak

With apologies to David Letterman

10. Paying tribute to the late Michael Jackson, the Red Sox are moonwalking into the post-season
9. Sweeping the Blue Jays is so last month
8. The Wild Card might have gotten a little too wild for our taste.
7. The Texas Rangers are doing it and what's good enough for Nolan Ryan is good enough for us.
6. Trying out a golf-inspired twist to the game where the lowest score wins
5. .600 winning percentages are overrated
4. Cito and Tito got together and agreed that the Jays could really use the extra batting practice
3. We're conserving our players' energy in an effort to stop global warming
2. Wednesday was Starter Skip Day. Nothing like a little manager-sanctioned hooky
1. Yankees, schmankees--We're number 2!

LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!! GOOD LUCK IN THE POST-SEASON!!!!

Too Little Too Late

So, the Sox decided they cared about winning with only an inning to go tonight? It might have helped if they had made that decision, oh, 7 innings before. Before all the gopher balls dispensed like Halloween candy (speaking of Halloween, two guys sitting behind the plate were getting their tricks and treats early by dressing as umps) and before all the GIDPs that made them look like they didn't belong on the field at Fenway Park.

The team was doing so well earlier this month. As the Rays and Rangers were dropping by the wayside, the Sox looked to finally be firing on all cylinders. I don't know whether it was the rainy debacle in KC, the smackdown in the Bronx, or just the distance between them and their closest Wild Card competitors depriving them of a sense of urgency that got them all discombobulated, but right now they're a hot mess who will most likely get into the playoffs by default. A killer losing streak is no way to get psyched up for the playoffs. Perhaps it's not such a good thing that the Rays and Rangers fell off a cliff and couldn't keep things close and, therefore, keep the Sox motivated to WIN. It seems to me they do better when there's that sense of urgency.

The MLB schedulers didn't do the Sox any favors having them play out the last three weeks worth of games with no off-days. Last-minute pitcher snafus (Lester's quad, Beckett's back, and Buchholz's 2008 Throwback Night), "to hell with it" at-bats, and abandonment of the small-ball strategies that helped keep the Sox going earlier in the month have also contributed to the craptastic play that has halted their win count at 91 games. Ya think a couple of bunts could have been attempted to stay out of some of those infernal double plays? They were sac bunting all over the place two weeks ago. What happened?

When all is said and done, it won't matter as much how they got into the playoffs, but I think it would be more beneficial to them to get those competitive fires brewing going into the dance because the Angels are super-hungry and playing with the spirit of their fallen teammate in their hearts. The Sox may have a long history of clipping the Angels' wings in the first round, but my gut feeling is that they are due in a big way. I wouldn't be surprised if Scioscia lobbies MLB to have the umpires for that series vetted.

The Sox are a talented team that has the potential to go far in the playoffs. They are the team I love and I will always root for and I would love nothing more for them to squash the smug Yankees and the national TV announcers that couldn't conceal their passion for the pinstripes if they tried. As much as I hate them, however, the Yanks are formidable and if the Sox are to beat them, it may play out very much like 2004, with the Sox digging themselves a 0-3 hole before clawing their way to a win. Hey, if they go on and sweep their NL opponents (I'm thinking Phils or Cards here), I'm all for it.

As I write this, I have learned that the Red Sox have clinched the Wild Card by Texas losing to LA. That's not the way I wanted it to play out and, I'm sure I'm not alone in this sentiment, but they're in and they can look ahead and do what needs to be done. It would be nice to win some games on this homestand while they're at it. They may be "meaningless" but it's time to get fired up for October baseball.

LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!

Wild Thoughts on the Wild Card

Ok, they're not that "wild" per se;-) There are definite positives to having a Wild Card spot in the postseason playoff structure, the most salient being the disparate level of competition among the divisions. The AL Central is much weaker than the AL West and the AL East. Consequently, the winner of the Central has a considerably lower winning percentage than the winners of the other two divisions and often even the second-place teams of those divisions. Case in point: The AL East second place Red Sox have a .591 wpct. The AL West second place Texas Rangers have a .552 wpct. The AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers have a .539 wpct. If the Red Sox, Rangers, Yankees, and Angels were in the AL Central, they would all be ahead of the Tigers. The Wild Card mitigates the inequity to some extent by allowing the second place team with the best record among the second place teams in all three divisions a spot in the playoffs--that second place team with a superior record to one of the first-place teams. Incidentally, the Red Sox also have a better record than the AL-West-leading Angels.

Now for the fly in the Wild Card ointment: Teams like, say, the Red Sox, decide they want to back into a post-season spot, taking the Wild Card for granted, instead of playing their best team at least until a playoff spot is clinched. It's as if the Red Sox management didn't learn a lesson from the June 30th game this year where they were 8 runs up on the O's, but ended up losing the game, at one point walking off the field with only two outs in the inning. Right now, by not playing their best team against the Yankees while the Wild Card spot remains unclinched, they are doing the equivalent of walking off the field with two outs in the inning. The baseball gods frown on this type of thing, you know. The humiliating 11-10 O's victory is enough evidence of that. Red Sox, please don't choose to clinch the Wild Card by default (by having the Rangers lose three games). Have some pride and put your best team out there against the Yankees today and don't let them celebrate a division win on your watch. Play some REAL baseball today.

LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!

Clinch First, Rest Later

Did I miss something? Did the Sox clinch a playoff berth while I was sleeping last night? If not, why was the bottom third of the lineup of this afternoon's game comprised of Baldelli, Lowrie, and Brian Anderson, with no Bay or Drew in sight? The Yankees have already wrapped up a spot in the post-season, yet they were putting their full-strength lineup on the field. There's a week left in the season, Red Sox management. Are you trying to clinch by default, by having Texas lose three? Not cool! Not cool at all! Suppose the Rangers go on an improbable hot streak, a la Colorado in '07? The Tortoise and the Hare ring a bell? Don't let the Sox be the hare that takes a nap while the tortoise catches up and wins the race. Isn't it better to clinch the Wild Card now so you can rest the players next week? Dice-K pitched a helluva game, going 7 innings and giving up only 1 run. He deserved more run support than what he got (zero, zilch, nada!).

The bullpen is really worrying me lately. I can't remember the last time they didn't give up a run. Wagner gives up 2 today, allowing the Yanks to win 3-0. Ramirez, Delcarmen, and Bard are human run dispensers. Oki's hurt. Saito's been okay for the most part and Pap has been getting it done when he has the chance, but five out of seven questionable relievers going into the playoffs (should they make them) puts a lot of pressure on those starters and on the offense to keep scoring runs later in the game to offset the runs being given up by the 'pen.

Also, if the Sox are to make the playoffs, they have to have a better plan in place for managing the running game. The Yankees are not usually a running team, but they know that the Sox run a loose ship when it comes to defending against stolen bases. The Angels are all about the running game. We know neither Tek nor V-Mart can throw quickly and accurately to second (or third) base, so the pitchers need to find a way to either get the ball to the plate quicker or cut out the middle man (the catcher) and pick slippery baserunners off themselves. Whenever I see that statistic about the Red Sox and stolen bases shown on TV broadcasts like the one of today's game, I cringe. It's like, if a Sox pitcher isn't perfect, he has to manage a track meet on the basepaths.

Well, that's enough ranting for today. Come on, Sox, win a few more games, if only for pride's sake. Isn't the goal to win at least 95 a year? Don't take the upcoming homestand for granted. They may be weaker teams, but those types of teams love to play spoiler. Remember Kansas City?

LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!! THE SEASON ISN'T OVER YET!!!!

That didn't go well...

"That" meaning last night's disaster in Yankee Stadium. The Sox lost the game 9-5 and got a helluva scare to boot! Lester, who uncharacteristically labored through 2 1/3 innings and couldn't seem to do any right against the Yanks, took a Melky Cabrera line drive off the right leg near the knee in the 3rd inning and collapsed on the mound in pain as the fifth Yankee run scored. Could the timing be worse??? He limped off the field and came out of the game as Red Sox Nation reeled from the punch in the gut and held its collective breath for the results of the X-rays. Thankfully, they were negative; no bones were broken, but Lester has a nasty bruise on his leg. According to Terry Francona, he's expected to recover in time to make his next start. How he will fare in that start and how the leg injury will affect his delivery remains to be seen, but it could have been much, much worse.

Meanwhile, as Murphy's Law of the Red Sox dictated, Joba found his pitching mojo last night and kept the Sox to 3 runs. They scored 2 more off the bullpen, but it wasn't enough to offset the damage done by the Yanks against the Sox pitching. Manny Delcarmen proved once again that he's good for only one out. Michael Bowden impressed in one inning, striking out the side, but faltered in the next. As a result, the Yanks look all the mightier and their confidence has to be through the roof right now. Being able to snatch 7 bases off of Tek just added to the fun the Pinstripes had at the Sox' expense.

Today, Dice-K takes the mound and V-Mart catches him for the first time. It's a good thing to try this out before the playoffs, but too bad it has to be against the Yankees, who will exploit every miscue to the fullest. It's gonna be interesting, to say the least. If that's not enough, the Sox bats have to face C.C. Come on, Rays, beat those Rangers!!!!

LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!

Bring On The Yanks!

After ending the Royals series on a high note, taking the second two games of four for a split, the Sox march into Yankee Stadium 2.0 in a position to possibly put the Rangers away for the season (if the Rays do their part) and clinch a playoff spot for the sixth time in seven seasons since Theo Epstein took over as GM. The Magic Number is at 3 with 10 games to go. If the Sox win tonight and the Rangers lose, the number goes down to 1. This means that tomorrow, EITHER a Red Sox win or a Rangers loss will seal the deal.

Matchup-wise, tonight's game is the one that most favors the Red Sox, with a well-rested Jon Lester facing beleaguered Yankee starter Joba (the Hutt) Chamberlain. Tomorrow, Dice-K has the unenviable task of pitching against Big C.C. If Dice-K performs like he did in the Angels' series, the Sox have a chance, provided they can get to C.C. even just a little. If we're in for a 5-inning deal, having to rely on a recently yippy bullpen, that could be trouble. Sunday's matchup heavily favors the Yanks, with Paul Byrd facing Andy Pettitte. I'm hoping the Sox take at the very least one of the three games, preferably two. A Sox sweep of the Yanks would be fantastic, but I'm not counting on it. The Yanks are still playing great ball, as they have been all of the second half, but now the Sox are playing great ball too. These aren't the same Red Sox who came staggering into The Stadium in early August.

Props to Buch for another outstanding pitching performance last night in KC. He may have been under the weather, but that did not show at all on the mound. 6.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R 0 BB 8 K!

LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!!

A Wet, Muddy, Soggy Mess

It's time for me to eat some crow for speaking too soon. My excuse for putting the cart before the horse: I went to yesterday's game, got stuck in traffic on the way home and by the time I got around to writing the blog, my brain cells were fried for the day. Unfortunately, I had to wash down my serving of crow with tonight's gooey mess of a game. Blech! Ugh! Napkin, please!

Now that the theatrics are out of the way...

The game started out pretty well for the Sox; they put up a six-spot in the third and Wake was getting it done despite being held together by duct tape and determination. Then the rains came. Apparently, a wet knuckleball is easier to hit than a dry one because, as the monsoon picked up, the Royals were smashing the ball all over the place. When they weren't whacking the ball, they were watching knucklers dart and dash all over the place and taking their free bases. Wake gutted his way through 5 giving up 5 runs and walking 7. Still, he left with a lead after Bay made a fantastic catch against the left field wall to rob an extra base hit from Yuniesky Betancort.

Enter Manny "the firestarter" Delcarmen with a can of kerosene and a lighted match. Boom! Three runs! Enter Daniel Bard with more of the flammable stuff. Three more runs! Whoosh! A toilet flushes and down it goes the Red Sox lead. An inning later, Billy Wagner stokes the fire by walking two and allowing another Royals run. The bats, tired of trying to keep up with the nuclear bullpen, mailed in the last three frames and a game that should have been won ends up in the loss column, along with a chance to trim the Magic Number and possibly gain on the Yanks. This game gets the ol' Mr. Yuk Seal of Disapproval. Do they still make those green Mr. Yuk stickers or are they a relic from my childhood? Note to self: Wikipedia "Mr. Yuk"

Tomorrow's matchup is no picnic for the Sox, with Paul Byrd facing Cy hopeful Zack Greinke. On paper this looks like another loss, but once the teams take the field, anything can happen. Let's hope it turns out to be a pleasant surprise. Taking three out of four in KC would be nice. I'd take a split, but a series loss to the men in blue could let the Rangers back into the race.

LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!

Well, That Was Sweepin' Good Fun!

Looks like dropping the last game in the Angels series did nothing to stop the Red Sox' September momentum, at least not during this weekend's romp at Camden. Baltimore has to feel like the Sox' home away from home because the way they play there, they might as well be at Fenway. The sweep of the O's by their daddies, the Red Sox has impacted not one, but TWO playoff races. With the Rangers dropping two of three to the Angels, the Sox have lowered the magic number for the Wild Card to seven and an eight-game lead over Texas. In the division race, which looked like a longshot as recently as a week ago, the Sox have gained some ground on the Yanks, with the help of the Seattle Mariners. The Yanks' division lead now stands at five, with a tough series in L.A. this week. The Red Sox are heading for Kansas City for a set of four. Three of the pitchers they face at Kaufmann Stadium are not named Zach Greinke. The Sox should take at the very minimum two of four. Three would be better and a sweep of the men in blue would put a TON of pressure on the Bronx Boys, especially if said boys run into a little trouble with the Halos.

Back to the O's series, while none of the Sox starters were lights-out, they didn't have to be. In each game, the starter (Buchholz for Friday, Lester for Saturday, and Matsuzaka this afternoon) kept the team in the game and the bats did the rest. Bay may have had the flu, but his bat was as healthy as a horse, with two dingers in the series. Ells added two of his own, further evidence that September is his favorite month at the plate. The O's pitching staff must be relieved that they wouldn't have to face the Boston bats any more this season.

LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!

You Win Some, You Lose Some, but...

...this is one game the Red Sox should have WON! You could argue that the second game was one they should have lost, with the controversial call on the 3-2 pitch to Nick Green and tonight's loss was the baseball gods' way of evening the score. You can also argue that Tek was the MVP of the game...for the Angels! Really, Captain, two nights in a ROW? To be fair, Wagner also made a critical mistake by walking the leadoff batter in the ninth. With Scioscia's crowd and their dedication to small ball, a walk might as well be a double. Predictably, a bunt put the runner in scoring position and tonight's Sox Killer Du Jour was Howie Kendrick (the honors went to Erick Aybar last night), who blooped a single over Pedey's outstretched glove and the pinch runner scored. In the bottom of the ninth, Francona pinch-hit for Drew not with the disciplined, .300+ hitter Youk, but the free-swinging Baldelli and the result was a game-ending pop-up.

Now for Beckett's outing. It was a quality start by all standards, going 8 innings and surrendering 3 runs, but there were a couple of things about his outing that worried me a little. One was the long ball he gave up to, who else, Howie Kendrick, he of the single-digit dinger tally for the season. It was a solo shot and the only home run he allowed, but given what we've seen with him in recent weeks, it raised a red flag. The outing had a kind of uneven feel to it, with innings of dominance being offset by episodes of shakiness, Kendrick's long ball included. It would be an A outing for a mid-to-end of rotation starter, but for the ace, it's a B. Coupled with the fact that he wants Tek catching his starts, this makes me wonder if Lester might be a better #1 starter should they make the playoffs.

If I were managing this team, I would ask Beckett to give VMart another shot. Since Dice-K is just making his way back to the rotation, it would be unfair to ask him to switch catchers, and Tek, with his declining skills in all but the preparation part of the game, should only catch one of the four starters. Maybe two for the remainder of the regular season, but if they hold onto the Wild Card, you have to put your best team on the field as much as possible. The best team has VMart catching, Youk at first and Lowell at third.

It's time for the Sox to hit the road and not let teams like the O's and the Royals play spoiler like they've been doing to other contenders. The Yankee series will be another tough one and it doesn't look like the pitching lines up favorably for the Red Sox; Beckett, Buchholz and Lester all pitch in the Royals series after Wake pitches the opener if he's able. Dice-K is scheduled to open the series, which shouldn't be too bad if he pitches like he did on Tuesday. However, game 2 would most likely be Byrd, since Wake is not likely to be pitching every five days for the rest of the season. Byrd against the Yanks lineup frightens me. Beckett pitches the finale. I sure wish Lester was in the mix for this series, but no such luck. Three righties with that lefty-heavy lineup and the short porch in right field has the potential to be a real romp for the Pinstripe Posse. Thank goodness Toronto and Cleveland await them when they come back home!

LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!

What's Japanese for Redemption?

Whatever it is, Dice-K's start tonight was his first step on the path to it. And, it was a giant step. 2009 Matsuzaka 2.0 went 6 + shutout innings in his return to the big-league mound. He wasn't facing any of the doormats of the American League either--he was baffling a lineup stacked with near .300 hitters on that team called the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. On a night when two of the Sox' best hitters, Youk and V-Mart, were not in the lineup, Dice-K's performance was all the more important. His line: 6+ IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB and 5 K. Going into tonight, I honestly didn't know what to expect out of him, but this pretty much falls into the "best case scenario" category.

Of course, Paul Byrd's first outing of the season had similar results and then he was used as a pinata by the White Sox in his next start. However, the level of competition in that first start (the Toronto Blue Jays) is not the same as what Dice-K faced tonight. I think we will continue to see good performances out of Dice-K this month, but won't all necessarily be shutouts. He is younger than Byrd and he's hungry to get into that playoff rotation, should the Sox hold onto their Wild Card lead. If he follows tonight up with 3 or 4 more quality starts and Beckett, Lester, and Buchholz keep pitching like they have lately, the Sox have an excellent chance of making the playoffs and being a force to be reckoned with once they get there.

Magic Number: 15, but if Oakland holds on to their lead over Texas, it could soon be 14. Oh, and the Jays are routing the Yanks.

LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!!

Cuz I don't watch football: Off-Day Sox musings

Mathematical musings on the final weeks of the Red Sox 2009 season:

20 = Games left to play
6 = Series left to play
2 = Series against teams with a better record than the Red Sox (NYY and LAA, 6 games)
4 = Series against teams with records under .500 (BAL, KC, TOR, CLE, 14 games)
12-8 = Win-loss record in remaining games to match 2007 record of 96-66
11-9 = Win-loss record to match 2008 record of 95-67
16 = Magic number to clinch Wild Card, including tiebreaker game should the Red Sox and Rangers end the season with the same record.
12 = Combination of Yankee wins and Red Sox losses before the Red Sox are eliminated from the division race. In other words, the Yanks' magic number to clinch the division.


LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!!

What Great Pitching Looks Like

The rain may have picked up the W on Friday night, but the Sox gobbled up the Rays in a whirlwhind 3-game sweep with three outstanding performances by Sox starters against a team that had the Sox' number for most of the season. Now said team appears to be in a free-fall after the trade of Scott Kazmir and the injury to Carlos Pena. Sox pitching held the Rays to a mere two runs over the entire series (one game was cut short by rain, but still...). Saturday night, Beckett spun 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball while the Sox teed off on Rays rookie Wade Davis and assorted relievers. He threw only 5 1/3 because that's all the game they got in before the tarp was rolled out and the game was eventually called.

High noon today, Clay Buchholz took the mound and promptly engaged in a pitching duel with Sox nemesis Matt "Gargamel" Garza. The hometown team struck first with an RBI double by V-Mart, scoring Pedey, who also doubled. The Rays tied it in the top of the 7th and almost plated the go-ahead run, but Gabe Gross was nailed at the plate by V-Mart. Since Buch left the game after the inning and the score was still tied when Oki took the mound in the 8th, he did not pick up the W, but I'm sure he's happy with his performance and with the team's win. Oki, who had been scuffling lately, returned to form by retiring the side in order. Then, in the bottom of the 8th, Papi stroked a pinch-hit double in the place of Nick Green and Pedey took Garza deep to make the score 3-1. Pap sealed the deal and the Sox clinched a series win.

Game two had Lester on the hill and he was lights-out, pitching 8 shutout innings of 2-hit ball. Unfortunately, due to blackout restrictions where I live, I couldn't see the game on TV and had to settle for following it online. Not. The. Same. The runs were scored on an RBI groundout by Lowell, a 2-RBI single by Tek and a Bay dinger (#32 on the season). Despite the crazy weather and all the waiting through rain delays, the Sox had a victorious weekend and kept the pressure on the Rangers, gaining at least a game on their Wild Card lead.

I like seeing the Red Sox play some small ball to manufacture runs. When up against tough pitchers like Garza and Shields, playing for the big inning isn't always the best way to go. With Gonzo coming from the NL and having experience laying down sac bunts, the Sox add more dimension to their offensive attack and that can only help as they fight for a spot in the playoffs.

The Sox get a well-deserved break tomorrow, their last off-day of the season, and then here come the Angels. Tuesday will be very interesting, with Dice-K making his first start in nearly three months. If he can even give us 5-6 innings of quality pitching (3 runs or less), that would be a big boost for the team. Right now, Beckett, Lester, and Buchholz look like as good of a 1-2-3 as any team has. If Matsuzaka can pitch well enough to be a solid #4, it will take some pressure off of Wake, who has to pitch through pain that severely limits his ability to field his position.

LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!!

September Sox Musings

Where do the Red Sox stand now, with three weeks and change? The Sox have a two-game lead over those feisty Texas Rangers in the Wild Card race. Seven series remain to be played, starting with the dare-we-say-they're-fading Tampa Bay Rays, who come to Fenway tomorrow. The Rays are without their slugging first baseman Carlos Pena, whose fingers were broken by a C.C. Sabathia pitch over the weekend, and they've fallen nine and a half games behind the Red Sox. The Sox recently defeated them in their home dome (or is it "dome home"?). Does this mean the Rays are cooked for the season or will those reigning AL Champs come to The Fens seeking revenge? Despite the Rays' woebegone late-season state, the Sox can't afford to take these guys lightly. After all, there's still the superhuman-against-the-Red Sox Evan Longoria to consider. The Sox send their current best three to the mound in Lester, Beckett and Buchholz, so I like their chances, even if they do have to face Gargamel--I mean Garza on Sunday.

After the Rays pack it up and leave Beantown, in come the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. This will be a toughie because these guys have a helluva road record and they wreak havoc on the basepaths. Since the top three starters are being used in the Rays series, that leaves the "pray for rain" end of the rotation to face a lineup stacked with .300 hitters who are well-schooled in the art of small ball. I'm getting a truly frightening image of a hobbled Wake, who has always had trouble with the Halos, trying to field bunts with a badly balking back. That's not a team he needs to be facing in his condition and let's hope they hold him until after that series. The image of Byrd, Bowden, or Tazawa facing Scioscia's men isn't much prettier. There's a possibility of one Daisuke Matsuzaka returning to the mound for this series with the Angels. He pitched well in his final rehab start, albeit against single-A competition. At this point, how much worse could he be than the other options? With the off-day on Monday, the Sox can start Lester as early as next Wednesday and then Beckett on Thursday, both on regular rest.

A ten-game road trip follows the Angels series--the last road trip of the regular season. First stop: Baltimore, to kick around the O's some more. Then, off to Kansas City for fun with the Royals. The trip culminates in a Sox-Yankees series in New York. Tum-ta-tum-tum TUMS!

Coming back home to finish out the season will feel like the last week of school, with a jaunt with the Jays and a tangle with the Tribe. So the Sox will be playing in October, that's for sure. The bigger question this year is: will they be playing in November? Game 4 of the World Series is to be played November 1, so baseball will be played in the eleventh month. Do I think they'll make the playoffs? They have a very good chance, but they'll need to hold off those Rangers in the last weeks of the season to get it done. The best way to do that is by winning games, rather than just hoping Texas loses.


LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!!

LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!!

Now Playing The Role of Evan Longoria: Mark Kotsay

So, can I call him a Sox killer when what he did this weekend helped the OTHER team with "Sox" in their name? Probably not, but he sure got his revenge on the Red Sox for DFA-ing him. I'm typing this a few hours after the Red Sox got bested by the White Sox at The Cell, only winning one game in a 4-game series. The game they won was the one Lester pitched. Lester, who pitched six scoreless innings yesterday and racked up 8 Ks, now has over 200 Ks on the season. 204, to be exact. Nice work, Jon!

For the first game of the series, it was "shame on the pitching". Byrd got buried by the White Sox bats and long-reliever Tazawa didn't fare much better. White Sox set the tone for the series, embarrassing the Red Sox in a 12-2 blowout. For games 2 and 4, it was "shame on the offense". One run apiece in those two games, folks! Gavin Floyd might have brought his best stuff to game 2, but did the Red Sox have to be the team to give today's starter Mark Buehrle his first win since his July 23 perfect game? Beckett gave them a quality start (3 runs over 7 innings and no long balls!), but couldn't get help from the guys wielding the sticks.

Why, oh why isn't Tek batting 9th on the days where V-Mart needs a break behind the plate? Gonzo's hitting better than him (who isn't?) and he deserves to bat before Tek. Glad to see Lowell get the nod at DH today. He should DH more often, especially when Tek is in the lineup. Papi's been very streaky this year and now his bat's back in the deep-freeze. Lowell, on the other hand, has been consistent for the most part. Shouldn't such consistency be rewarded with more playing time? Just sayin'...

After a mixed-bag of a road trip that brought long-awaited triumph at the Trop, but abject disappointment in The Windy City, the Sox head home to the Fens for 8 games. The first two are against the O's (who will be lucky not to see Lester on that mound) and then the Rays and Angels. The Rays, I'm sure, will not back down even as their wild card chances slip away and the Angels own the Red Sox in the regular season, so home might not be quite so sweet this time around. Then again, this is baseball and anything can happen.

LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!!

As Refreshing As a Glass of...

...Tropicana Orange Juice! After almost two years (and one team's name change) the Red Sox have won a series at Tropicana Field! Young Buch helped guide his team to last night's victory, further strengthening his campaign for the #3 spot in the rotation. He was a little shaky in the early going, but kept the damage to a minimum. He got better as the game went on, retiring the last nine batters he faced. His line: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 ER 1 BB 3K Wagner, Bard, and Pap kept the door shut tight while the Sox added to the 4-3 lead they had when Buchholz left the game. Bay, Youk, V-Mart, Lowell, and Baldelli lead the offensive attack. The former Ray Rocco crushed one into the left field seats to break what was at the time a 2-2 tie in the 2nd inning. Bay got the Sox on the board with a 2-RBI double the inning before. Lowell's sac fly in the 6th put the Sox ahead of the Rays for good; Youk and V-Mart added insurance in the 7th.

I'm so proud of my Red Sox for playing their best ball and taking their stand against the Rays in a place where they've found it hard to succeed in the past two years. Buchholz deserves special props for stepping up and throwing a quality start in a crucial, playoff-atmosphere game against a division rival. The Sox are now 6 games up on the Rays in the wild card chase. The Yanks have it super-easy lately, playing the Jays and the O's, so catching up to them for the division, while not mathematically impossible, will require some massive implosion on the part of the pinstripe posse. But, it's all about getting INTO the playoffs, right? Get in, whether it be the front door or the back, and anything's possible. Just ask the 2004 team.

It's a battle of the laundry this weekend: Red Sox vs. White Sox at The Cell. Wake's due to pitch tomorrow afternoon and I hope V-Mart is behind the plate. He did just fine catching Wake's last start and at this point in the season, the Red Sox really need his bat to stay in the lineup. Tonight, Byrd's on the hill, trying to go 2 for 2 in as many starts. The battle of Sox supremacy continues...

LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!

This Longoria thing is getting REALLY old!

Seriously, can the Red Sox have at least ONE series where Evan Longoria doesn't hit a home run off of them? He looks like freakin' Babe Ruth against the Sox. Chew on these stats: 8 HR and 26 RBI against the Red Sox this season with a .362 BA and 1.280 OPS! Sure, he's in the same division and faces the Sox a lot, but let's look at his stats against the rest of the AL East:

Yanks: 4 HR 9 RBI .250 BA .990 OPS
O's: 4 HR 10 RBI, .326 BA 1.100 OPS
Jays: O HR 7 RBI, .246 BA .634 OPS

He does some damage against the O's and even the Yanks, but the Jays, interestingly enough, have a way of keeping his bat quiet. He may be just one player, but he's a Sox-killer if I've ever seen one. For a kid who's, like, 24 with less than two years of major league experience under his belt, that's some serious ownage of one team. It doesn't help that he shares a last name with a Desperate Housewife...

Tonight it's up to Young Buch to step up and pretend the Rays are the Jays. In other words, get a WIN for the Sox at the Trop. Is that too much to ask? Winning a series in St. Pete?? If the Sox are a playoff-caliber team, it shouldn't be. The batters have to stop swinging at bad pitches and the skipper has to make the tough decisions necessary to give the team the best chance of winning. That means V-Mart behind the plate and Lowell at third. It means putting the best relievers in if the game is close or if the team is behind, but within reach. It means pulling struggling pitchers BEFORE things get out of hand. Shoot, Maddon pulls a reliever when he looks at him funny!

LET'S GO RED SOX! BEAT THOSE BLEEPIN' RAYS!!!!