Shuffling The Deck

It's an exciting time to be a Red Sox fan, for sure. The additions of Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford, Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler make us wish Spring Training started yesterday. In the meantime, the hot stove continues to throw changeups to Major League Baseball's competitive landscape. For example, the American League bid farewell to Cliff Lee and Zach Greinke and welcomed Adrian Gonzalez and Adam Dunn. The AL East was shaken up by the Red Sox' blockbuster acquisitions, the Yankees missing out on Cliff Lee, the Blue Jays getting a new manager (former Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell), and the Rays losing several of their stars to free agency (two of whom were snapped up by the Red Sox). In the Central, the Tigers got V-Mart, re-signed Inge, and signed Joaquin Benoit (is it Benoit in Detroit or Ben-wah in Detrwah?). The White Sox got Adam Dunn and Jesse Crain and the Twins imported Nishioka from Japan. The most active team in the West has been the A's, who signed Hideki Matsui, traded for Josh Willingham and David DeJesus, and re-signed Rich Harden.

In the NL, the Phillies won the Cliff Lee sweepstakes and added a fourth ace to their already obscenely loaded rotation. The Padres lost Gonzalez, but gained three prospects in Anthony Rizzo, Casey Kelly, and Reymond Fuentes, a utility guy in Eric Patterson, a shortstop in Jason Bartlett, and a second baseman in Orlando Hudson. The Brewers got Greinke and Shaun Marcum in trades. The Nationals ponied up big-time for Jayson Werth and added Rick Ankiel. The Marlins signed Javier Vazquez, who is a different pitcher in the NL than he is in the AL, and extended Ricky Nolasco. The Cubs got Kerry Wood back.

Still up for grabs in this hot stove season are Adrian Beltre, who's looking for a contract for at least 6 years with a full "Don't Touch My Head" clause, former Rays closer Rafael Soriano, Carl Pavano, Brian Fuentes, Grant Balfour, Brandon Webb, Adam LaRoche and Derrek Lee, among others. Beltre has seen the competition for his services drop considerably once the Red Sox got Gonzalez and he said "No way" to the A's. Soriano and Fuentes could require a 3-year commitment. Adam LaRoche isn't so sure about joining the O's. Webb has piqued the Rangers' and Cubs' interest. No Christmas vacation for major league GMs, that's for sure!

One Southpaw Short Of A Bullpen

With less than a week left before Christmas, the Red Sox are almost done with their off-season shopping. One more item on the wish list remains: A lefty for the bullpen. Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler strengthen the 'pen from the right side, but the hole vacated by the non-tendered (and rapidly declining) Okajima needs to be filled with another go-to southpaw. Brian Fuentes is still out there on the free agent market and Felix Doubront waits in the wings as an internal option, as does Rich Hill. Joe Beimel, Will Ohman, Dennys Reyes, Arthur Rhodes, and JC Romero (remember him?) are also on the market. Fuentes would likely require a 3-year commitment, which the Sox are loath to make. Former Sox targets Scott Downs, Matt Guerrier, and Jesse Crain have already signed on for 3-year deals with other teams. Dan Wheeler took a bit of a hometown discount, being a native Rhode Islander, and agreed to a 1-year deal while Jenks took 2-years.

The Sox would like to have Doubront start the season in AAA and, although Rich Hill was successful against lefties last season, the sample size was microscopic at only a handful of innings. I think their best bet would be to try to sign one of the free agents whose name is not Fuentes or Romero (been there, done that in the case of the latter) to a 1 or 2 year deal. Once they get that lefty, the 2011 team, barring a few minor-league transactions, will be pretty much complete. It's been a huge offseason for the Red Sox, even more so than the Phillies, who added Cliff Lee to their uber-rotation, leaving the Yanks in the lurch. On paper, it looks like the tables have turned in baseball's epic rivalry, but remember-- no season, no game, has ever been played on paper. Still, I like the Red Sox' chances...

Ho Ho Ho! Santa Comes Early for Sox

On Sunday night, the jolly old elf donned a Red Sox cap and jersey as he delivered the first big present under the Christmas tree of Red Sox Nation: A superstar first baseman by the name of Adrian Gonzalez. Then, on Wednesday night, he put another gigantic present under the tree, one worth $142 million--Carl Crawford. Both players are .300 hitters and gold-glove defenders; one brings the power and the other brings the speed. They make a pitcher's life easier by providing run support and making plays that help keep the ERA down. If everyone stays healthy, they have a lineup that can easily compete with that of the Yankees.

All they need now are a few reliable bullpen arms. Even the best offenses can't bail out a leaky bullpen night after night. Besides Bard, Pap, Doubront, Wake, and maybe Atchison, they need 7th-8th inning guys to take some of the burden off of Bard. Scott Downs is probably the best candidate, with Matt Guerrier, Pedro Feliciano, Rich Hill, and Kevin Gregg among other possibilities.

The Sox are also in the hunt for Russell Martin, who was recently non-tendered by the Dodgers. Martin has been struggling with both offense and defense, but with their new lineup they can afford to take a chance on him and Salty could use more work in Pawtucket.

It's been a thrilling off-season so far for the Sox and Spring Training can't come soon enough. 2011--it rhymes with 2007. Just sayin'...

Howz 'Bout A Little Drama?

The pharmaceutical industry can thank Red Sox Nation for any bump in sales that may have occurred today as the Adrian Gonzalez trade hung in the balance over a contract extension. Rumors of a failed trade and the epic fallout/backlash made much of today a tense one for the Sox and the fans, but this evening, the trade finally went through and the Nation can sleep tonight knowing that Gonzalez will spend at the very least 2011 in a Boston uniform. It's likely an extension is in place or very close, but will not be announced until after opening day in order to avoid a luxury tax hit.

In other baseball news, the Nationals signed Jayson Werth to a 7-year, $126 million deal, so Crawford's asking price just shot up to stratospheric levels. With the money-is-no-object Yankees in on him, teams like the Red Sox and the Angels have their work cut out for them. Cliff Lee is also still up for grabs.

With the Gonzalez trade completed, at least the Red Sox can focus their energy now on issues like fixing the bullpen, whether or not to keep pursuing Crawford, and possibly finding another catcher so Salty can work on a few things in Pawtucket (and show he can stay healthy). The Winter Meetings start tomorrow, so it will be an interesting few days. Right now, I'm just relieved the Gonzalez trade went through.

Move Over, Youk!

Across the diamond to third base, that is. The Red Sox have agreed to a trade for a guy they've been coveting for a few years now, the game-changer that they thought they'd have to empty the farm to get: Adrian Gonzalez is coming to Boston in 2011! The package is rumored to be Casey Kelly, Reymond Fuentes (2009 first round draft pick) and Anthony Rizzo (top first baseman prospect who is now blocked by Gonzalez). A contract extension is also rumored to be in the works.

With another lefty on board, it may actually be a better idea to pursue Werth over Crawford because they need right-handed bats. All of this is good news for the Angels, who are supposedly interested in both Crawford and Beltre. If the Red Sox end up signing Werth, that eliminates them from the competition for Crawford as well as for Beltre, who no longer has a position on the team with Youk moving to third to accommodate Gonzalez. If the Sox signed Crawford, they would be too lefty-heavy in a division with a glut of top lefty pitchers such as Sabathia, Price, Matusz, and possibly Pettitte and Lee (Lester would be included in this group, but, obviously, the Sox would not be facing him).

It will be interesting to see what the Sox do in the free agent market as far as outfielders and filling bullpen needs. Getting Gonzalez is a giant step in the right direction.

Project Crawford

Two offseasons ago, the big free-agent prize was Mark Teixeira and the Red Sox were very much in the hunt until the bogeyman (a.k.a The Yankees) swooped in and snatched him two days before Christmas. There are various and sundry rumors as to why the Sox failed to land him, from John Henry's indiscreet tweet to Mrs. Teixeira's shopping preferences, but in the end, the bottomless pit of financial resources that is the Yankees (their GM's name is CASHman, for pete's sake!) ponied up more dough.

Fast-forward to the present time and the grand prize is Carl Crawford. The Sox NEED a 5-tool guy like Crawford and they'd much rather have him on their side than face him 18 times a year. Yes, the Yankees are in on him (surprise, surprise) as are the Angels. The Sox have a lot of holes to fill in order to be legitimate playoff contenders next season and middle-of-the-order bat is one of them, since V-Mart motored on up to Detroit. An alternative would be Jayson Werth, but Werth is basically a right-handed JD Drew. Justin Upton would also be a good fit, but he'd cost a ton of prospects and major-league players like Daniel Bard. The bullpen can in no way afford to lose its best and most consistent reliever. Crawford's the man to get and since he's a free agent, he won't cost a single prospect or player.

With the ownership's purchase of a certain overseas soccer team, how much they are willing to spend on the Red Sox will invite even more scrutiny than usual from the Nation. An offseason following an non-playoff season ups the ante as well. Whether they like it or not, John Henry and Company have something to prove to the Red Sox and their fans. Ponying up for Carl Crawford would go a long way toward showing the fans that the Red Sox are still high on their priority list.

No V-Mart? Big Problem.

V-Mart's Red Sox days are history as he agreed to a deal with the Tigers yesterday that the Sox would not match. Apparently it came down to dollars rather than years. The Sox appear content to have injury-plagued Jarrod Saltalamacchia be the starting catcher for next year. Don't get me wrong, I think Salty would make a fine starting catcher--in Pawtucket. He hasn't shown any indication that he's ready to start behind the plate for a major league team, let alone one in the AL East.

V-Mart was familiar with the pitching staff and could even catch a knuckleball. If Wake comes back next year, who catches him? Can Salty handle the knuckler? What about Buchholz, who blossomed with V-Mart behind the plate? How will V-Mart's departure affect him? Pitchers rely heavily on routine and not having V-Mart catching him will disrupt that routine.

How about replacing his offensive production in the lineup? The Sox will most likely lose Beltre as well, so that's two big bats that need replacing. Sometimes I feel the front office looks too far into the future at the expense of the present. Next year is just as important as 2013 or 2014. The onus is on them to fill as many holes as possible this offseason and they just created another huge one by letting V-Mart go.

Congratulations 2010 World Champion S.F. Giants!

Boy was I ever wrong in my World Series prediction. Rangers in 7 it wasn't. Try Giants in 5. The Giants as a franchise last won in 1954, when they were still in New York. This is the first time the San Francisco Giants won it all and they played a hell of a Series. Their starting rotation gave credence to the adage "Good pitching beats good hitting," holding the loaded-with-lumber Rangers to a .190 batting average. Dominant pitching plus timely hitting brought the World Series trophy to San Francisco. Edgar Renteria--yes, he of the 30-error season for the Red Sox in '05--knocked two clutch homers to earn World Series MVP honors. Bruce Bochy put on a managing clinic the entire postseason and some impressive rookies, Buster Posey and Madison Bumgarner, shined in the playoff spotlight. All in all, a very satisfying win for a baseball fan.

Congrats are due to the Rangers, who made their first World Series appearance ever. They have a great team, though they got outplayed in the Fall Classic. Look for them to contend in the AL West again next year.

World Series Game 3: At Home On The Range

The Texas Rangers did what they had to do to stay alive in this World Series: They won Game 3 on the back of starter Colby Lewis by a score of 4-2. Lewis, who was an unofficial MVP of the ALCS with his two wins over the Yankees, including the decisive Game 6, came up big again last night, playing the role of stopper. He shut out the suddenly-potent Giants offense for 6 innings before giving up solo shots in the 7th and 8th. On the Rangers' part, they have rookie first baseman Mitch Moreland for a 3-run blast in the 2nd and Josh Hamilton for a solo dinger in the 5th. By winning Game 3, the Rangers have ensured the World Series will go at least 5 games.

For Game 4, the Rangers have a huge decision to make: Start Tommy Hunter, who struggled in the ALCS , and risk going down 3 games to 1 or start Cliff Lee on short rest and hope he pitches better than he did in Game 1. On the Giants' part, Madison Bumgarner has proven he can pitch in the post-season, but their big decision is what to do with the scuffling Pat Burrell, who earned the dubious honor of a Golden Sombrero in last night's game after whiffing 4 times.

I'll be out of town for the rest of the series, so I'll have to catch (and blog) whatever I can of it. May the best team win!

Wake does Roberto Clemente proud

Yesterday, before World Series Game 2 began, Tim Wakefield was honored as the 2010 recipient of the Roberto Clemente award in recognition of his service to the Boston community and the community in Florida that he calls home. Roberto Clemente, born in Puerto Rico, was a star outfielder for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1955 to 1972. His life and career were cut short in a plane crash on December 31, 1972--he was on the plane to ensure that aid packages were delivered to the victims of an earthquake in Nicaragua. Previous packages had fallen into the wrong hands and Clemente wanted to make sure that did not happen again. Tragically, the overloaded plane went down in the ocean off the coast of Puerto Rico and Clemente's body was never found.

Wakefield began his career with the same organization that Clemente played for in his illustrious 18-year career. He made a promise to a failing early-intervention school in Florida that if he made it to the big leagues, he would help them remain open. He made good on that promise and has been involved with the school ever since. He has also supported the Franciscan Children's Hospital in Boston and hosts an annual charity golf tournament. He's been nominated for the Clemente award eight times before winning this year. It's a well-deserved honor and he does Clemente's legacy proud.

World Series Game 2: A Giant Merry-Go-Round

It seems I grossly underestimated the Giants' offense coming into this World Series. Or is it that the Rangers are out there in Santa Claus suits, lugging sacks full of gift-wrapped runs? Not all the runs the Giants have scored so far have been of the gift variety, however. Home runs by Uribe and Renteria, as well as some timely hits have done their share in putting the Giants two games closer to their first World Championship in San Francisco and first overall in 56 years. Matt Cain did his part as well, pitching a gem and combining with Javier Lopez and Guillermo Mota to shut out the Rangers in Game 2.

The game was a close one until the bottom of the 8th, when the Rangers bullpen couldn't find the plate if they had a GPS giving them directions. The Giants circled the bases, first one by one, then in bunches as it took four Rangers pitchers to get that elusive third out. At one point in the inning, 11 straight balls were thrown! When the inning was over, 7 Giants runs had scored, ripping open the game and sending Brian Wilson back to the dugout, as he was no longer needed in a 9-0 blowout. What was with those Rangers relievers in the 8th? Did the World Series get into their heads or were they wearing invisible blindfolds?

The series moves to Arlington, Texas on Saturday evening and the Rangers had better hope the home cooking is good if they are to keep their hopes of a championship alive. They will depend on Colby Lewis, who beat the Yankees twice in the ALCS to keep them out of a 3-game hole. The Giants, on the other hand, must rely on Jonathan Sanchez, whose command has eluded him for most of this post-season, to put a stranglehold on the Rangers. The Rangers have the potential to turn this World Series around. The question is, will they? The Giants have the momentum and have proven to be very capable of running with it. Will they run all the way to the title? We shall see...

World Series Game 1: Run Prevention Gone Awry

Not quite the pitcher's duel we had expected, Game 1 of the World Series between the Rangers and Giants ended up very much the opposite. Neither Cliff Lee nor Tim Lincecum brought their A game to the mound and some sloppy glovework on both sides led to a rather messy slugfest between the two teams. The Giants got the better of the Rangers by 4 runs and ended up scoring 11 in all. It was almost comical, in that the Giants aren't a team that scores a lot of runs. They scored 19 over six games in the NLCS and their fans often refer to their games as "torture" because they're usually tight, one or two run affairs. So what do they do? They go out and put up 11 in Game 1 of the World Series! That's baseball for you.

Juan Uribe and Freddy Sanchez ended up being the biggest Giants bats of Game 1, with Uribe taking Darren O'Day yard for 3 runs in the 5th and Freddy Sanchez knocking 4 hits, 3 of them doubles. The Giants got to a surprisingly ineffective Cliff Lee for 7 runs in all and tacked on 4 more off the Rangers' pen--one off of O'Day and three off of Mark Lowe, who was not on the roster for the first two rounds of the playoffs. The Rangers' defense helped the Giants' cause, notching 4 errors, for which they paid dearly. Vlad Guerrero booted two balls in the outfield, calling into question his presence out there. Just how important is his bat to the lineup? Is it worth the liability in right field? Ron Washington seems to think so, as Guerrero is slated to play right again in tonight's Game 2.

The Giants' bullpen made the game closer than it looked like it was going to be going into the ninth. Red Sox fans watching last night no doubt recognized the Ramon Ramirez who started off the inning with two baserunners. Affeldt didn't fare much better and it took quirky closer Brian Wilson to finally put Game 1 to bed, but not before the 3 Giants relievers allowed the Rangers to score 3 runs in the ninth.

Tonight in Game 2, C.J. Wilson takes the hill for the Rangers and Matt Cain for the Giants. Wilson struggled in Game 5 of the ALCS, but Cain came up big in Game 3 of the NLCS. It will be interesting to see how the Rangers respond to their Game 1 beatdown and how the Giants try to build on their victory.

2010 World Series: Triumph of the Underdogs

In less than 48 hours at AT&T Park (a.k.a The Park that Broke The 2010 Red Sox) in San Francisco, the 2010 Fall Classic begins. Let's look at how the teams match up, position by position, and, for the starting pitchers, game by game:

Position Players

Catcher: Giants - Buster Posey
Rangers - Bengie Molina

Advantage: Giants, with youth and raw talent giving Posey the slight edge.

First Base: Giants - Aubrey Huff
Rangers - Mitch Moreland

Advantage: Rangers but this is also very close. Moreland, the rookie, beats out Huff based on his performance in the post-season so far.

Second Base: Giants - Freddy Sanchez
Rangers - Ian Kinsler

Advantage: Rangers

Third Base: Giants - Pablo Sandoval
Rangers - Michael Young

Advantage: Rangers, no offense to "The Panda"

Shortstop: Giants - Juan Uribe
Rangers - Elvis Andrus

Advantage: Rangers. Uribe has more pop, but Andrus has been an on-base machine with the wheels to make a lot of trouble for the Giants on the basepaths.

Left Field: Giants - Pat Burrell
Rangers - Jeff Francoeur/David Murphy

Advantage: Giants, but only a slight edge. Murphy makes it a closer call than Francoeur.

Center Field: Giants - Andres Torres
Rangers- Josh Hamilton

Advantage: Rangers have the huge advantage here, but Torres has heated up of late.

Right Field: Giants - Cody Ross
Rangers - Nelson Cruz

Advantage: Rangers. Ross may have been the NLCS MVP, but Cruz has been the steadier producer throughout the season.

Bench: Giants - Travis Ishikawa, Mike Fontenot, Edgar Renteria, Aaron Rowand, Eli Whiteside, Nate Scheirholtz
Rangers - Jorge Cantu, Andres Blanco, Matt Treanor, Julio Borbon, either Jeff Francoeur or David Murphy

Advantage: Giants. National League teams' benches get more at-bats and with guys like Renteria and Rowand on the Giants' bench, it makes it ever-so-slightly stronger.


Bullpen (minus closer): Giants - Santiago Casilla, Ramon Ramirez, Javier Lopez, Jeremy Affeldt, Sergio Romo, Guillermo Mota
Rangers - Darren Oliver, Darren O'Day, Alexi Ogando, Derek Holland, Clay Rapada, Michael Kirkman


Advantage: Giants. The change-of-scenery honeymoon may be over for Ramon Ramirez, but another former Red Sox reliever, Javier Lopez, got himself back on the right track and has been dominant for the Giants in the playoffs so far. Other standouts: Jeremy Affeldt and Sergio Romo. The Rangers 'pen was great in the regular season, but the strike zone has eluded them a bit in October, particularly "the two Darrens"

Closer: Giants - Brian Wilson
Rangers - Neftali Feliz

Advantage: Giants. Fear the Beard.

Game 1 Starter: Giants - Tim Lincecum
Rangers- Cliff Lee

Advantage: Rangers. Post-season Cliff Lee gets the edge over anyone, even Tim Lincecum.

Games 2, 3, and 4 Starters: Giants - Matt Cain, Jonathan Sanchez, Madison Bumgarner
Rangers- C.J. Wilson, Colby Lewis, Tommy Hunter or Derek Holland

Advantage: Giants, if the Rangers use four starters and Rangers if Cliff Lee starts on short rest.

World Series prediction: Rangers in 7. The pitching staffs are close so the advantage goes to the team with the biggest sticks and wheels.

This, of course, is just a fan's point of view. The people who write about baseball for a living have their take on each position posted on mlb.com and I'm going over there right now to see how my predictions stacked up to theirs.


Edited to add: I didn't include DH because I'm not sure who the Giants will use for their DH in Texas. Whoever it is, the Rangers have the clear advantage with Vladimir Guerrero

2010 World Series: Rangers vs. Giants

As soon as the four teams for the league championship series were decided, I was hoping for a Rangers-Giants World Series. It didn't seem all that likely at the outset, with those two teams' opponents being the Yankees and the Phillies, who played last year's World Series. However, the underdog triumphed in both series. For the Rangers, it's the franchise's first World Series appearance ever and for the Giants, the first World Series since they moved to San Francisco in 1958 (They won as the New York Giants in 1954). Both teams have a ton of chemistry and an intense hunger for a championship.

The big show opens on Wednesday night in San Francisco, with a marquee matchup of Cy Young winners Cliff Lee and Tim Lincecum. As much as I've enjoyed the Giants' post-season run so far, I'm rooting for the Rangers to win it all. The Rangers beat the Yankees, kept them from getting Cliff Lee back in July, and don't yet have a championship to their name. I think the Rangers' starting pitching is just a hair better than that of the Giants and they have a clear advantage on the offensive end of things. In baseball, though, anything can happen.

How Sweet It Is...

...to see the Yankees knocked off their throne. For a moment, I forgot it wasn't the Red Sox who just clinched a World Series berth--that's how excited I am for the Texas Rangers. It's their first AL pennant and World Series appearance ever and they've been fun to watch. Like I said in the last blog, if it can't be the Red Sox representing the American League in the Fall Classic, it's very satisfying to see a team like the Rangers, who have gone from a one-dimensional slugging team to one who excels in all facets of the game, playing for all the marbles instead.

Congratulations to Josh Hamilton for winning the ALCS MVP. By hitting .350 with 4 HR, he's very deserving of the honor. He gave a lot of credit to his teammates and it's clear from his acceptance speech that he's very close to them. The respect goes both ways, with the team choosing to celebrate with ginger ale instead of champagne to honor his wishes to remain drug-free after battling addiction earlier in his career.

Speaking of key players in this series, Cliff Lee gets a lot of credit for his shutdown pitching in Game 3 and it's all well-deserved, but props are also due to Colby Lewis, who pitched two excellent starts, in games 2 and 6. He went 8 tonight and manager Ron Washington (my pick for AL Manager of the Year) could avoid going to middle relief and send Neftali Feliz out there for the final 3 outs. That A-Rod struck out to seal the deal made it all even sweeter.

By getting it done in Game 6, Cliff Lee will be available to pitch in Game 1 of the World Series against either Halladay or Lincecum--a marquee matchup either way. While I'd love to see a Rangers-Giants World Series, all I care about is that the Yankees aren't in it. I never thought I'd enjoy a post-season so much without the Red Sox involved... Let's hope they ARE involved in the post-season of 2011.

If it can't be the Red Sox...

...let it be the Texas Rangers who keep the Yankees from making a repeat trip to the World Series. The Rangers making their first World Series appearance ever would be great for baseball. Here is a team, now owned by a baseball legend, Nolan Ryan, who has finally got their act together and become contenders. They pulled the rug out from under the Yankees in July when they acquired Cliff Lee, who seemed destined to spend the rest of the season in pinstripes. Now, they have the chance to pull the plug on the Yanks' 2010 season. They have what it takes as far as an explosive offense, strong pitching, and shrewd baserunning is concerned. However, one tall task remains and that is finishing the job with a win tonight. Sure, if they lose tonight, they have two more chances to take the series, but it's essential to keep momentum on their side. The Yankees are notorious for come-from-behind wins, so if the Rangers crack the door open by not finishing them off in Game 5, they could end up regretting it, even with Cliff Lee scheduled to pitch Game 7. Just ask the 2007 Cleveland Indians. They let the Red Sox back in the series and look what happened.

C.C. Sabathia has struggled so far this post-season. C.J. Wilson, on the other hand, has two very solid starts (even if only one resulted in a win) coming into tonight's game. The Rangers bats need to keep pouncing on C.C. and C.J. needs to pitch deep into this game. If there is one weakness on this Rangers team it is that the bullpen can struggle at times with the strike zone. If they can keep the bullpen innings to a minimum with Wilson going at least 7 innings, they should be in good shape, provided the offense keeps doing what they've been doing to the Yankee rotation.

Over in that other league, the Giants have been doing to the Phillies pretty much the same thing the Rangers have been doing with the Yankees. Cody Ross has been a beast and the rest of the team hasn't been doing too badly either. Bruce Bochy's roster moves in Game 3 paid off with Edgar Renteria (remember him?) and Aaron Rowand getting rally-sparking hits in the 4th and 5th innings against Cole Hamels. They send the rookie, 21-year-old Madison Bumgarner to the mound this afternoon to try to take a 3-1 lead in the series. He will face Joe Blanton, who, you may remember, gave up the grand salami to Daniel Nava.

LET'S GO RANGERS!!!!! LET'S GO GIANTS!!!!!

Playoff Update: Evenly Matched?

So far, between the two LCS's, four games have been played and each team has one victory. In Arlington, Texas, the Yanks took Game 1 despite CC's flashbacks to the '07 and '08 playoffs, by chewing up the Rangers' bullpen. The Rangers wouldn't be denied in Game 2, when they put up a 7-spot on Phil Hughes and held the Yankees to 2 runs behind a strong Colby Lewis outing. Put the Rangers' starters and the Yankees' bullpen together and you'd have one helluva pitching staff.

Over in Philly, the Giants assured that Roy Halladay would not open the NLCS with a no-hitter as he did the NLDS. Cody Ross, who has so far been the Giants' post-season MVP, took Doc yard twice in Game 1. Lincecum got touched for two dingers also, but ended up outpitching Halladay to the tune of a 4-3 score. Tonight, in Game 2, it was Oswalt who came up big, pitching 8 innings of 1-run ball. That one run came on a home run by guess who? Cody Ross, of course! His long ball in the fifth broke up Oswalt's no-hit bid, but the Phillies did their damage against Jonathan Sanchez and the Giants' bullpen. Scuffling Jimmy Rollins got the hit that blew the game open in the 7th when he cleared the bases with a double and put his team up 6-1.

As for me, I'm hoping for a Rangers-Giants World Series. The Yankees and Phillies are so last year! When all is said and done, however, I'll be happy for a World Series win by anyone BUT the Yankees.

The Braves Were Once A Boston Team...

...and two former Red Sox helped them come from behind and beat the Giants in the wee hours of this morning. The parties involved: Alex Gonzalez, who had two separate stints as the Sox shortstop, knocked in the tying runs with a 2-RBI double in the eighth off of 48-save closer Brian "I'm Not A Beach Boy" Wilson. Ramon Ramirez, who was shipped off to San Fran at the trade deadline, gave up the winning run, a long home run hit by Rick Ankiel in the 11th that splashed down in McCovey Cove.

Meanwhile, in the other NLDS, the Cincinnati Reds' defense made the Red Sox defense look good in comparison by racking up 4 errors and handling the baseball like it was covered in oil. This is unusual for the Reds, who had the best defense in the league over the regular season. The biggest damage was in the seventh, when Chase Utley had Jetered his way onto first (that Aroldis Chapman pitch did not hit him), beat a force-out at second, and then right fielder Jay Bruce lost a ball in the lights and second baseman Brandon Phillips mishandled the relay throw, allowing two runs to score. It was a brutal inning and not the way Aroldis Chapman wanted his his post-season career to begin. The Phillies ended up beating the Reds 7-4 and take a 2-0 lead in the series.

The Awesomeness of Roy Halladay

He's not a Red Sox, but I sure wish he were because he's one of the best, if not the best pitcher in baseball today. The baseball fan in me was thrilled to watch history being made tonight when Halladay, who had waited 11 years to pitch in the post-season threw the first no-hitter in over 50 years and only the second ever in playoff baseball. Only one walk kept him from throwing his second perfect game of the year. The opposition, the Cincinnati Reds, are no pushovers--they scored the most runs in the National League this season. Halladay owned this game from the very beginning, his only blip being the walk, but when you throw a no-no in the playoffs, you can't quibble with one base on balls. He also chipped in at the plate, knocking in the second Phillies run in the second inning. Yes, it is the National League, where the number 9 guy in the lineup is the pitcher, but that doesn't take away from what he accomplished tonight. He was dominant in the American League when he played for the Blue Jays. Pitching on eight days' rest, there was no sign of rust on the Phillies' ace. I'm sad that the Sox aren't in it, but seeing an awesome pitching performance, and baseball history being made is why I'm watching the playoffs this year.

The 2010 Soxies

The Sox played their last game today and beat the Yankees 8-4, after splitting a doubleheader yesterday. That's all the October baseball they'll play this year, but they ended on a high note after a frustrating, disappointing season. Without further ado, here are the winners of the 2010 Soxies

The King of the Hill Award It's a very tough choice this year because there were two pitchers who had outstanding seasons. Although both are deserving, the 2010 Soxie this year goes to Clay Buchholz, who was consistently good from April through September. He missed some time on the DL, which cost him some innings and, most likely, some wins, but his breakout season was inspiring to watch, especially after his struggles in recent years. He finishes the season ranked second in the league in ERA (a sterling 2.33) and posted a 17-7 record. I look forward to what he can do next year. Honorable Mention: Jon Lester, whose 19 wins and 225 strikeouts rival Beckett's 2007 season.

The Teddy Yaz Award This was another very tough choice between two deserving candidates. One overcame a miserable April to put up his best numbers since 2007. Another endeared himself to fans with his .321 batting average and his quirkiness. Lover of consistency that I am, I award the 2010 Soxie to Adrian Beltre. The guy hit well against righties and lefties, at home and on the road, and often knelt at the plate when he hit the long ball. It remains to be seen whether Beltre will be with the team next year, but his contribution this year helped keep the Sox in the race against all odds. Honorable Mention: David Ortiz, with 32 HR and 102 RBI

The Dirt Doggery Award With the usual suspects riding pine on the DL, an impressive rookie grabbed the 2010 Soxie and that would be Ryan Kalish Compared favorably to the original Dirt Dog Trot Nixon, Kalish was not averse to throwing his body at balls in the outfield. Perhaps he was a circus acrobat in his previous life. Honorable Mentions: Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis

The Golden Welcome Mat Award He was among the first of the injury-related replacement players and he made a huge impression in his Red Sox debut in April with a home run in his first at-bat and a walk-off hit in the very same game. The 2010 Soxie goes to Darnell McDonald who proved himself deserving of a spot on a major league roster. Honorable Mentions: Ryan Kalish, Daniel Nava

The Comeback Kid Award First it was the injured wrist that took its sweet time to heal. Then, it was an attack of mono that took him out of commission for over half a season. Once he came back in late July to fill in at second base, we saw the guy who impressed us two years ago, when he replaced an injured Julio Lugo at shortstop. The 2010 Soxie goes to Jed Lowrie, who came back with a little more pop in his bat to go along with two more years of maturity. Lowrie finished the season with 9 dingers, three of which he hit against the Yankees. He's definitely a keeper for the 2011 season. Honorable Mention: Adrian Beltre, for bouncing back from his lackluster 2009 with the Seattle Mariners.

The Bullpen Cowboy Award Really, there's only one guy this award can go to this year. He was the one constant in a bullpen full of...well...creatures of somewhat misguided generosity. The 2010 Soxie goes to Daniel Bard who was so reliable that he was overused, leading to a little dropoff in September. Overall, he's head and shoulders above anyone else in that bullpen.
Honorable Mention: Well, Felix Doubront had the most potential before he got hurt.

The Team Player Award He played most of the season with a painful rotator cuff injury and a pinched nerve because the team was already decimated by injuries. The 2010 Soxie goes to Marco Scutaro for his willingness to play through the pain and be the leadoff hitter in the absence of Jacoby Ellsbury. Honorable Mentions: Bill Hall for his versatility and Victor Martinez for his commitment to improving his defense behind the plate.


These next awards are new for this season and do not include honorable mentions.

The Misdirected Laser Show Award goes to Dustin Pedroia for drilling himself in the foot and familiarized Red Sox Nation with the navicular bone.

The Simply Smashing Award goes to Darnell McDonald for his car window-smashing shot over the Monster.

The Grand Entrance Award goes to Daniel Nava for starting off his major-league career by taking the first pitch he sees yard for a grand salami.

The Most Dangerous Teammate Award goes to Adrian Beltre for breaking a minimum of 10 ribs of two left fielders

The Designated Head Toucher Award goes to Victor Martinez for always being the first one to drive Adrian Beltre nuts by touching his head in the dugout after a home run.

The Don't Call Me Mr. April Award goes to David Ortiz for putting his struggles in the first month of the season behind him and turning in his best numbers since 2007.

The Rubik's Cube Award goes to Terry Francona for all the work he had to put into putting out a lineup card each game in a season full of injuries and roster moves. It was like trying to solve a particularly perplexing puzzle

And the 2010 Red Sox MVP goes to.... Daniel Bard This was another tough choice. Bard was the one constant in the shaky bullpen and the go-to guy for key outs late in games. He stayed healthy all season and made a name for himself as one of the premier setup men in the league.

Honorable mentions: Adrian Beltre, Marco Scutaro, David Ortiz, Clay Buchholz, Jon Lester, Victor Martinez.

The Night(s) the Lights Went Out

Tonight in Chicago at US Cellular Field, the lights went out during the game. Granted, the game was already out of hand and Lester had squandered his chance to finish with 20 wins and a sub-3 ERA and granted, neither team was playing for a post-season spot anymore, the power outage at The Cell was emblematic of all but a 6-week period of the Red Sox 2010 season. That 6-week period was mid-May through the end of June, when the Sox overcame their sub-par April to come within a half-game of first place. At the same time the Sox soared, the Rays scuffled and the Sox overtook them in the standings. It was the only part of the season where things went right for the Red Sox.

Then came the injuries. Already shorthanded in the outfield, the Sox would, in the space of one fateful series against the Giants in San Francisco, lose Pedey for the year (minus a 2-game ill-fated attempt to return) and Buchholz and V-Mart for about a month. A few days later, down goes Tek. Their replacements: Eric Patterson, Felix Doubront, Kevin Cash and Gustavo "not related to the other ones" Molina. Felix did alright, all things considered, but the other three--Yikes! July was brutal and August wasn't much better. September was up and down, but ended on a down note with a 3-game losing streak.

The lights may have literally gone out only one game this season (so far. It remains to be seen what happens this weekend at Fenway), but in all other ways they've been out during the times they've been needed the most. The most frustrating aspect of the season is the Red Sox uncanny penchant for passing up opportunities to gain ground in the pennant race, or, in the case of tonight's game, achieve an individual milestone. I wanted so badly for Lester to get his 20th win. It would have ended this season on a high note, regardless of what happened this weekend with the Yankees. Lester, unfortunately, could not come through. In his start tonight lies another analogy for the season: He had a rough first inning, a very good second inning (striking out the side, though he allowed a 2-out walk), but it all went downhill from there.

This offseason, the Red Sox have their work cut out for them. They have to overhaul the disastrous bullpen, make decisions on Papi, V-Mart, and Beltre (I hope they'll all be back next year. It's hard to replace that kind of production), maybe sign a free-agent outfielder (I'd prefer Crawford to Werth), and hope the injured players return fully healthy for next year. They need to spend less money on marketing and trying to shoehorn as many seats as possible into Fenway and more on building a team that can contend in the A.L. East. No more buzzwords like "run prevention" and "bridge year" Just make the necessary improvements to the team and maybe 2011 can be more like 2007.

What We Learned from the 2010 Red Sox Season

The season, as far as the pennant race is concerned, is over. Dunzo. Finito. Kaput. You get the picture. Five games remain and the Sox have an 87-70 record. They will finish third place in the division and miss the big dance for the first time since 2006. We can't say we didn't see this coming for a long time. The injuries, the bullpen, the inconsistent pitching of 60% of the rotation, the instability of the lineup, the defense, the mediocre record against sub .500 teams, the rough April, it was just too much to overcome. They hung in for a lot longer than it looked like they would, but it was not meant to be this year.

What did Red Sox Nation learn from this very strange season? Let's make a list.

1. Darnell McDonald can give Zippy Chippy a run for his money in a man vs. horse, foot vs. hoof race.
2. The existence and location of the navicular bone. Thanks, Pedey!
3. Jon Lester and Hanley Ramirez: So not BFF's.
4. $1 could buy you a Daniel Nava. Turns out he was worth quite a bit more.
5. Rumors of Jed Lowrie's demise were greatly exaggerated.
6. Adrian Beltre should come with a warning label. Something depicting some broken ribs and a strongly-worded recommendation to not touch his head.
7. Little Vic Martinez takes after his dad and the Red Sox should strongly consider him for the 2022 draft. Heck, sign him now! I hear Pedey's looking for someone to call "shorty".
8. Ryan Kalish deftly combines the team sport of baseball with the individual sport of gymnastics.
9. San Francisco is one dangerous place for the Red Sox to play. Three games, three significant injuries.
10. Tito's coming out with a book called 101 Ways To Write Out A Lineup Card

Well, there you have it. It was a very...educational season indeed.

Stuck in the Middle

It's been awhile, but I've been on the blogging DL with emotional exhaustion. It's been that kind of season. Despite what I said in the last blog I posted a few weeks ago, I have been watching the Sox this month. Just when I tried to avoid watching, I'd get sucked back in again. It's hard to watch the fits and starts as the Sox try to put a run together with their Youk-less, Pedey-less team, underperforming starters, anorexic bullpen and sloppy defense when the game's on the line, but it's just as hard NOT to watch.

Besides the reasons I just listed for where the Sox find themselves in the standings, their poor start in April, when almost everyone was healthy (except for Ells, who got KO'ed by Beltre in the first week of play and lost virtually an entire season) is probably what separates them from the Yankees and the Rays, who have been playing no better than the Red Sox of late. They could have deep-sixed the Sox in July or August, but they couldn't widen the gap enough to do so.
The Sox hung around and won just enough games to keep them out of long, demoralizing losing streaks, but they could never put together long winning streaks either. The longest winning streak this season was a back-to-back sweep of the D-Backs and Dodgers in June, right before the avalanche of injuries occurred.

Rolling off a 10-game winning streak, especially in the second half, would have been a tall order when 60% of the starting rotation was as inconsistent as they were. Add in the lack of all-stars like Youk and Pedey, who would have helped the offense and the defense. Better defense on the right side of the infield, as well as in the outfield, where the absences of Ells and a healthy Mike Cameron would have helped the pitchers as well by converting some of those hits into outs. Guys who were playing hurt, like Scoots and Cam, are troupers for sure, but they also contributed to some of the sloppy play that made losses out of some games that could have been won.

The 2010 season is a weird one in that it has been both exasperating and inspiring, full of if onlys and questions about what might have been if Beltre and Ells had not both gone hard after that fly ball in Kansas City, if Pedey had not rocketed that ball off his foot in San Francisco, or Youk had not done whatever he did to tear that muscle in his hand. If Lackey had pitched like he did in LA as a member of the Angels, if Beckett stayed healthy and actually had to play for a contract next year, and if Dice-K went after hitters all season like he did tonight against the Yankees.

Amid all that went wrong this season, the one thing the Sox did improve on was how they played away from Fenway. Even if they lose all their remaining road games, they will finish the season 3 games over .500 on the road. Part of that is how well Lester and Buchholz pitched in unfriendly territory. Buchholz's road ERA: 2.57. Lester's: 2.33. Lester was actually a better pitcher on the road than at Fenway (3.67) Buch's home ERA: 2.20. Guys like Beltre, who hit slightly better on the road helped too.

The Red Sox record at Fenway, however took a huge hit this season. To date, they are only 10 games over .500 at home. Winning more games on the road is going to come at the expense of a dominant home record for most teams. You'd have to be a world-beating 100-plus win team to be dominant both at home and on the road.

Other good things that came out of this season: Buchholz' breakout year, Lester continuing to establish himself as an elite pitcher, the revival of Lowrie's baseball career along with a little more pop in his bat, the emergence of Kalish, who could find himself back with the big club in 2011, and the performance of replacement players Darnell McDonald and Daniel Nava. Papi's 31 HR, the first time in 3 years he's hit more than 30, Beltre's MVP-caliber offensive numbers, and Bard's presence as a premier setup man are also silver linings to a disappointing season.

Only 7 games remain and the Sox are one loss or Yankees or Rays win away from their "tragic number" coming up. Lester still has one start left in which to earn win #20. Mike Lowell gets his Fenway salute next Saturday afternoon. On Sunday, barring some pigs-flying-over-a-frozen-over-hell epic choketacular by both the Yankees and Rays, coupled with a shifting of cosmic forces hurtling the Red Sox into an alternate universe where Youk, Pedey, Ells, and Cam are healthy and the pitching staff is equipped with bionic arms programmed to execute pitches with pinpoint location, the Sox play their last game of 2010. What long, freakishly bizarre trip it has been.

Give Dice-K props for stepping up and delivering a fine performance tonight. It's too bad the 'pen didn't follow his lead especially a certain closer with dollar signs in his eyes. The chump of an ump squeezed him like a lemon and Scoots let a few scoot by him, but eight blown saves? Really, Pap? Really????

A Sad, Sad State of Affairs

This may make me a bad fan (I abhor the sexist label "pink hat") but I just can't bear to watch the Red Sox anymore this season. After battling all summer to stay in contention in spite of an obscene amount of injuries, they have hit a wall and they have hit it hard. There's only so much the valiant replacement players can do.

So how much of this crash-and-burn is the responsibility of Red Sox management and how much can be chalked up to the cruel hand of fate? The injuries most definitely fall under the latter, but the way they were handled by the medical staff is an issue with the former. While the Sox docs didn't cause the injuries, the missed diagnoses (Ellsbury's ribs and the thumb injury that killed the trade of Lowell to Texas for two) didn't help much. The trainwreck that is the Red Sox bullpen (apart from Bard) is squarely on Theo Epstein. The signs of trouble were there last year: Manny Delcarmen had never been known for consistency. Ramon Ramirez tailed off significantly in the second half of last season. Okajima has been a steady decline since 2008. And what of Papelbon, with his seven blown saves this season? The Rays went out and got guys like Joaquin Benoit and Rafael Soriano. The Sox dipped into the Penny/Smoltz pile and got Schoenweis, Nelson, and Atchison. Atchison has helped them in some spots, but he's not someone who can take some of the burden off of Bard. Bullpen overhaul absolutely must be a priority in the offseason if they are to have any chance in 2011.

Another thing that has gone embarrassingly wrong for the Red Sox this season has been defense, especially by the pitchers. They have the most pitcher errors in all of baseball. What happened to PFP in spring training? Maybe they should practice fielding more often during the regular season too, because they need all the practice they can get not making fools of themselves once they step off the mound. Infield and outfield defense has taken a hit because of injuries (Youk and Pedey are SORELY missed at 1B and 2B). Scoots has been playing hurt, so he gets some slack here, but the defense has made the pitcher's job a lot tougher and not all of the fielding mistakes can be called errors.

The offense, obviously, dropped off because they are relying on too many AAA types and Papi and Drew are miserable against lefties this year. Losing three guys who hit around .300 is devastating, no matter how you slice it. Not to mention the speed the Sox lose without Ells.

The Sox play the Rays this week and I don't forsee it going well for them at all. They struggle against the Rays even under good circumstances. Sorry, Red Sox, but I'm tapped out in dealing with heartbreak this season. I'll be back next season, hoping for a bounceback year.

Earled Out: Thoughts on a Sox-less Evening

No team with the name "Sox" in it will be playing baseball tonight, due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Earl in the area. That means Manny-Fenway Reunion 2010 Part Deux will have to wait until tomorrow afternoon, weather permitting, in a day-night double-header. Oh goody, another day game. Earl is clearly not a Red Sox fan.

Just how tough is the AL East? Put it this way, the Red Sox are the best third-place team in baseball, with a .567 winning percentage and, if they were in the AL West, they'd be in first place, ahead of the Rangers and their .564. If they were in the AL Central, they would be in second, but only a game out of first behind the .575 Twins.

Moving over to the NL, the Phillies have an identical winning percentage to the Red Sox. They sit in the wild-card position and are second in the NL East, 2 games out of first. The wild-card leaders for the AL, by comparison, are the .617 Rays. Divisions play a huge part in who makes the playoffs and who ends their season October 3. It's quite possible that a team with a worse record than the Red Sox will make the playoffs as a division winner. Even the creation of the wild card can't make up for the gap in competitiveness between the AL East and the AL West.

The divisions were created for geographic reasons and the schedule is intra-division loaded. Time zone differences and travel distance likely play a role in the unbalanced schedule. The biggest problem with the divisions as they stand now is that good teams (not just the Red Sox, as could be the case this year) may miss the playoffs due to being third place in a killer division. The fact that the Tampa Bay Rays, once they got the Devil out of their name, soared up the ladder from worst to first in one year, topping the decade's two powerhouses in the Red Sox and the Yankees, is a testament to how good that team really was. Now, with those high draft picks who have matured to become stars, the Rays are one of the league's powerhouses in their own right.

The Red Sox, had they remained healthy and had Beckett and Lackey performed closer to their capabilities and career norms, could have been a powerhouse this year as well. Unfortunately, there's not enough room for three teams from the same division in the current post-season structure, regardless of what their records are relative to teams in other divisions. Those who complain about the wild card rewarding mediocrity haven't taken a look at the the disparity in competition among the divisions. Some wild card teams would be in first place in another division.

So, is a division realignment by MLB in order? Should the Red Sox, Yankees, and Rays be split up so there's one in each division? That could give an unfair advantage to the team that gets to remain in the East, since they would have to travel a lot less to play teams within their own division. And what of the team that gets reassigned to the West, who has to fly cross-country for their intra-divisional away games? Talk about jet lag! No, that kind of realignment would be a big mess. Plus, the Rays' window of being a top team could be limited by both their star players becoming free agents and no longer having those top draft picks to fill in the gaps. In the meantime, a team like the Orioles could, with Buck Showalter at the helm and all the young talent they have, soar to the top in the near future, just like the Rays did in 2008. Leveling the playing field among the divisions is not an easy task with all the moving parts and the realities of geography and travel.

A Dicey Win

OBIS almost got the best of Dice-K in tonight's game. OBIS = One Bad Inning Syndrome. After shutting down the O's bats through the first five frames, OBIS got a hold of Matsuzaka in the 6th, when the O's strung together some hits and almost erased the 5-0 lead the Red Sox had built with a big 2nd inning off Brad Bergesen (arguably an OBIS victim himself, at least in tonight's game). The O's put up a 4-spot in the 6th and left the Sox with a slim, 1-run lead. Thankfully, the Sox added some insurance in the 7th on a Mike Lowell groundout that had double-play written all over it. Fortunately for the Sox, Brian Roberts' throw went right through the 5-hole of 1B Ty Wigginton, Lowell was safe, and Papi who got on via the walk, took second when Beltre got drilled, and advanced on Lowrie's flyout outscored from third.

The big 2nd inning for the Red Sox started when Beltre went yard on Bergesen's first offering. Then, Lowrie walked, Lowell singled, and Nava hit a grounder to first that ate up Wigginton, allowing Lowrie to score from second on the error. Kalish doubled to knock in Lowell. Scoots walked and Papi came through with a 2-RBI single to cap off the 5-run attack.

Dice-K was lifted with 2 outs in the 6th for Atchison, who pitched much better than he did in Tampa Bay against Dan Johnson. He gave them two innings and was in turn lifted for Oki. That move scared the hell out of me, given how the O's OWN Oki, but the beleaguered lefty fanned Luke Scott and the Sox held on to their 2-run lead.

Pap had another one of those cardiac saves in the ninth, giving up two singles before recording an out on a sac bunt. However, he struck out the next two batters to pick up #35 for himself and preserve #9 for Dice-K.

A Morale-Booster

At this point in the Red Sox' long, strange season, a playoff berth has essentially (if not yet mathematically) gone by the wayside, as I pointed out in my last blog. That doesn't mean I'm not still watching and cheering for the Sox. It just means that I've accepted the reality that, with the unreal amount of injuries, combined with the struggles of the bullpen and two key starters in Beckett and Lackey, 2010 is not their year.

That said, it was still uplifting to watch the Sox come from behind to win tonight. The O's, under new skipper Buck Showalter, have played some good ball of late. They look like a different team than they did earlier in the season. There's a lot of talent there and who knows what a whole season of Showalter will do for them next year. The Sox were able to get to the new and improved Baltimore Birdies tonight, though. Down 5-3 in the seventh, pinch-hitter extraordinaire (6 for 9 in that role this season) Darnell McDonald leads off with a single off towering lefty Mark Hendrickson. After Hall strikes out, Scoots atones for the previous game's costly error by knocking a 2-run dinger to tie the game at 5 a side. Drew works a walk and Hendrickson is lifted for righty Alfredo Simon. V-Mart doubles and Drew hauls ass all the way from first to score the go-ahead run. Having used up their lefty and with first base open, the O's elect to put Papi on via the four-finger salute. Beltre makes the O's pay big-time when he takes Simon yard for 3 runs, capping off a 6-run inning. The O's plate one more in the eighth off of Bard (double, groundout, sac-fly), but Pap gets his 34th save as the Sox win 9-6.

Lester had a rough first two innings, where he surrendered 5 runs (4 in the first, 1 in the second), which was very unusual for him against a team he usually dominates. However, he settled down to go 6 innings with 10 K's. His offense made sure he remained undefeated against the O's and picked up win #15 on the season by breaking out of their collective slump in the 7th, while he was still the pitcher of record.

Tomorrow, Dice-K takes the mound against Brad Bergeson in the rubber game. Dice was skipped the last time around due to back soreness, but is apparently ready to go tomorrow. Salty and Patterson were activated from the DL and Richardson was called up once again. More call-ups will follow as Pawtucket ends it's season.

Cue the Funeral Music

R.I.P. Red Sox 2010 Season. By dropping 2 of 3 at the Trop, the Sox have ceased to be relevant in the AL East race. All that's left to do is play out the string. The weekend was frustrating and disappointing, but let's get real here: The Sox are without Youk, Pedey, Cameron, and Ellsbury for the rest of the year. While we'll never know what a healthy Cameron would have contributed, Youk, Pedey, and Ells would have greatly helped both the offense and the defense had they not been felled by one injury or another. The bullpen is woefully short of reliable arms. The horses just weren't there for a playoff run.

When the Sox started playing really good baseball in May and June after a very shaky April, it looked like they would really have a chance, even without Ellsbury or Cameron. However, once the injuries started to pile up and Pedey and Youk ended their seasons prematurely, it left the Sox absolutely no room for error. Add to that a bullpen which was not improved one iota in the offseason and the in-game tactical deficiencies of Tito that make winning close games with teams like the Rays an uphill battle. The lack of bullpen depth explains the 5-10 record in extra innings.

Tip your cap to the efforts of guys like Nava, Kalish, McDonald, Hall, and Lowrie for doing all they can to contribute. However, they are not Ells, Pedey, Youk, or Cam. I'm not sure whether the fact that the Red Sox are not at least 10 games back by now is due to them hanging in there or the Yankees and Rays not winning often enough to put more distance between them. However, I expect the distance to expand some come September, unless the Sox decide they want to play spoiler now that they're no longer relevant in the pennant race.

I try not to think about what might have been if the injuries hadn't happened and they had picked up a decent bullpen arm or two, either last off-season or the July 31 trade deadline. Perhaps if their position players had stayed healthy, they would have felt it worthwhile to fortify their 'pen. Who knows? When all is said and done, it will be a season of what ifs, much like 2006. I can only hope that 2011 plays out much like 2007, but lots of changes have to be made for that to happen. I'll get into exactly what changes in another blog. We can only hope the Red Sox' 2011 is not nearly as snakebit as their 2010.

Stupidity Strikes Again

Grady Little, thy name is Tito. Buchholz was showing signs of losing concentration in the 7th (witness all those pointless pickoff attempts at first with the not-so-fleet-of-foot Pena, one of which went wild and put Pena at third. A sac fly (foul ball which should not have been caught) scored him. Does Grady Francona put Bard like he should have, or even Doubront? NO, he stays with Clay, who, on his 110th pitch, promptly serves up a gopher ball to Upton.

Games like tonight are why the Sox are an extreme longshot to make the playoffs and currently sit in third place. All that they gained last night has been erased tonight with both the Yankees and Rays winning. It's been like that for most of the second half for the Sox--they are quick to give back any ground they make. To be completely honest, even if by some miracle the Sox make the playoffs, they don't have the horses to make it past the division series. The outfield is full of lightweight bats and the bullpen is a horror show after Bard, Pap, and Doubront. The defense too often lapses into Keystone Kops mode and almost half of the original starters (Cameron, Ellsbury, Youk, and Pedey) are done for the season. As admirable as the efforts of guys like Nava, Kalish, Lowrie, Hall, and McDonald have been, having four key players injured is a devastating blow. Those four players are starters for a reason and their level of production cannot be replaced no matter how hard their substitutes try.

Although Buchholz did not pitch badly by any stretch of the imagination, it was disheartening to see him revert to his nervous tic of constantly throwing over to first base, regardless of who stands there and how far they actually are from the bag. That tic cost him and the team dearly in the 7th when Pena was practically on the bag and in the way of Lowell catching the throw. The ball went rather far into foul territory and the slow-footed Lowell had to chase it down, allowing Pena to reach third. Pena scored on a sac fly that didn't have to be caught, since it would have landed foul. Some say you have to get the out there, but giving up a run proved costly because it gave the Rays life late in the game. Even after V-Mart homered in the top of the 8th to put the Sox back in the lead, the Upton dinger tied it again and the Sox could not recover. Atchison played the role of Wake this time and gave up the game-winner to familiar Sox foe Dan Johnson.

Now, tomorrow night's game is an ABSOLUTE must win if they want any hope of staying in this thing. Then again, even if they do win tomorrow, they have to face the O's next. The O's have given them fits all season, even when they were playing abysmally against everyone else. Now that Showalter's got them playing halfway decent ball, they'll likely be that much harder for the depleted, one step forward, two steps back Sox to handle.

Victorious

V-Mart loves facing lefties. Even some of the best southpaws in the game. He bats over .400 against them and took Cy Young contender David Price yard twice last night, providing 2/3 of the Red Sox offense in the 3-1 victory over the Rays. He also guided Lester through a somewhat bizarre start, with 5 walks, a hit batter and 3 wild pitches, but 10 strikeouts and only an unearned run.

Lester's 14th win of the season came after his complete meltdown against the Blue Jays at Fenway just a week before. He bounced back nicely and held the Rays to just two hits, but add in the walks and he seemed to work himself out of a lot of jams, Dice-K style, by making the pitches he needed at the right time. To some degree, Price did the same, but his baserunners had all reached via hits--9 total. The only hit the Red Sox managed with RISP was Jed Lowrie's bloop single in the 4th inning that scored Papi from third.

The game almost got knotted up in the 6th, when Jason Bartlett singled up the middle with BJ Upton on second. Darnell McDonald threw a perfect one-hopper to the plate and, with V-Mart blocking the dish, Upton was tagged out and the Sox retained the lead. This play was huge because it kept the momentum on the Sox' side and allowed Lester to make the pitches he needed to make to get out of the inning.

Having taken game one of this crucial series, the Sox have to keep the pedal to the metal in tonight's game. Fortunately, they have their 2010 ace on the mound in Clay Buchholz. Buch can really further his Cy Young case with a dominant start tonight. He's matched up against Matt "Gargamel/Goat Boy" Garza, who has given the Sox their share of headaches, but seems to pitch better against them at Fenway than in the Trop. Tonight's game is just as big as last night's and winning at least 2 out of 3 in this series is a MUST for the Sox. With the White Sox handling the Yankees last night, the Sox are now 4.5 games behind both the Yankees and the Rays.

LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!! (LET'S GO WHITE SOX!!!)

Hey Umps, It's Not Always About You!

What is it this season with umps looking for their 15 minutes of fame? The latest entry into the Umpire FAIL file is the case of minor-league call-up ump Dan Bellino. Perhaps Bellino should consult Rosetta Stone for Spanish lessons--he misinterpreted an exchange en espanol between Adrian Beltre and Felix Hernandez, former teammates and friends off the field, as being directed at him. This led to Beltre, the best hitter on the Red Sox this season, being ejected between the 2nd and 3rd innings. When Tito Francona came out to take up for Beltre, he got tossed too. This left the Sox with minor-leaguer Yamaico Navarro playing 3B and batting in Beltre's spot in the order. Shades of Niuman Romero in Tampa Bay??? You bet! Against Felix Hernandez, the Sox needed Beltre's bat. There's no guarantee it would have made a difference in the outcome of the game, but taking out a .325 hitter with nearly 90 RBI and replacing him with an automatic out batting fifth is one way to take the wind out of the sails of the Sox' 4-game winning streak.

Back to the umps, these guys' purpose in the game is to be in the background officiating. They're supposed to remain relatively anonymous--if you know an ump's name, chances are it isn't for a GOOD reason! Umps aren't perfect. They make bad calls once in awhile and the good ones own up to their mistakes. However, an umpire tossing a player over something stupid just to throw his weight around--that should be a one-way ticket back to the minors.

The hot-to-trot ump isn't entirely to blame for the Sox loss, though. They had their chances, but, as is the norm the season, when opportunity knocks, the Sox walk on by. The chance to gain more ground on the Yankees and Rays goes by the wayside as well. I wonder if the Red Sox will think about all those missed opportunities if they find themselves watching the playoffs at home. As September approaches and the Sox are still vacillating between 5 and 6 games behind the Yankees and/or Rays, the couch is looking a lot closer than the pennant.

LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!

Window-Smashin' Good!

The game started out with an injury scare (Buchholz getting spiked by Maicer Izturis on a play at first) and a robbed home run (Torii Hunter snatched a dinger from Beltre as he made a webgem catch leaning into the bullpen) for the Red Sox, but trouble and frustration would soon be replaced with tons of fun--and a half-dozen runs--at the Halos' expense.

Buchholz shook off the spiked leg (or was it his foot) and pitched 7 shutout innings. He was "effectively wild" with a lot of pitches missing the strike zone, but he made the pitches he needed to make to get out of trouble and keep the Angels off the board. The stranded runners made for a frustrating night for the SoCal squad. It's a situation the Red Sox have found themselves in more often than they'd like to remember this season.

However, tonight the Sox made the most of their scoring opportunities. In the 3rd inning, Darnell McDonald hit a blast so hard it sailed over the Monster, out of Fenway, and into a car in the parking lot, smashing the rear windshield. The next inning, the sacks were loaded for Ryan Kalish whose homer into the bullpen would not be robbed by Torii Hunter. Grand salami for the impressive rookie for his second major-league dinger. Then in the fifth, back-to-back doubles by Papi and V-Mart tacked one more run onto the Sox lead.

Not to be forgotten on a night where Buchholz and Kalish shined the brightest was Pedey's return to the lineup. The laser show is still a work-in-progress as the sparkplug second baseman needs some more at-bats to get his timing back, but he made a nice play in the 2nd to tag Matsui then throw the ball to first for a twin killing. He was charged with a hard-luck error later in the game when a sliding Napoli had him airborne as he threw the ball off-target to Lowell. Lowell missed it and it went into the dugout. Bobby Wilson was awarded second base.

I'll be on vaykay from tomorrow until next Monday night, so no blogs for a few days. Since I won't have NESN in South Carolina, I'll have to keep track of the Sox online. This homestand is where the Sox need to make hay and hope the Yanks and Rays lose some games. After the Angels leave town, Toronto and Seattle come in. The Sox have done well so far against Toronto and Seattle has an abysmal road record, so you have to hope for, at the very least, a 7-2 homestand.

LET'S GO RED SOX!!! CONGRATS TO KALISH ON HIS FIRST CAREER GRANNY!!!

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good: 1. Salty looks like a good pickup at catcher. He had no trouble catching Dice-K, who has 5 or 6 different pitches.
2. Dice-K pitched well against the Rangers in the insane heat, but he got burned big-time by Manny Delcarmen and the offense. Wouldn't it be better if relievers shared some of the ERA burden of allowing inherited runners to score?
3. Kalish continues to impress at the major-league level. Some great at-bats today, but unfortunately nothing to show for it. He had an extra-base hit stolen from him by Julio Borbon.
4. Pedey's back on Tuesday.

The Bad: 1. Scufflin' Scoots looks like he might need some more days off. He got a hit today that could easily have been ruled an error on David Murphy, but he's been making far too many outs lately for the lead-off spot.
2. The Sox offense made CJ Wilson look like the second coming of Jon Lester. Wilson is a good lefty, but the righty-stacked offense couldn't do much against him.



The Ugly: 1. MDC's poorly-located pitch that put the game just out of reach for the Sox in the 7th inning when Michael Young blasted it out of the park for a 3-run homer, making Dice-K's pitching line a poor reflection of how he actually pitched.

2. The exasperatingly sloppy defense in the 8th, turning a 2-run lead into a 4-run with an error and two guys missing a grounder up the middle.


The Sox get an off-day tomorrow and then face the Angels, who are having about as disappointing a season as the Sox. Both teams are accustomed to making the playoffs and this year, it's very likely neither will make it. The Angels are 8.5 games back of the division-leading Rangers and the Red Sox, while closer to the division and wild card, can't seem to put together any kind of run with their wildly inconsistent play. So far this season, the Sox have had the upper hand, but it would be foolish to take this series with the Halos for granted. Nothing pisses off the baseball gods more than tempting fate. Mike Scioscia's squad still has guys who can run and test the Sox defense.

Tuesday's matchup is a pitcher's duel waiting to happen. Clay Buchholz vs. Jered Weaver. Wednesday, it's Lackey vs. Kazmir and Thursday, Beckett vs. Santana.

LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!

Lester Brings The Awesome

After two losses that evoked the old familiar



it was great to see the Sox bounce back with a game like tonight in the triple-digit heat of Texas. Lester may not have racked up the K's, but he threw 8 innings of shutout ball, getting the outs he needed to in key situations with 6 hits and a Beltre throwing error worth of baserunners. Through the 8th inning, the Sox led by a single run on a JD Drew RBI single in the 5th, plating Kalish, who had singled and took second on a passed ball. The Sox added two insurance runs in the ninth on a Bill Hall single and a "sac fly" by Scoots. The sac fly is in quotes because Rangers centerfielder Julio Borbon dropped the ball and Scoots reached on an error, but was credited with an RBI because if Borbon had made the play cleanly, it would have been a sac fly.

Those runs would end up being the difference in the game. With Bard and Pap unavailable, Scott Atchison came in to try to get the save. The always dangerous Josh Hamilton took him yard and then Vladi dove into first for an infield single. Out came Atchison and in came Felix Doubront. The tying run was coming to the plate in the person of rookie Mitch Moreland, who hit his first career dinger the night before. With Moreland batting, Vladi took off for second. V-Mart nailed him with a throw that arrived well before Vladi did and there was one less out for Doubront to get, not to mention empty bases. Felix got Moreland looking to end the game and preserve a 3-1 lead as Red Sox Nation collectively exhaled.

Lester came up big when the team desperately needed him to, having exhausted the 'pen that 10-9 travesty of a series opener that saw the Sox punt an 8-2 lead. The Sox lost Ellsbury again, probably for the rest of the season. He apparently re-injured his ribs and was put on the DL today. It looks like he'll need a lot more time to let the injury completely heal. Baseball isn't typically considered to be a contact sport, but that's not to say the body doesn't take a beating making diving plays, sliding into bases, or colliding with a certain hard-charging third baseman chasing a foul pop-up.

It's really a shame that this ended up being a lost season for Ells, as he had a very good 2009, batting around .300 and stealing 70 bases. The Red Sox offense is much better with the Ells-Pedey combo at the top of the lineup than without them. Ells on base distracts the pitcher, who might be more likely to give Pedey a pitch to hit. If, for some reason he can't contribute in 2011, the Sox should seriously consider going after Carl Crawford, who hits free agency after this season. The Yanks will go hard after him too, though, and because their financial resources are seemingly limitless, it won't be easy for the Sox to win a bidding war.

Tomorrow, Dice-K is up for the Sox in the oven that will be the Rangers' ballpark during the day. Taking 2 of 3 against this first-place Texas team will be a tall order and it will take some clutch hitting and pitching to make it happen.

LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!!

10 Things the Red Sox Do That Piss Me Off

After this afternoon's Epic Papelbon FAIL and the loss of a game that should have been won, my frustration with this momentum-sapper and the season as a whole inspired me to write this list. To be fair, other teams do these things too. It's just that I don't care when they do them and I like it when the opposing team does them.

1. Leaving the bases loaded. The pissed-offedness is exacerbated by the following: a. The bases were loaded with less than two outs. b. No runs were scored c. The inning ended in a double play.

2. The offense turns it off after scoring a couple of early runs and the other team catches up, passes them, and ends up winning.

3. Pitchers who can't find the strike zone, especially in a tight game.

4. Starter throws a great game (Lackey today and Buchholz against Detroit a week or so ago) and a certain closer blows it, robbing said starter of win and often losing the game.

5. Starter pitches his ass off and gets little to no run support.

6. Sloppy defense giving the other team extra outs.

7. The inexplicably crappy day game record

8. Inability to dominate against the worst teams in the league (O's, Indians, Mariners, Royals)

9. Squandering opportunities to make up ground on division rivals. How many times have the Yankees or Rays lost, but the Sox fail to take advantage of the chance to inch closer?

10. Overall lack of reliable arms in the bullpen. Bard stands alone.


How much better would it have been for the Sox to head to Texas having just completed a sweep of the Jays rather having had a very winnable game turn into a dispiriting loss with just three outs to go? The Rangers are going to be a very tough team to take 2 of 3 from. When they were in Fenway last month, the Sox could only muster a single win out of 4 games and allowed slow-footed Bengie Molina to hit for the cycle. The Sox have a couple more players back from the DL (V-Mart, Lowrie, Lowell, Ells, Beckett, Buchholz) that they didn't have in that series, but the Rangers are a team that has a lot going for them. They have very good pitching, a powerful offense, and speed on the basepaths. They can put a lot of pressure on an often-shaky Sox defense.

The Sox will have Beckett, Lester, and Dice-K going up against Hunter, Lewis, and Wilson respectively. All three Rangers starters have ERAs in the 3's, while the Sox have Beckett, who is coming off of a spanking by the Yanks, Lester, and Dice-K, who'll have dominant start or two, then reverts to nibbling his way to a 100 pitch count in the 5th or 6th inning. I sure wish Buchholz was pitching in this series. The light at the end of the tunnel: Pedey will most likely rejoin the team at Fenway on Tuesday.

LET'S GO RED SOX!!! PLEASE TAKE 2 IN TEXAS!!!!

Doing The Splits

So the Sox took 2 of 4 from the Yanks this weekend. Will it be enough to stay in the race? The Rays have been scuffling lately (though they won tonight, they lost 5 in a row before that, including being swept in Toronto) so the Sox may have caught a break there. Still, with the offense suffering from acute Youk withdrawal and the all to frequent circuses in the field, it'll be a tough row to hoe. Toronto's playing good baseball lately and then there's Texas. The Rangers might be even harder to beat than the Yankees. They've got it going on in the Lone Star state, in a 2008 Rays way.

It was great to see Lester get back on track with scoreless 6.1 innings, helped out in the end by clutch pitching from Bard. Bard served up a gopher ball to nemesis Teixeira, but that was the only run the Yanks scored in the 2-1 Sox win. Runs are hard to come by with this Youk-less, Pedey-less bunch, but they won't be Pedey-less for too much longer. The Laser Show is expected back on his 27th birthday, August 17 as the Sox host the Halos back at Fenway.

Ells got his first post-DL hit today, batting ninth and got on base three times (once by a hit, once by a walk, and once by getting drilled) and stole four bases to make up for lost time. Only other Red Sox to accomplish this feat: The RemDawg himself.

A look ahead to the Toronto series: Tomorrow night we see Dice-K vs. Ricky Romero. Wednesday night is Buchholz vs. Shaun Marcum. Thursday at 12:30 (yes, 12:30!) is Lackey vs.
Starter To Be Named Later. Looks like the Sox better win those first two because Lackey pitching a day game is downright terrifying.

LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!

Go Yard, Young Man!

After salvaging a split with the Tribe, the Sox began their battle royale with their archrivals and the division leaders, the New York Yankees with a 6-3 win. Clay Buchholz tosses 7.1 strong innings of 3-run ball and the Sox put up their 6-spot via 2 dingers, a 2-run double, and a bases-loaded walk (but not in that order). Knowing that their season is on life support, the Boston Boys were up to the challenge, at least for tonight. How the rest of the series plays out remains to be seen.

The Sox started the scoring in the top of the 1st, when Papi knocked one over the wall in center. In the bottom half of the inning, however, Buch would find himself in a spot of trouble, having allowed a single by Jeter and Teixeira at the plate. Teix, not to be outdone by Papi's 24th homer of the season, hit his own 24th long ball into the right field seats. Yanks take 2-1 lead.

The lead wouldn't last long, however. Javy Vazquez allowed the Sox to merry-go-round on the bases in the 2nd and they scored 3 runs. After Beltre doubled to lead off the inning, Drew popped out, then so did Lowell--oh wait, no he didn't! Cervelli dropped the ball! Beltre scampers to third and Lowell reaches on the error. (Oh, how I relish Yankee FAIL!) Kalish whiffs, then Lowrie works a walk. Up comes Ells, who is still hitless since his return from the DL. With two outs in the inning, it was critical that he reach base and he did just that, drawing a walk that plated Beltre. Game tied. Then comes Scoots. After walking two straight batters, Vazquez finds the plate--too much of it, as Scoots lines a 2-run double to left, scoring Lowell and Lowrie. With first base open and Papi in the batter's box, the Yanks give him the 4-finger salute and V-Mart comes to the plate. He lines out to center to end the inning with the Sox up 4-2.

Buchholz, now working with a 2-run lead holds the Yanks down until the 5th, when he plunks Jeter with one out. Jeter steals second and takes third on Swisher's single. Teixeira pops out, then A-Rod brings the Yanks within a run when his single scored Jeter. Fortuantely for Clay and the Sox, Cano grounded into a force play to end the inning with the lead intact.

That lead would get more comfortable in the top of the 6th. With one out, Lowell singled and Kalish came to the plate. Having struck out twice off Vazquez, he didn't wait around this time. The first pitch he saw he delivered to the Yanks' bullpen for a 2-run dinger, his first ever in the majors! The 22-year-old outfielder from New Jersey who grew up a Yankees fan is quickly endearing himself to Red Sox Nation now that he's helping the Sox beat the team he grew up watching.

Buch, Bard, and Pap keep the score just as it was after Kalish's home run, but Pap makes things interesting in the ninth, when Jeter fouled off a slew of his fastballs and eventually worked a walk (that appeared to me to be strike 3, but I wasn't the one making that decision). All ended well when Swisher flied out to Kalish in left to end the game. New daddy Buchholz did his 2-day-old daughter proud by beating the Yankees for the first time in his career and picking up his team-leading 12th win of the season and Kalish has a night he'll remember for the rest of his life.

Tomorrow--make that later today--Lackey (he who detests the day game and what it does to his ERA) faces off against Yankees ace Sabathia. The Sox would be wise to carry the momentum from the first game into this one because they are going to need to win this series--that means taking at least 3 out of 4--to stay afloat in the playoff race. Splitting the series wouldn't be the final nail in the coffin for this turbulent season, but by doing so, they'd be hanging on by the thinnest of threads. They're going to need to play their best lineup all four games and that means Lowell at first base. Under no circumstances does V-Mart move out of the catching position. It might not be a bad idea to move Ells down in the lineup until he gets his swing back and put Scoots back on top and maybe Lowrie second.

LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! KEEP ON BEATING THE YANKEES!!!

Skating On Thin Ice

Is the Red Sox organization, dare I ask, bored with baseball? Did winning two championships mean they felt there was nothing left to strive for? I'm asking these questions because I'm getting an unsettling feeling about this club, watching them get humiliated by the likes of the cellar-dwelling Cleveland Indians. Since they won in 2007, there has been a steady decline in the competitive fire shown by the Red Sox. This year, it has really come to a head and this was even before they suffered an unthinkable amount of injuries. Even as recently as last year, the Sox mopped the floor with the Orioles, Royals, and Indians. This year, they're something like .500 against those teams and it's not because those teams got better.

So are Henry, Werner and Lucchino bored, complacent, resting on the laurels of '04 and '07? Do they get more excited about soccer, hockey, and NASCAR than baseball? Do they think the fans will just buy outlandishly expensive tickets no matter what the product on the field? The team reflects the attitude of the organization and since 2007, the attitude is skating by, cruise control, squeeze into the playoffs via the wild card, even back in if you have to. Tito's managing style also reflects this "why get an A when I can pass with a C-" way of thinking. Yes, they've had injuries, and yes, it's long season, but a team with playoff aspirations should not be struggling so much against the worst teams in the league. Nor should they be 8th in the league in team ERA or put on such a circus in the field on a regular basis. Of the 9 runs scored against the Sox tonight, 7 of them were unearned, i.e. the result of errors. That is unacceptable at the major league level. Let's not even go into the horrendous situational hitting. Perhaps the entire team needs a refresher course in baseball fundamentals. Injuries would make a convenient excuse for why they don't make the playoffs this year, but the mediocre record against teams with worse rosters than even the injury-depleted Sox could be the real reason they're playing golf in October while the Yanks and the Rays are still playing baseball.

Until there's some kind of shakeup within the organization, until someone comes in who can light a fire under this team, we can expect more of the same the rest of this season and in the seasons to come. Having a healthy team is important, but just as important is having a team who makes the most of the opportunities given to them and rises to the challenge of staying in the playoff race.

He Ain't Done Yet!

On a day where we got bad injury news about yet another of the team's stars, a guy who's been all but forgotten this year stepped in and made a statement in his first at-bat of the night. Youk, who aggravated a muscle tear in his hand in yesterday's game was placed on the DL with the possibility of season-ending surgery. This is a big blow to the Red Sox, who are fighting to remain relevant in the playoff race. Youk is their #3/#4 hitter and a gold-glove first baseman. He is a key cog to both the offense and the defense. Overtaking the Yankees and/or Rays is going to be a very tall mountain to climb (think Everest) without him, even when some of the others return.

Speaking of returns, Youk's injury allowed Mike Lowell a way back to the team. Since Lowell has learned to play first base, having his bat in the lineup as opposed to some other replacement will help cushion the blow. Lowell showed the Red Sox and the Fenway Faithful that he still had the bat when he went yard on the first pitch he saw in the game and he still had the glove when he snared a ball coming down the first base line and dove to the bag to record the out. However, he's not going to be able to play every day. Therein lies the rub: Who plays first on days when Lowell rests? If you put V-Mart there, you're forced to put Cash behind the plate and his automatic out of a bat in the lineup. That will not fly in the Bronx. Another option is to alternate first and DH between Papi and Lowell. Papi has experience playing first and while his range is not great, he does a decent job. Or, you can let Lowrie learn on the job how to play first. That sounds rather risky, but I'd much rather have Lowrie's bat in the lineup than Cash's, unless Salty is ready to be called up (has he even played in Pawtucket yet??)

Beckett pitched himself a gem, only allowing 1 run and 3 hits over 8 innings. The run he allowed was a solo shot by Lou Marson, the Tribe's #9 hitter. He had some command issues early on, plunking two batters. The second one stirred up some ill will on the part of the Tribe, resulting in several failed attempts to drill Red Sox hitters. The straw that broke the camel's back, so to speak, came in the 8th, when reliever Jensen Lewis threw behind Beltre. Beltre took a few steps toward the mound, but Lewis's ribs were protected from potential harm by the home plate ump and Marson. Still, it was enough to clear the dugouts and benches and ignite a fracas. Beckett was spitting nails, getting into it with reputed instigator Shelley Duncan, "baseball terms" flying from his mouth and daggers shooting from his eyes (I credit my mom for the dagger metaphor). Tito was also piping mad and going at Indians third base coach (and former Amazing Race contestant) Steve Smith with some baseball terms of his own. Now why can't he go at his OWN third base coach like that after all the runs he has cost the team?

The fracas was resolved and the Sox ended up going quietly in the 8th, no doubt distracted by what had just transpired. Pap came in and had himself a no-drama 1-2-3 save and the Sox won 3-1. The Yanks lost again to Toronto so they fall to second place behind the Rays. Winning tomorrow night and Thursday will be essential going into this weekend's series in the Bronx. Tomorrow they will get a little help putting away the Tribe with the return of Ells. He'll be activated for tomorrow's game and his speed makes the lineup better. Lester, who became a father last Saturday, will face his former teammate Justin Masterson, who stymied the Sox in Cleveland earlier this season. Let's hope that doesn't happen tomorrow.


LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!