Lester and Buchholz, Les and Buch, Jon and Clay, 31 and 11, 2.97 and 2.73...whatever you call them, they are the true #1 and #2 starters in the Red Sox rotation (those last numbers, by the way, are their respective 2010 season ERAs.) Capable of matching up with any of the top young pitchers in the league, or any of the top pitchers in the league regardless of age, these two products of the Red Sox farm system are among the most exciting players on the team to watch. Combined, they pitched 14 innings and held the Royals to just one run, allowing the Sox to come out of a series that started badly for them with a split. They also combined for two thirds of the sweep against the Rays and a two-game sweep against the Twins.
Last night, Buchholz won a pitching duel with Greinke and the Sox won 1-0. Today, Lester kept the Royals to one run and the bats woke up, to the tune of a 8-1 shellacking of the Kansas City blue crew. I wasn't able to watch last night's game, but this afternoon, recent returnee Mike Cameron had his third almost-dinger of the season, which turned out to be a 2-RBI double. Papi went yard for the tenth time this month (and eleventh on the season). Tek also hit a big fly--his seventh of the season. Scoots went 3-for-5 with two doubles and Hall, playing 2B for a resting Pedey, went 2-for-4.
Tomorrow, the whole team gets a well-deserved rest after playing 17 straight games without an off-day. On Tuesday, a new month begins with the Oakland A's in town. Lackey's on the bump against Gio Gonzalez. Oakland's pitching is pretty good, but their offense, not so much.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
Can They Be More Erratic???
Perhaps the entire 2010 Red Sox team needs to go on meds for bipolar disorder, because that's how they're playing this season. After looking awesome against some of the best teams in the game, they fall apart against none other than the Kansas City Royals. They've been embarrassed by the Orioles as well. What's next, a spanking by the Tribe? Wake and Dice-K, who were phenomenal against the Phillies are dreadful at home against the Royals. Dice-K walks the ballpark and Wake coughs up 9 runs, including a grand salami! The bats have gone silent in the middle and late innings. Youk, Drew, Papi, and Beltre seem to have cooled off and Pedey's bat went back into hibernation. At least V-Mart's hitting and he sat out for three and a half games with a throbbing toe.
Did all the pitchers burn themselves out on that stretch of games against the top teams? I'm even worried about how Buch and Lester will do tomorrow night and Sunday. Come on, Red Sox, you can do much better than losing two straight to the Royals at home (and dropping back down to fourth place in the process). Please, get it together and pull off a split of this series.
At least the Celtics won tonight and are on their way to the NBA Finals next week.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! GET BACK TO PLAYING BETTER BASEBALL!!!!
Did all the pitchers burn themselves out on that stretch of games against the top teams? I'm even worried about how Buch and Lester will do tomorrow night and Sunday. Come on, Red Sox, you can do much better than losing two straight to the Royals at home (and dropping back down to fourth place in the process). Please, get it together and pull off a split of this series.
At least the Celtics won tonight and are on their way to the NBA Finals next week.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! GET BACK TO PLAYING BETTER BASEBALL!!!!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Letdown
The five-game winning streak that I hoped would go on at least a game or two longer is over thanks to an excruciating outing from Dice-K, questionable umpiring, and a tired offense. After nearly throwing a no-hitter last Saturday in Philly, Dice-K reverted to that maddening nibbling habit, no doubt exacerbated by a home plate ump with an ax to grind with the Red Sox. The Kansas City Royals, going into tonight's game were the team with the least walks on the season. One would THINK that would help Dice-K, but it seemed to have the exact opposite effect, as they all turned patient, to the tune of 8 free passes in 4 .2 innings. Doesn't Joe "I Hate Long Games and Teams Who Play Them" West realize that he only makes the game LONGER by calling so many balls? By going public with his disdain for Red Sox-Yankees games, it's hard to imagine he can be impartial when the two teams are playing anyone other than each other.
That said, the loss can't be blamed solely on the ump, even if he and his crewmate at first base Angel Hernandez made some egregious calls against the Red Sox. Hernandez called Tek out at first in the third inning when he was clearly safe and West called a pitch well off the plate strike three to Papi. However, Dice-K clearly had no command of his pitches, especially in the fifth inning, when the Royals put 3 on the board. One of those was a walked-in run. The offense had scored 11 runs last night and had to board a late night flight back to Boston. Fatigue may have mitigated their attack on a Royals starter with an ERA nearing 5.
A silver lining in this loss is the strong performance of the Sox bullpen. Joe Nelson came in to get the final out of the fifth on one pitch, then got two quick outs in the sixth before a blown call on a pitch right over the plate that should have been strike three extended the inning and led to the fourth Royals run. Manny Delcarmen retired all six batters he faced over two innings. Ramon Ramirez retired the side on 6 pitches. Some excellent D kept the damage done against Dice-K by Royals bats to only 3 runs. Without those catches on lineouts in the fourth with the bases loaded, it could have been much worse.
Tomorrow, Wake tries to befuddle the Royals with the knuckler. He faces Kyle Davies, another starter with an ERA north of 4. The bats need to show up tomorrow and give Wake some run support, like they did in Philly against Halladay. We don't want to see Soria again in the ninth inning.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! SHAKE IT OFF AND WIN TOMORROW!!!
That said, the loss can't be blamed solely on the ump, even if he and his crewmate at first base Angel Hernandez made some egregious calls against the Red Sox. Hernandez called Tek out at first in the third inning when he was clearly safe and West called a pitch well off the plate strike three to Papi. However, Dice-K clearly had no command of his pitches, especially in the fifth inning, when the Royals put 3 on the board. One of those was a walked-in run. The offense had scored 11 runs last night and had to board a late night flight back to Boston. Fatigue may have mitigated their attack on a Royals starter with an ERA nearing 5.
A silver lining in this loss is the strong performance of the Sox bullpen. Joe Nelson came in to get the final out of the fifth on one pitch, then got two quick outs in the sixth before a blown call on a pitch right over the plate that should have been strike three extended the inning and led to the fourth Royals run. Manny Delcarmen retired all six batters he faced over two innings. Ramon Ramirez retired the side on 6 pitches. Some excellent D kept the damage done against Dice-K by Royals bats to only 3 runs. Without those catches on lineouts in the fourth with the bases loaded, it could have been much worse.
Tomorrow, Wake tries to befuddle the Royals with the knuckler. He faces Kyle Davies, another starter with an ERA north of 4. The bats need to show up tomorrow and give Wake some run support, like they did in Philly against Halladay. We don't want to see Soria again in the ninth inning.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! SHAKE IT OFF AND WIN TOMORROW!!!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Beltre With The Broom
Adrian Beltre had a career night tonight, going 4 for 5 with a single, a triple, and two dingers, knocking 6 runs in addition to making some awesome plays in the field as the Sox pulled off what was thought of as highly improbable going into this series: they swept the Tampa Bay Rays at the Trop. Such a feat hadn't been accomplished by the Red Sox in 8 years. What happened over the course of the three-game sweep looked like the exact opposite of how it went last month at Fenway, when the Rays swept the Red Sox in a four-gamer. It almost seemed like a bizarro world if you've followed the Red Sox/Rays rivalry over the past three seasons: Longoria was held to two singles and a walk and the Sox got Garza/"Gargamel" for six runs over 5 innings. The Sox outscored the Rays 19-4 in the series and it was the Sox pitchers who were in control, though the pitch counts topped out early for all three starters. Buchholz, Lester and Lackey worked a combined 18.1 innings and allowed only 3 runs among them. Joe Nelson allowed the only bullpen run tonight in the ninth inning, when the game was already well out of reach for the Rays.
Lackey, like Lester and Buchholz in the first two games, worked his way in and out of trouble all night, but held the Rays to 2 runs in 6.1 innings, earning his 5th victory of the season. It was a quality start for him after a string of poor outings, and a step in the right direction. He ended up getting plenty of run support, led by Beltre, with contributions from Papi (2-run homer), McDonald (2-run double) and Hermida (RBI single), with the final score being 11-3, a laugher to complete the sweep.
After a very rocky start to the season, the Sox passed the "tough stretch test" with flying colors, going 9-4 against the Tigers, Yanks, Twins, Phillies, and Rays. They are now 6 games over .500 and they moved up to third place in the division, thanks to some help from the Angels in taking care of the Jays. They're now 5.5 games behind the Rays and 2 behind the Yanks (the Twins weren't quite as helpful as the Angels). Sweeping the Rays has to be a huge confidence-booster for the Red Sox. Now, they need to keep that roll going. Just because they're playing the Royals at home, it's no time to let up. It would be great for Dice-K to follow last outing up with another strong start. It certainly doesn't have to be a one-hitter, but a solid start without the "bad inning" would go a long way in establishing some consistency. Let's home V-Mart's toe is better by Friday--Tek catching Wake would be an adventure and a half!
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!! CONGRATS ON THE SWEEP!!!!
Lackey, like Lester and Buchholz in the first two games, worked his way in and out of trouble all night, but held the Rays to 2 runs in 6.1 innings, earning his 5th victory of the season. It was a quality start for him after a string of poor outings, and a step in the right direction. He ended up getting plenty of run support, led by Beltre, with contributions from Papi (2-run homer), McDonald (2-run double) and Hermida (RBI single), with the final score being 11-3, a laugher to complete the sweep.
After a very rocky start to the season, the Sox passed the "tough stretch test" with flying colors, going 9-4 against the Tigers, Yanks, Twins, Phillies, and Rays. They are now 6 games over .500 and they moved up to third place in the division, thanks to some help from the Angels in taking care of the Jays. They're now 5.5 games behind the Rays and 2 behind the Yanks (the Twins weren't quite as helpful as the Angels). Sweeping the Rays has to be a huge confidence-booster for the Red Sox. Now, they need to keep that roll going. Just because they're playing the Royals at home, it's no time to let up. It would be great for Dice-K to follow last outing up with another strong start. It certainly doesn't have to be a one-hitter, but a solid start without the "bad inning" would go a long way in establishing some consistency. Let's home V-Mart's toe is better by Friday--Tek catching Wake would be an adventure and a half!
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!! CONGRATS ON THE SWEEP!!!!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Taking Care of Business
That's exactly what the Red Sox are doing in this stretch of rough road (with the little 2-gamer with Minny sandwiched in between). After a shaky start, dropping 2 of 3 in Detroit, the Sox split a series in the Bronx, swept 2-gamer at home against the Twins, took two of three in Philly, and have won the first two in Tampa Bay. In this 13-game stretch, they are 8-4 so far and have improved their season record to 26-21, or 5 games over .500.
What is responsible for this turnaround? How did they go from a team fraught with inconsistency to one that looks like a playoff contender in such as short time? In a word: Pitching. It started with Buchs 8-inning gem against the Twins at Fenway. The next night, Lester tossed a complete game, allowing a single earned run. Two nights later, Dice-K came within 4 outs of no-hitting the best lineup in the NL, tossing 8 innings of one-hit ball. Wake followed the next day with 8 shutout innings of his own. Buchholz came into the Trop and threw 6 innings, allowing only one run and Lester threw 6 shutout innings tonight. A rested bullpen, thanks to Dice and Wake each going 8 kept the Rays off the board. In two games, the team with the best record in baseball have only scored one run off of Red Sox pitching. Tomorrow, that could change, but for now, I'll savor that accomplishment.
The offense have also played a role by staying hot (or, at the very least, warm) and scoring enough runs to win and then some. Papi and Youk have been raking and Youk is an on-base machine. Pedey broke his slump by going 3 for 5 last night and 1 for 4 today. Ells and Cam returned from the DL and while their bats haven't yet warmed up, their gloves have made the outfield all the better. That brings me to the defense. One of the main goals of the offseason and the reason behind the acquisitions of Adrian Beltre, Marco Scutaro, and Mike Cameron, things didn't go too well for the defense early on in the season. It was wildly inconsistent, with multi-error games and made the struggling starting pitchers struggle even harder. It's hard to pitch to contact when the gloves aren't there. Over this stretch, the pitching and defense have come together in a way the Sox brass hoped they would. It's what the fans were hoping for as well.
Tomorrow night, they'll face Garza a.k.a. Gargamel, so runs will likely be hard to come by. It will be up to Lackey to continue the trend of stellar starting pitching. His outing in Philly was the one outlier in the string of gems that started last week and he seems to have lost command of the strike zone. Perhaps the accomplishments of his teammates will push him to get his command back to where it needs to be. Even if they don't win tomorrow night's game--and sweeping a team as deep and as talented as the Tampa Bay Rays is a very tall order--the Sox will have come away from the rough stretch winning 3 of the five series, losing one and splitting one, with an 8-5 record. Still, I hope the Red Sox' winning mojo continues and they pull off that improbable sweep.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! KEEP ON ROLLING!!!!!
In other baseball news, in Minnesota's brand spankin' new Target Field, a certain little critter wanted an up-close and personal look at a major league baseball game. Yes, there was a brief squirrel delay in the fourth inning of the Twins/Yanks game. The game, which had no score, was eventually suspended an inning later for more mundane reasons (rain). Looks like a double-header in Minny tomorrow and Squirrel Patrol will be on high alert.
What is responsible for this turnaround? How did they go from a team fraught with inconsistency to one that looks like a playoff contender in such as short time? In a word: Pitching. It started with Buchs 8-inning gem against the Twins at Fenway. The next night, Lester tossed a complete game, allowing a single earned run. Two nights later, Dice-K came within 4 outs of no-hitting the best lineup in the NL, tossing 8 innings of one-hit ball. Wake followed the next day with 8 shutout innings of his own. Buchholz came into the Trop and threw 6 innings, allowing only one run and Lester threw 6 shutout innings tonight. A rested bullpen, thanks to Dice and Wake each going 8 kept the Rays off the board. In two games, the team with the best record in baseball have only scored one run off of Red Sox pitching. Tomorrow, that could change, but for now, I'll savor that accomplishment.
The offense have also played a role by staying hot (or, at the very least, warm) and scoring enough runs to win and then some. Papi and Youk have been raking and Youk is an on-base machine. Pedey broke his slump by going 3 for 5 last night and 1 for 4 today. Ells and Cam returned from the DL and while their bats haven't yet warmed up, their gloves have made the outfield all the better. That brings me to the defense. One of the main goals of the offseason and the reason behind the acquisitions of Adrian Beltre, Marco Scutaro, and Mike Cameron, things didn't go too well for the defense early on in the season. It was wildly inconsistent, with multi-error games and made the struggling starting pitchers struggle even harder. It's hard to pitch to contact when the gloves aren't there. Over this stretch, the pitching and defense have come together in a way the Sox brass hoped they would. It's what the fans were hoping for as well.
Tomorrow night, they'll face Garza a.k.a. Gargamel, so runs will likely be hard to come by. It will be up to Lackey to continue the trend of stellar starting pitching. His outing in Philly was the one outlier in the string of gems that started last week and he seems to have lost command of the strike zone. Perhaps the accomplishments of his teammates will push him to get his command back to where it needs to be. Even if they don't win tomorrow night's game--and sweeping a team as deep and as talented as the Tampa Bay Rays is a very tall order--the Sox will have come away from the rough stretch winning 3 of the five series, losing one and splitting one, with an 8-5 record. Still, I hope the Red Sox' winning mojo continues and they pull off that improbable sweep.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! KEEP ON ROLLING!!!!!
In other baseball news, in Minnesota's brand spankin' new Target Field, a certain little critter wanted an up-close and personal look at a major league baseball game. Yes, there was a brief squirrel delay in the fourth inning of the Twins/Yanks game. The game, which had no score, was eventually suspended an inning later for more mundane reasons (rain). Looks like a double-header in Minny tomorrow and Squirrel Patrol will be on high alert.
Monday, May 24, 2010
He's Come A Long Way
"He" being Clay Buchholz, of course. The young righty who threw a no-hitter in his second major league start, then lost his way for awhile and struggled with confidence, especially when pitching from the stretch is continuing what he started in the second half of last season; he's maturing into the top-of-the-rotation guy Theo Epstein and the front office always believed him to be. The Red Sox are starting to see in Buchholz this year what they saw happen with Lester in '08. After tonight's win, Buch is 6-3 with a 3.07 ERA. I'll admit that I was not nearly as patient as the Sox brass were as Buch was struggling in '08, but I'm glad he's proving me wrong.
Following up his 8-inning gem against the Twins last week, Buchholz went 6 against the MLB-leading Tampa Bay Rays and held them to one run, a Carlos Pena blast in the fourth. He had to work out of some jams early one and his curveball and changeup weren't working too well, but he made the pitches he needed to make to induce the double play in the first and the two strikeouts in the second. Those two innings and some lengthy at-bats by the Rays drove his pitch count up and kept him from going deeper in the game, but Oki and Bard shut them down in the last three innings.
Buch's teammates had his back, giving him a 6 run lead after four innings. Papi hit a big fly in the second and Drew walked to bring home a run in the third, followed by RBI singles by Beltre and Hermida. Then, in the fourth, with Tek (who came into the game for an injured V-Mart) on, Youk went yard for the tenth time this season. Rays starter Wade Davis was chased after 3.2 innings, marking the third game in a row that the Sox bats have chased starters early (for Roy "Complete Game" Halladay, the sixth inning counts as early). Pedey came out of his slump with a 3-hit night. Let the "laser show" begin!
Tomorrow night, the Sox try to take two out of three with Lester on the hill. If Lester can continue his run of dominance and the Sox can get to James Shields, this would be huge for them. A sweep of the Rays is unlikely, but two out of three is within their reach if Lester and the bats perform to their capability. With the Yanks scuffling, now is the time for the Sox to make their move to get back in the hunt. Toronto isn't making it easy, however. They're in no hurry to cede third place to the Sox. However, only two games separate second place from fourth, so this week can make things very interesting for the three "middle teams" in the division standings.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!! GREAT GAME--NOW GO OUT AND WIN TOMORROW!!!
Following up his 8-inning gem against the Twins last week, Buchholz went 6 against the MLB-leading Tampa Bay Rays and held them to one run, a Carlos Pena blast in the fourth. He had to work out of some jams early one and his curveball and changeup weren't working too well, but he made the pitches he needed to make to induce the double play in the first and the two strikeouts in the second. Those two innings and some lengthy at-bats by the Rays drove his pitch count up and kept him from going deeper in the game, but Oki and Bard shut them down in the last three innings.
Buch's teammates had his back, giving him a 6 run lead after four innings. Papi hit a big fly in the second and Drew walked to bring home a run in the third, followed by RBI singles by Beltre and Hermida. Then, in the fourth, with Tek (who came into the game for an injured V-Mart) on, Youk went yard for the tenth time this season. Rays starter Wade Davis was chased after 3.2 innings, marking the third game in a row that the Sox bats have chased starters early (for Roy "Complete Game" Halladay, the sixth inning counts as early). Pedey came out of his slump with a 3-hit night. Let the "laser show" begin!
Tomorrow night, the Sox try to take two out of three with Lester on the hill. If Lester can continue his run of dominance and the Sox can get to James Shields, this would be huge for them. A sweep of the Rays is unlikely, but two out of three is within their reach if Lester and the bats perform to their capability. With the Yanks scuffling, now is the time for the Sox to make their move to get back in the hunt. Toronto isn't making it easy, however. They're in no hurry to cede third place to the Sox. However, only two games separate second place from fourth, so this week can make things very interesting for the three "middle teams" in the division standings.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!! GREAT GAME--NOW GO OUT AND WIN TOMORROW!!!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
"W" is for Wake
The Sox came one Ramon Ramirez away from blanking the Phillies in back-to-back games. Daisuke Matsuzaka, Daniel Bard and Tim Wakefield combined to keep the Phils off the board for seventeen innings! Wake notched his long-awaited first win of the 2010 season, after being spurned by Lady Luck in several of his last attempts to capture the W. The knuckler perplexed the Phillie bats for eight shutout innings as Wake's teammates did a number on Doc Halladay, lighting him up to the tune of 7 runs, 6 of which were earned.
Besides Wake, who gave the Sox their fourth kick-ass start in five games, the other star of the game was Youk, the official nemesis of Roy Halladay. Youk had himself an interesting game, starting with a triple in the second inning that, through a chain of peculiar events that can only happen in baseball, had him sitting on third base at one point. He hit the ball to right center and it escaped Victorino's glove. As he motored toward third, he slid hard (and painfully) into the bag only to get hit by the baseball as it was thrown to third baseman Gregg Dobbs. Fortunately for Youk (and the Sox) he wasn't seriously injured and stayed in the game, even homering in the sixth. Youk flashed some leather in the bottom of the sixth by snagging a ball thrown deep in the hole by Beltre, sending him tumbling backward, but still able to get a foot on the bag for the out.
The sixth inning proved to be Halladay's undoing when he was taken yard by Youk, gave up a double to Drew and back-to-back singles to Beltre and Scoots, scoring Drew. After Wake sacrificed, Ells picked up his first hit since his return, which was actually a fielder's choice gone awry. Ells hit a grounder up the middle which Juan Castro (the no-hitter spoiler from last night) grabbed and threw to third, only to find that Scoots was no longer there--in fact he was about to cross home plate! Beltre had already scored before Scoots and Ells ended up with a 2-RBI infield single.
The Sox had gotten to Halladay for a run in the second, when Drew grounded out to plate Youk, and two in the fifth, when Dobbs Bucknered a ball off the bat of Adrian Beltre that was ticketed for an inning-ending double play. One of the runs scored as a result of that error was unearned. Halladay was chased with two outs in the sixth, having thrown 99 pitches and allowing 6 earned runs. The eighth Sox run scored in the ninth, when the scuffling Pedey drew a walk from Phils reliever Danys Baez. V-Mart doubled, sending Pedey to third. Beltre sac-flied Pedey home.
With today's win, the Sox are 3 games over .500 for the first time this season. However, they're headed to a place that has given them fits for the past three years and facing a team that is running away with the division, much like the Sox themselves were in 2007. Still, with their two best pitchers going tomorrow night (Buchholz) and Tuesday night (Lester), I like their chances to win at least one game in the Dingy Dome. They'd best win one of the first two because Wednesday's matchup of Sox-killer Garza (whom I've dubbed Gargamel, after the Smurf villain) and the disturbingly inconsistent Lackey. Winning two would be awesome, but I'm not getting my hopes up--The Rays are just too ridiculously good right now. If they win one in St Pete, they will have come out of this rough 13-game stretch 7-6, which is very good considering how the season has gone this year.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! KEEP UP THE GREAT PITCHING, HITTING AND DEFENSE!!!
Besides Wake, who gave the Sox their fourth kick-ass start in five games, the other star of the game was Youk, the official nemesis of Roy Halladay. Youk had himself an interesting game, starting with a triple in the second inning that, through a chain of peculiar events that can only happen in baseball, had him sitting on third base at one point. He hit the ball to right center and it escaped Victorino's glove. As he motored toward third, he slid hard (and painfully) into the bag only to get hit by the baseball as it was thrown to third baseman Gregg Dobbs. Fortunately for Youk (and the Sox) he wasn't seriously injured and stayed in the game, even homering in the sixth. Youk flashed some leather in the bottom of the sixth by snagging a ball thrown deep in the hole by Beltre, sending him tumbling backward, but still able to get a foot on the bag for the out.
The sixth inning proved to be Halladay's undoing when he was taken yard by Youk, gave up a double to Drew and back-to-back singles to Beltre and Scoots, scoring Drew. After Wake sacrificed, Ells picked up his first hit since his return, which was actually a fielder's choice gone awry. Ells hit a grounder up the middle which Juan Castro (the no-hitter spoiler from last night) grabbed and threw to third, only to find that Scoots was no longer there--in fact he was about to cross home plate! Beltre had already scored before Scoots and Ells ended up with a 2-RBI infield single.
The Sox had gotten to Halladay for a run in the second, when Drew grounded out to plate Youk, and two in the fifth, when Dobbs Bucknered a ball off the bat of Adrian Beltre that was ticketed for an inning-ending double play. One of the runs scored as a result of that error was unearned. Halladay was chased with two outs in the sixth, having thrown 99 pitches and allowing 6 earned runs. The eighth Sox run scored in the ninth, when the scuffling Pedey drew a walk from Phils reliever Danys Baez. V-Mart doubled, sending Pedey to third. Beltre sac-flied Pedey home.
With today's win, the Sox are 3 games over .500 for the first time this season. However, they're headed to a place that has given them fits for the past three years and facing a team that is running away with the division, much like the Sox themselves were in 2007. Still, with their two best pitchers going tomorrow night (Buchholz) and Tuesday night (Lester), I like their chances to win at least one game in the Dingy Dome. They'd best win one of the first two because Wednesday's matchup of Sox-killer Garza (whom I've dubbed Gargamel, after the Smurf villain) and the disturbingly inconsistent Lackey. Winning two would be awesome, but I'm not getting my hopes up--The Rays are just too ridiculously good right now. If they win one in St Pete, they will have come out of this rough 13-game stretch 7-6, which is very good considering how the season has gone this year.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! KEEP UP THE GREAT PITCHING, HITTING AND DEFENSE!!!
Saturday, May 22, 2010
So Close...
If that no-no by Daisuke Matsuzaka happened, I don't think I would ever have forgiven FOX for not letting me (or anyone else in the DC area) see it. Sure, I may have gotten to see the final out, but the other 26 I would have missed. Of course, I still missed a helluva game. I followed it on the radio and Gameday on my iPhone, but it's just not the same as seeing it on TV.
As it turns out, Dice-K missed a no-hitter by 4 outs. With two down in the bottom of the eighth, Juan Castro (it's always the guys you least suspect!) blooped a broken-bat single just to the left-field side of Scutaro, who made a valiant effort to grab it. I saw the replay of that hit on NESN's Sports Desk, by the way. That hit was the only hit the Phillies managed tonight off of Dice-K and Daniel Bard, who came out and pitched the ninth, as Dice was at 114 pitches. The Sox won the game 5-0 and blanked an opposing team for the first time this season. This is no cupcake lineup that got one-hit tonight. This is the best lineup in the NL and it's considered to be the equivalent of an AL lineup.
Of the five starts Matsuzaka has made so far this season, three have been with V-Mart behind the plate and two have been with Tek. Dice-K's two outings with Tek look like they were thrown by a different pitcher than the three with V-Mart. Tek caught tonight's game and the one at home against Toronto, by the way. When Dice-K has Tek behind the plate, he seems to have the confidence to go after hitters and trust his stuff. It makes perfect sense why he's more comfortable with Tek--Tek has caught most of his games since he joined the team in 2007 and they have developed a good working relationship over the years. It would be in the best interests of the team to have Tek catch Dice-K for the rest of the season. If he can elicit from the enigmatic pitcher the kind of performances we saw tonight and against the Jays, that would be a huge help to a struggling Red Sox rotation.
The Sox didn't do so badly with the lumber tonight either. After being held to one run last night by Cole Hamels, they scored once in the fourth on a Hermida sac fly, and four in the fifth, chasing Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick. Scoots doubled to lead off the inning. Dice-K, who, on top of his pitching masterpiece, got a hit in his first at-bat, bunted Scoots over to third. Jacoby "Welcome Back" Ellsbury walked. Pedey, who is having buzzard's luck at the dish, popped out to second, then Drew singled to plate Scoots. Papi knocked a double to score Ells. Beltre followed up with another two-bagger, scoring Drew and Papi. That was it for Kendrick and Charlie Manuel summoned a reliever with a most unfortunate name, Antonio Bastardo. Bastardo whiffed Hermida to end the inning and the scoring for the game.
Dice-K's 8 innings of one-hit ball, while it came short of making history, represented the third stellar outing by a Sox starter in four games. Wake takes the hill tomorrow and has the misfortune of having his teammates face Doc Halladay. Then again, the Sox have a history of roughing Doc up when he was a Blue Jay, so maybe he'll get the run support he's been missing after all. Then again, it's a day game and for some puzzling reason the Sox haven't been winning in the earlier hours this season. Poor Wake. Score some runs for him, would ya, boys?
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! CONGRATS, DICE-K, ON AN AMAZING 8 INNINGS!!!
As it turns out, Dice-K missed a no-hitter by 4 outs. With two down in the bottom of the eighth, Juan Castro (it's always the guys you least suspect!) blooped a broken-bat single just to the left-field side of Scutaro, who made a valiant effort to grab it. I saw the replay of that hit on NESN's Sports Desk, by the way. That hit was the only hit the Phillies managed tonight off of Dice-K and Daniel Bard, who came out and pitched the ninth, as Dice was at 114 pitches. The Sox won the game 5-0 and blanked an opposing team for the first time this season. This is no cupcake lineup that got one-hit tonight. This is the best lineup in the NL and it's considered to be the equivalent of an AL lineup.
Of the five starts Matsuzaka has made so far this season, three have been with V-Mart behind the plate and two have been with Tek. Dice-K's two outings with Tek look like they were thrown by a different pitcher than the three with V-Mart. Tek caught tonight's game and the one at home against Toronto, by the way. When Dice-K has Tek behind the plate, he seems to have the confidence to go after hitters and trust his stuff. It makes perfect sense why he's more comfortable with Tek--Tek has caught most of his games since he joined the team in 2007 and they have developed a good working relationship over the years. It would be in the best interests of the team to have Tek catch Dice-K for the rest of the season. If he can elicit from the enigmatic pitcher the kind of performances we saw tonight and against the Jays, that would be a huge help to a struggling Red Sox rotation.
The Sox didn't do so badly with the lumber tonight either. After being held to one run last night by Cole Hamels, they scored once in the fourth on a Hermida sac fly, and four in the fifth, chasing Phillies starter Kyle Kendrick. Scoots doubled to lead off the inning. Dice-K, who, on top of his pitching masterpiece, got a hit in his first at-bat, bunted Scoots over to third. Jacoby "Welcome Back" Ellsbury walked. Pedey, who is having buzzard's luck at the dish, popped out to second, then Drew singled to plate Scoots. Papi knocked a double to score Ells. Beltre followed up with another two-bagger, scoring Drew and Papi. That was it for Kendrick and Charlie Manuel summoned a reliever with a most unfortunate name, Antonio Bastardo. Bastardo whiffed Hermida to end the inning and the scoring for the game.
Dice-K's 8 innings of one-hit ball, while it came short of making history, represented the third stellar outing by a Sox starter in four games. Wake takes the hill tomorrow and has the misfortune of having his teammates face Doc Halladay. Then again, the Sox have a history of roughing Doc up when he was a Blue Jay, so maybe he'll get the run support he's been missing after all. Then again, it's a day game and for some puzzling reason the Sox haven't been winning in the earlier hours this season. Poor Wake. Score some runs for him, would ya, boys?
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! CONGRATS, DICE-K, ON AN AMAZING 8 INNINGS!!!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Lacking Momentum
The baseball sages say that momentum goes as far as the next starting pitcher and tonight, that momentum came to a grinding halt with Lackey on the mound. The guy the Sox brass paid the big bucks to in the off-season continues his puzzling rendezvous with mediocrity. He and Beckett are underperforming in tandem with one another. As for Dice-K, he's baffling everyone but the guys in the batter's box (except for that one start against the Jays, where he showed what he was capable of doing when he put his mind to it, or the stars aligned in his favor, or whatever). Lester and Buchholz are the only starters in the rotation who, for the most part, have it together.
The offense was stymied tonight by Cole Hamels, save for a first-inning dinger by V-Mart. Overall, the bats aren't the problem, except when Wake is on the mound. The Sox loaded the bases in the ninth when Papi came up to pinch-hit for Bill Hall. Papi gave the ball a ride, but, as was the case too many times tonight, the ball found a glove. After winning 3 in a row, the Phillies downed them 5-1.
The 2010 season for the Red Sox has been a bizarre, roller-coaster, Jekyll-and-Hyde sort of experience. However, from the "it could be worse" department, here's an article on the perplexing misadventures of a certain National League team from New York There's some seriously crazy shiznit going on in Queens.
A bit of good news for the Sox: Ells is back tomorrow!!!!
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!
The offense was stymied tonight by Cole Hamels, save for a first-inning dinger by V-Mart. Overall, the bats aren't the problem, except when Wake is on the mound. The Sox loaded the bases in the ninth when Papi came up to pinch-hit for Bill Hall. Papi gave the ball a ride, but, as was the case too many times tonight, the ball found a glove. After winning 3 in a row, the Phillies downed them 5-1.
The 2010 season for the Red Sox has been a bizarre, roller-coaster, Jekyll-and-Hyde sort of experience. However, from the "it could be worse" department, here's an article on the perplexing misadventures of a certain National League team from New York There's some seriously crazy shiznit going on in Queens.
A bit of good news for the Sox: Ells is back tomorrow!!!!
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
1-2 Punch--Down Goes Minny!
First came Buchholz, who went 8 plus innings in Wednesday night's 3-2 victory, saving a bullpen that had been burnt at both ends in Detroit and the Bronx. Then, Lester spun a complete game gem, allowing one earned run and striking out nine as the Sox KO'ed the Twins 6-2 (the second run was the result of a rare error by Pedey). It was the first complete game by a Red Sox pitcher of the 2010 season. For seven of those nine innings, Lester blanked the AL Central-leading Twins (they were leading before they dropped the two games to the Sox. Now they're tied with the Tigers). Lester commanded all his pitches, worked quickly, and got ahead in counts more often than not.
The pace of the game kept the defense sharp, with Pedey making two spectacular plays: a leaping grab of a line drive off the bat of Delmon Young in the 5th and a diving stab of a ball hit by Nick Punto, getting the ball to Youk for the out. Replacement shortstop Angel Sanchez, summoned from Pawtucket while Scoots rests his tennis elbow, showed off his defensive prowess turning a pair of double plays--"Twin" killings, if you will.
At the plate, the Sox roughed up Twins' lefty stud Francisco Liriano, taking him yard for the first and second time this season. Beltre knocked one into the bullpen in the second and Youk, who is raking this month, crushed a 3-run bomb to center. V-Mart hit a trio of doubles. It's good to see the Sox put the hurting on some of the better pitchers of the league, such as Liriano, Phil Hughes, CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, and Zach Greinke. The offense, although it does get stymied from time to time, especially by certain pitchers (Matt Garza, for one), has been pulling its weight for the most part this season, coming back from five, six run holes as it did at Yankee Stadium this week, and scoring runs via the long ball (2nd in the majors behind Toronto). It's not like one or two guys are hitting most of the dingers--they're coming from pretty much everyone in the lineup. Youk, Pedey, and Papi have 8. Drew and Tek have 6, V-Mart has 5, Hermida has 4, Hall, Beltre, and McDonald have 3, Scoots has 2, and Lowell and Van Every have 1.
If the bats can keep hitting consistently and the rest of the starters follow the examples of Lester and Buchholz, then there may be hope for this season after all. Lackey, Dice-K and Beckett (when he gets healthy) need to pitch to their ability. This weekend, Lackey, Dice-K and Wake (filling in for a DL-ed Beckett) take on the Phils in their hitter's dream of a ballpark. The Phillies' lineup is an AL lineup in the NL, with heavy-hitters such as Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jayson Werth. If they could take two of three, that would be great. After Philly, it's on to the Trop for the formidable challenge of facing the unstoppable (unless your name is Dallas Braden) Tampa Bay Rays. With Lester and Buchholz both pitching in that series, the Sox have a decent chance of taking at least one of three. Two would be awesome, but the Rays are so scary good that the Sox winning a series on their turf doesn't seem like a reasonable expectation. But who knows, maybe they'll surprise us.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! CONGRATS ON THE SWEEP!!!
The pace of the game kept the defense sharp, with Pedey making two spectacular plays: a leaping grab of a line drive off the bat of Delmon Young in the 5th and a diving stab of a ball hit by Nick Punto, getting the ball to Youk for the out. Replacement shortstop Angel Sanchez, summoned from Pawtucket while Scoots rests his tennis elbow, showed off his defensive prowess turning a pair of double plays--"Twin" killings, if you will.
At the plate, the Sox roughed up Twins' lefty stud Francisco Liriano, taking him yard for the first and second time this season. Beltre knocked one into the bullpen in the second and Youk, who is raking this month, crushed a 3-run bomb to center. V-Mart hit a trio of doubles. It's good to see the Sox put the hurting on some of the better pitchers of the league, such as Liriano, Phil Hughes, CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett, and Zach Greinke. The offense, although it does get stymied from time to time, especially by certain pitchers (Matt Garza, for one), has been pulling its weight for the most part this season, coming back from five, six run holes as it did at Yankee Stadium this week, and scoring runs via the long ball (2nd in the majors behind Toronto). It's not like one or two guys are hitting most of the dingers--they're coming from pretty much everyone in the lineup. Youk, Pedey, and Papi have 8. Drew and Tek have 6, V-Mart has 5, Hermida has 4, Hall, Beltre, and McDonald have 3, Scoots has 2, and Lowell and Van Every have 1.
If the bats can keep hitting consistently and the rest of the starters follow the examples of Lester and Buchholz, then there may be hope for this season after all. Lackey, Dice-K and Beckett (when he gets healthy) need to pitch to their ability. This weekend, Lackey, Dice-K and Wake (filling in for a DL-ed Beckett) take on the Phils in their hitter's dream of a ballpark. The Phillies' lineup is an AL lineup in the NL, with heavy-hitters such as Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, and Jayson Werth. If they could take two of three, that would be great. After Philly, it's on to the Trop for the formidable challenge of facing the unstoppable (unless your name is Dallas Braden) Tampa Bay Rays. With Lester and Buchholz both pitching in that series, the Sox have a decent chance of taking at least one of three. Two would be awesome, but the Rays are so scary good that the Sox winning a series on their turf doesn't seem like a reasonable expectation. But who knows, maybe they'll surprise us.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! CONGRATS ON THE SWEEP!!!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Splitsville
This time they got it right. After coming back from another 5-0 hole created by both Beckett and Scutaro, the Sox fought their way back to tie the game, then take the lead off the Yankee bullpen. They knocked around Joba Chamberlain and gave Mariano Rivera his second consecutive blown save. Could "The Sandman" be human after all? Pap came on in the ninth for a heart attack save, but at least he got the job done this time, striking out Randy Winn with a guy on third to end the game with the Sox on the upside of the 7-6 score. They came out of Yankee Stadium with a split, which is an acceptable outcome against a team they've struggled against so far this season.
Now why am I not more excited about this win? Don't get me wrong--I was very happy when they pulled it off last night after Monday night's debacle--but I'm just not sure what to expect from the 2010 Sox anymore. This win could be a turning point that sets them on the path to better, more consistent play, especially against contending teams. It could set off good size winning streak. Conversely, it could just be one of the better games of a .500 season. Starting pitching HAS to improve in order for the Sox to sustain any momentum. Getting their major league outfield back soon (at least in the case of Ellsbury. Cameron seems to be experiencing a setback) should help turn some of the hits into outs, but the pitchers bear most of the responsibility. Commanding the strike zone would be a good place to start. Lots and lots of walks, from both the starters and bullpen. Limiting damage and big innings is another step toward improvement. Beckett may be DL-bound; if so, Wake will get some starts in his absence. Defense, both in the infield and outfield, must improve also.
Today and tomorrow the Sox are in Fenway for a quick little 2-gamer against the Twins. Then it's back out on the road to play Philly and *shudder* Tampa Bay.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!
Now why am I not more excited about this win? Don't get me wrong--I was very happy when they pulled it off last night after Monday night's debacle--but I'm just not sure what to expect from the 2010 Sox anymore. This win could be a turning point that sets them on the path to better, more consistent play, especially against contending teams. It could set off good size winning streak. Conversely, it could just be one of the better games of a .500 season. Starting pitching HAS to improve in order for the Sox to sustain any momentum. Getting their major league outfield back soon (at least in the case of Ellsbury. Cameron seems to be experiencing a setback) should help turn some of the hits into outs, but the pitchers bear most of the responsibility. Commanding the strike zone would be a good place to start. Lots and lots of walks, from both the starters and bullpen. Limiting damage and big innings is another step toward improvement. Beckett may be DL-bound; if so, Wake will get some starts in his absence. Defense, both in the infield and outfield, must improve also.
Today and tomorrow the Sox are in Fenway for a quick little 2-gamer against the Twins. Then it's back out on the road to play Philly and *shudder* Tampa Bay.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Embarrasingly Ironic...
...That's how I describe what happened to the bill of goods the Red Sox front office sold the media and fans this offseason on "pitching and defense". Guess what? Pitching and defense is doing them in, to catastrophic proportions. They are a mortifying last in the AL in ERA. Injuries took their toll, with sub-par outfielders allowing hits that major-league level talent would have prevented, but good pitchers adjust and don't let a few bad breaks unravel their outing. These starting pitchers are SUPPOSED to be good. The top three are SUPPOSED to be among the best in the league (although it's possible they could be overrated, except for maybe Lester). Beckett and Lackey may not be Halladay or Sabathia, or Lee, but they are, at least by past performance, far better than what they're showing this season. Something is very, embarrassingly wrong with this pitching staff. It's like they have this disease where they can't find the strike zone and the pitches that do make it there are cookies right down the middle that get crushed. Whatever the hell is wrong needs to be addressed and as quickly as possible because the Sox are on quicksand, sinking further and further into the hole they've dug themselves in the division.
Tonight, Dice-K quickly erased the memory of his stellar start last week with a 5-run first inning. The butchers in the outfield played a role, but the inning quickly spun out of control for Matsuzaka. After the bats came back from the deficit in impressive fashion, One-Pitch Papelbon threw ninth-inning batting practice for the Yankees. Back under .500 go the Sox, thanks to--you guessed it--pitching and defense. Hey, Theo, you got oceanfront property in Iowa to sell us?
Tonight, Dice-K quickly erased the memory of his stellar start last week with a 5-run first inning. The butchers in the outfield played a role, but the inning quickly spun out of control for Matsuzaka. After the bats came back from the deficit in impressive fashion, One-Pitch Papelbon threw ninth-inning batting practice for the Yankees. Back under .500 go the Sox, thanks to--you guessed it--pitching and defense. Hey, Theo, you got oceanfront property in Iowa to sell us?
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Consistently Inconsistent
The most frustrating thing about the Red Sox this season, aside from their disappointing record, is their inconsistency in all facets of the game. It's embarrassing for a $170 million team to be in fourth place, yet it's not hard to see why they are where they are. Just when they look like they've got it together, they play the choke card and it all comes tumbling down again. It's like they can't make up their mind whether they are a contender or pretender. Everyone shares in the responsibility for this uneven season, from the players to the coaching staff and manager, all the way up to the front office.
One of the most glaring coaching problems this year stands in the third base box with a malfunctioning windmill. Tim Bogar did fine at first base last year. He did so well there that no one knew who he was. That's the way it's supposed to be. We're not supposed to pay much attention to the base coaches. This year at third it's an entirely different story. Bogar is just not cut out to be a third base coach. Obviously, it requires a different skill set than being a first-base coach. The Sox might want to try moving him back to first and giving Ron Johnson a crack at third. He can't be much worse, or can he?
The 2010 Red Sox are a completely different kind of team than the 2004 and 2007 teams. The latter two teams had a high-powered offense with Big Papi and Manny Ramirez. They knew how to win both at home and on the road. Their top starting pitchers were, for the most part, consistent. Oh, and they won games both at night and during the day.
The 2010 team, although they do hit a lot of home runs, they can't seem to play day games and they look hopeless in extra innings. Their "aces" have been hit or miss, the bullpen is questionable beyond Pap, Bard, and possibly Delcarmen, and they all walk too many batters and are constantly in 3-ball counts. The defense has also been an adventure, making it appear as if the front office sold the fans a bill of goods when it came to improving pitching and defense.
Yes, Terry Francona won two World Series and they made the playoffs every year but 2006 (and most likely this year too), but maybe his management style is not the best fit for a "pitching and defense" focused team. A team without a 30HR 100 RBI guy in the lineup is one that needs to manufacture runs more often and pitch and play defense consistently well in order to succeed. Starters and relievers have to be managed carefully so that games do not get out of hand and large leads don't get coughed up. Francona's style of managing fit the 2004 and 2007 teams very well, but this team needs to approach the game a little differently. Hoping for mistakes by outfielders throwing the ball home, or for the 3-run home run and the big inning is not the most proactive way to play. Managers like Joe Maddon of the Tampa Bay Rays have a much more proactive managing style that seems to elicit the best work out of their talent. The Red Sox have talent, but their play isn't reflecting it. Managers need to adapt to the way baseball is changing as the steroid era comes to an end (if it hasn't already). That era had lots of home runs and playing for the big inning might have been a good strategy at the time. Now, not so much.
Francona isn't the only one who needs to turn the calendar to 2010. Theo Epstein could use a new calendar as well. Had his mind been in the current year as opposed to, say, 2007, he may not have been so quick to sign Josh Beckett to a long-term extension. He also might have properly calculated the ages of some of his acquisitions, such as Mike Cameron and many of the aging bullpen arms he collected, most of which are hanging out in Pawtucket and one of which SHOULD be either in Pawtucket or on waivers. Theo does a great job with the draft and the prospects, which suggests that perhaps he would be better off as the head of player development, where he can focus on where his strengths are. He has a clear weakness in free-agent signings.
I know I'm no baseball expert, but my eyes are telling me this is a disjointed team and all this talk about the manager, coaches and GM is just brainstorming on my part to find out just what's causing an expensive and talented team to underperform to the tune of fourth place in the AL East and a .500 record. Running a baseball team in a market like Boston is an extremely difficult job, one that I'm 100% certain that I could not do. However, as a fan and someone with probably too much time on her hands, this season puzzles me and I'm just trying to figure out what's holding the 2010 Red Sox back.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! TRY TO WIN SOME MORE OF THESE ROAD GAMES, OKAY?
One of the most glaring coaching problems this year stands in the third base box with a malfunctioning windmill. Tim Bogar did fine at first base last year. He did so well there that no one knew who he was. That's the way it's supposed to be. We're not supposed to pay much attention to the base coaches. This year at third it's an entirely different story. Bogar is just not cut out to be a third base coach. Obviously, it requires a different skill set than being a first-base coach. The Sox might want to try moving him back to first and giving Ron Johnson a crack at third. He can't be much worse, or can he?
The 2010 Red Sox are a completely different kind of team than the 2004 and 2007 teams. The latter two teams had a high-powered offense with Big Papi and Manny Ramirez. They knew how to win both at home and on the road. Their top starting pitchers were, for the most part, consistent. Oh, and they won games both at night and during the day.
The 2010 team, although they do hit a lot of home runs, they can't seem to play day games and they look hopeless in extra innings. Their "aces" have been hit or miss, the bullpen is questionable beyond Pap, Bard, and possibly Delcarmen, and they all walk too many batters and are constantly in 3-ball counts. The defense has also been an adventure, making it appear as if the front office sold the fans a bill of goods when it came to improving pitching and defense.
Yes, Terry Francona won two World Series and they made the playoffs every year but 2006 (and most likely this year too), but maybe his management style is not the best fit for a "pitching and defense" focused team. A team without a 30HR 100 RBI guy in the lineup is one that needs to manufacture runs more often and pitch and play defense consistently well in order to succeed. Starters and relievers have to be managed carefully so that games do not get out of hand and large leads don't get coughed up. Francona's style of managing fit the 2004 and 2007 teams very well, but this team needs to approach the game a little differently. Hoping for mistakes by outfielders throwing the ball home, or for the 3-run home run and the big inning is not the most proactive way to play. Managers like Joe Maddon of the Tampa Bay Rays have a much more proactive managing style that seems to elicit the best work out of their talent. The Red Sox have talent, but their play isn't reflecting it. Managers need to adapt to the way baseball is changing as the steroid era comes to an end (if it hasn't already). That era had lots of home runs and playing for the big inning might have been a good strategy at the time. Now, not so much.
Francona isn't the only one who needs to turn the calendar to 2010. Theo Epstein could use a new calendar as well. Had his mind been in the current year as opposed to, say, 2007, he may not have been so quick to sign Josh Beckett to a long-term extension. He also might have properly calculated the ages of some of his acquisitions, such as Mike Cameron and many of the aging bullpen arms he collected, most of which are hanging out in Pawtucket and one of which SHOULD be either in Pawtucket or on waivers. Theo does a great job with the draft and the prospects, which suggests that perhaps he would be better off as the head of player development, where he can focus on where his strengths are. He has a clear weakness in free-agent signings.
I know I'm no baseball expert, but my eyes are telling me this is a disjointed team and all this talk about the manager, coaches and GM is just brainstorming on my part to find out just what's causing an expensive and talented team to underperform to the tune of fourth place in the AL East and a .500 record. Running a baseball team in a market like Boston is an extremely difficult job, one that I'm 100% certain that I could not do. However, as a fan and someone with probably too much time on her hands, this season puzzles me and I'm just trying to figure out what's holding the 2010 Red Sox back.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! TRY TO WIN SOME MORE OF THESE ROAD GAMES, OKAY?
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Choke-itis is Contagious.
It happened to the Bruins last night (not that I even care about hockey, but it was impossible not to know what happened if you were watching the Sox game on NESN Plus) and it happened to the Red Sox tonight. Okay, it was a much bigger choke for the Bruins since it ended their season, but if any of the Sox watched the replay of the hockey game, they probably shouldn't have. After Lester had an outing that wasn't one of his best, but kept the team out in front, mishandling of the bullpen sent the game into extra innings, which is the kiss of death for the Sox this season. They have won exactly ONE extra-inning game and lost six.
Instead of going to Manny Delcarmen, who had been warming up in the 6th, while Lester was still on the mound and running into some trouble and who, right now, is the best reliever not named Papelbon, they went to Oki, who grows ineffective with overuse. Even though he'd been pitching well of late, the key to Oki is to use him sparingly. Maybe they need the Oki Rules, where he's not allowed to pitch consecutive days. The first batter he faced in the 8th took him yard, then he allowed two other hits, plating the tying run. Even after that happened, Tito was sitting on his hands in the dugout. Oki clearly had nothing tonight.
Another thing that lost the game for the Sox, besides the Oki/Tito meltdown in the 8th was the lack of timely hitting in the late innings, especially the extras. This has happened before, obviously, given the Sox' track record in extra-innings games this year. Do they all turn into pumpkins after the other team ties it up? Are extra-innings games past their bedtime??? Why has the other team won 6 times out of 7???
Tomorrow, they need Lackey to come up big for them if they're to pull out a win in this series and they need to score plenty of runs since they'll be dealing with a tired bullpen. Pap will probably not be available, having gone 2 1/3 innings tonight. The Sox really need another good arm in the bullpen. Schoeneweis is not getting it done, as demonstrated by an ERA north of 8. He reminds me of a lefty version of 2008-era Timlin. He might be able to stave off retirement by catching on with an NL team.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!! PLEASE WIN TOMORROW!!!
Instead of going to Manny Delcarmen, who had been warming up in the 6th, while Lester was still on the mound and running into some trouble and who, right now, is the best reliever not named Papelbon, they went to Oki, who grows ineffective with overuse. Even though he'd been pitching well of late, the key to Oki is to use him sparingly. Maybe they need the Oki Rules, where he's not allowed to pitch consecutive days. The first batter he faced in the 8th took him yard, then he allowed two other hits, plating the tying run. Even after that happened, Tito was sitting on his hands in the dugout. Oki clearly had nothing tonight.
Another thing that lost the game for the Sox, besides the Oki/Tito meltdown in the 8th was the lack of timely hitting in the late innings, especially the extras. This has happened before, obviously, given the Sox' track record in extra-innings games this year. Do they all turn into pumpkins after the other team ties it up? Are extra-innings games past their bedtime??? Why has the other team won 6 times out of 7???
Tomorrow, they need Lackey to come up big for them if they're to pull out a win in this series and they need to score plenty of runs since they'll be dealing with a tired bullpen. Pap will probably not be available, having gone 2 1/3 innings tonight. The Sox really need another good arm in the bullpen. Schoeneweis is not getting it done, as demonstrated by an ERA north of 8. He reminds me of a lefty version of 2008-era Timlin. He might be able to stave off retirement by catching on with an NL team.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!! PLEASE WIN TOMORROW!!!
Friday, May 14, 2010
Papi's Night in Motown
The Sox essentially won tonight's series opener in Detroit before Clay Buchholz threw his first pitch. Taking advantage of the struggling Max Scherzer, the Boston bats put 5 on the board thanks to a 2-run shot by Pedey (following a single by Scoots) and a 3-run big fly by Big Papi (with Youk and Drew on base via a walk and a single, respectively) Papi added a second dinger in his next at-bat and Bill Hall went yard pinch-hitting for Hermida.
Buchholz gave the Sox a strong outing, going 6.1 innings and giving up only one run. However, he walked more batters (5) than he struck out (3). Bard made things interesting in the 8th, but limited the damage to one run. Oki finished the Tigers off in the 9th, allowing 2-out hit, but quickly getting the next batter to fly out to Bill Hall in left to give the Sox a 7-2 win and Buchholz his fourth W.
Tomorrow night, Lester and D-Train (Dontrelle Willis) face off in a lefty-lefty contest. For Lester, the goal is to continue dominating. In the meantime, the bats will try to derail D-Train. It's very important for the Sox to win as many games as they can in this stretch, which includes a 2-gamer in The Bronx, an itty-bitty homestand (2 games) against the Twins, and then back out on the road to face the Phillies and the (*shudder*) Rays in the House of Horrors known as Tropicana Field. Mike Cameron is on his way back and could be back in the lineup in New York. Ells is still a giant question mark.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!! YAY FOR BIG PAPI!!!!
Buchholz gave the Sox a strong outing, going 6.1 innings and giving up only one run. However, he walked more batters (5) than he struck out (3). Bard made things interesting in the 8th, but limited the damage to one run. Oki finished the Tigers off in the 9th, allowing 2-out hit, but quickly getting the next batter to fly out to Bill Hall in left to give the Sox a 7-2 win and Buchholz his fourth W.
Tomorrow night, Lester and D-Train (Dontrelle Willis) face off in a lefty-lefty contest. For Lester, the goal is to continue dominating. In the meantime, the bats will try to derail D-Train. It's very important for the Sox to win as many games as they can in this stretch, which includes a 2-gamer in The Bronx, an itty-bitty homestand (2 games) against the Twins, and then back out on the road to face the Phillies and the (*shudder*) Rays in the House of Horrors known as Tropicana Field. Mike Cameron is on his way back and could be back in the lineup in New York. Ells is still a giant question mark.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!! YAY FOR BIG PAPI!!!!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
A River Runs Through It
"It" refers to home plate ump Dale Scott's ginormous strike zone in today's game. I missed the end of the game, so I didn't see the ninth inning umpiring fiasco play out, but I read about it on Full Count and other Red Sox blogs and saw graphics of where the pitches were to JD Drew and Big Papi. JD ended up hitting a double, but Papi was called out on strikes, bringing Tito out of the dugout to argue the ludicrous call. End result: The Sox dropped the final game of the series with the Jays 3-2, their ninth inning rally cut short by an ump who allegedly might have had a plane to catch.
All was not bad for Big Papi in today's game, however. He went 2-for-4, continuing to work his way out of that horrific slump and bringing his average up to .200. He was the only hitter who could get to Toronto starter Shaun Marcum today. He now has a 5-game hitting streak and his two hits are a silver lining to a game that ended arguably unfairly for the Sox.
Wake gave the Sox a quality start, going 7 innings, allowing 5 hits, 3 runs, striking out 5 and walking 1. Unfortunately, the Sox bats were silenced by Marcum, who appears to have the same effect on them as Garza, and couldn't give him any run support. Even if they had pulled off a ninth-inning comeback, the win would have been awarded to Schoeneweis since he was the pitcher of record.
Tomorrow's an off day, with the Sox traveling to Motor City, where they take on the Tigers. These Tigers will be tough for Sox pitchers to tame with the third-highest batting average in the league. Of course, the fourth-highest batting average belongs to the Red Sox. Buchholz is on the hill against Max Scherzer.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!! CAGE THOSE TIGERS!!
All was not bad for Big Papi in today's game, however. He went 2-for-4, continuing to work his way out of that horrific slump and bringing his average up to .200. He was the only hitter who could get to Toronto starter Shaun Marcum today. He now has a 5-game hitting streak and his two hits are a silver lining to a game that ended arguably unfairly for the Sox.
Wake gave the Sox a quality start, going 7 innings, allowing 5 hits, 3 runs, striking out 5 and walking 1. Unfortunately, the Sox bats were silenced by Marcum, who appears to have the same effect on them as Garza, and couldn't give him any run support. Even if they had pulled off a ninth-inning comeback, the win would have been awarded to Schoeneweis since he was the pitcher of record.
Tomorrow's an off day, with the Sox traveling to Motor City, where they take on the Tigers. These Tigers will be tough for Sox pitchers to tame with the third-highest batting average in the league. Of course, the fourth-highest batting average belongs to the Red Sox. Buchholz is on the hill against Max Scherzer.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!! CAGE THOSE TIGERS!!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Dice-K Delivers
THIS is the Daisuke Matsuzaka that the Red Sox paid for. We've seen flashes of this guy before and we know he can do it. Tonight, Number 18 threw seven innings of one-run ball, fanning nine and walking--get this--NONE! He dominated the Jays tonight, assuring a series win and his second victory of 2010. The Jays, mind you, had won 7 of their last 9 games before dropping the first two of the series to the Red Sox.
On the mound for Toronto was Dana Eveland, who the Sox love facing because they knock him around like a pinata. The guy had a very respectable 3.82 ERA coming into tonight's game and that included the time last month the Sox teed off on him. It's interesting how certain teams can get to certain pitchers. Beckett has trouble with the Jays just as Eveland does with the Sox. The Sox have also lit up A.J. Burnett, particularly at Fenway. On the other hand, there are certain pitchers who have certain teams' numbers, like Garza of Tampa Bay facing the Red Sox. Then you have the hitters that hit certain teams' pitchers well, no matter who's on the mound. Think Evan Longoria and the Red Sox staff.
With this win tonight, the Sox improve to 2 games above .500. Tomorrow afternoon, they try to sweep the Jays for the second time this season. Wake takes the mound against Shaun Marcum, who has had success against the Sox, but took a tough luck loss in his last start against them due to Lester's gem that night.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!! CONGRATS DAISUKE ON YOUR GEM TONIGHT!!!
On the mound for Toronto was Dana Eveland, who the Sox love facing because they knock him around like a pinata. The guy had a very respectable 3.82 ERA coming into tonight's game and that included the time last month the Sox teed off on him. It's interesting how certain teams can get to certain pitchers. Beckett has trouble with the Jays just as Eveland does with the Sox. The Sox have also lit up A.J. Burnett, particularly at Fenway. On the other hand, there are certain pitchers who have certain teams' numbers, like Garza of Tampa Bay facing the Red Sox. Then you have the hitters that hit certain teams' pitchers well, no matter who's on the mound. Think Evan Longoria and the Red Sox staff.
With this win tonight, the Sox improve to 2 games above .500. Tomorrow afternoon, they try to sweep the Jays for the second time this season. Wake takes the mound against Shaun Marcum, who has had success against the Sox, but took a tough luck loss in his last start against them due to Lester's gem that night.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!! CONGRATS DAISUKE ON YOUR GEM TONIGHT!!!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Saved By The Bats
"Lack" as his teammates call tonight's starting pitcher, was out of whack. Fortunately for the Red Sox, Jays starter Brandon Morrow was about to walk the whole lineup in one bizarre inning that erased the damage Lackey did in the top half of the frame. The Sox won a weird one, for sure, but a win's a win and they all count the same, no matter when or how you win them.
Out-of-whack Lack gave up 6 runs on 8 hits in 6 innings pitched, walking 3, and striking out 6. His second inning resembled Dice-K's first inning last week against the Halos. He struggled mightily to get that first out. In the bottom of the second, the Sox got all those runs back by waiting for Morrow to throw strikes and taking advantage when he did throw them. Instead of grounding into a double play, V-Mart grounded into a fielder's choice when Aaron Hill tossed a rainbow to Lyle Overbay and two runs scored. Papi added another run with a single that chased Morrow from the game with the Sox up 6-4. They'd add another run, the one that ended up winning the game for them, in the third, Pedey knocked in Van Every, who had singled, then took two bases on an Alex Gonzalez throwing error.
The final two Jays runs were scored when Bautista took Lackey deep with Gonzalez on. The Sox pen held down the slim lead as Oki, Bard, and Pap each pitched a scoreless inning. With this win, the Sox are 17 and 16 and a game and a half behind the Jays in the division. Tomorrow night, Dice-K tries to avoid a nuclear inning and the Sox hope they can continue their success against Dana Eveland. Wake makes a start on Wednesday. Beckett was originally pushed back to Friday to work on a few things and to avoid facing a team that knocks him around just as much, if not more, than the Yankees do. His Friday start against the Tigers in Detroit is now in question, as he tweaked his back in pitcher's batting practice today (preparing for interleague play).
The jury's still out on the 2010 Red Sox. They won today despite a poor start by Lackey, but the team ERA, already third from the bottom in the AL took another hit and concerns about the starting rotation continue. There's too much talent in this rotation to be so inconsistent. After a typically awful April, Lester seems to have gotten into a groove. Buchholz was cruising along, for the most part, until his last two starts. Beckett has been an enigma, as has Dice-K, though Dice-K hasn't had a chance to put it together yet, having spent the first month on the DL. As for Wake, he is what he is. If the knuckler's cooperating, he can spin a gem, but if it gets flat, look out!
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!
Out-of-whack Lack gave up 6 runs on 8 hits in 6 innings pitched, walking 3, and striking out 6. His second inning resembled Dice-K's first inning last week against the Halos. He struggled mightily to get that first out. In the bottom of the second, the Sox got all those runs back by waiting for Morrow to throw strikes and taking advantage when he did throw them. Instead of grounding into a double play, V-Mart grounded into a fielder's choice when Aaron Hill tossed a rainbow to Lyle Overbay and two runs scored. Papi added another run with a single that chased Morrow from the game with the Sox up 6-4. They'd add another run, the one that ended up winning the game for them, in the third, Pedey knocked in Van Every, who had singled, then took two bases on an Alex Gonzalez throwing error.
The final two Jays runs were scored when Bautista took Lackey deep with Gonzalez on. The Sox pen held down the slim lead as Oki, Bard, and Pap each pitched a scoreless inning. With this win, the Sox are 17 and 16 and a game and a half behind the Jays in the division. Tomorrow night, Dice-K tries to avoid a nuclear inning and the Sox hope they can continue their success against Dana Eveland. Wake makes a start on Wednesday. Beckett was originally pushed back to Friday to work on a few things and to avoid facing a team that knocks him around just as much, if not more, than the Yankees do. His Friday start against the Tigers in Detroit is now in question, as he tweaked his back in pitcher's batting practice today (preparing for interleague play).
The jury's still out on the 2010 Red Sox. They won today despite a poor start by Lackey, but the team ERA, already third from the bottom in the AL took another hit and concerns about the starting rotation continue. There's too much talent in this rotation to be so inconsistent. After a typically awful April, Lester seems to have gotten into a groove. Buchholz was cruising along, for the most part, until his last two starts. Beckett has been an enigma, as has Dice-K, though Dice-K hasn't had a chance to put it together yet, having spent the first month on the DL. As for Wake, he is what he is. If the knuckler's cooperating, he can spin a gem, but if it gets flat, look out!
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Hey New York, No Sweep For You!
Please help me--I'm a confused Red Sox fan. The team that inspired me to write my "Really?" rant last night, the one who got shredded by the Yanks two games in a row, who looked like a group of 8-year-old little leaguers playing a top-seeded college team, disappeared and the real Red Sox came to play. At least we hope these are the real Red Sox. The distinction is a little murky this season. Tonight, it was the Yanks' A.J. Burnett who looked like Charlie Brown on the mound, especially in the five-run third inning.
Lester proved to be the stopper the Sox needed with his 7-inning, 2-run, 7-strikeout performance. The two runs came on two solo homers in the 4th inning, a strange inning where he struck out the side, but left two pitches out over the plate for Swisher and A-Rod. The rest of his outing continued his dominant streak that started at the end of last month.
Pedey's walk and Youk's double combined to score a run in the fourth. Two more runs are tacked on in the fifth, with a swing of Hermida's bat with Beltre on second. Burnett was yanked (pun intended) after Hermida's dinger. Sox up 9-2
Delcarmen reverted to shaky city in his inning of relief, allowing three hits and a run, but the run was harmless given the Sox' large lead. Wake mopped up the ninth with a 1-2-3 and the Sox kept the Bronx brooms in the closet.
Elsewhere in the baseball world, Dallas Braden, a.k.a. He Whose Mound A-Rod Invaded, of the Oakland A's tossed a perfect game against, of all teams, the Tampa Bay Rays. Yes, the 22-8--no make that 22-9 Tampa Bay Rays who--well we know what they did to the Red Sox last month. His stuff must have been insanely nasty to stop a seemingly unstoppable lineup. Add him to my Red Sox covet list. His grandmother was at the game for mother's day--Braden lost his mother to cancer when he was in high school--and she had some choice words for A-Rod after the game. How does "Stick it!" sound? You go, grandma!
Back to the Red Sox. Tomorrow, that team from north of the border--and unfortunately also north in the AL East standings--comes to town. Last time the Sox and Jays met, the Sox swept 'em up at the Rogers Centre, despite a nuclear outing by Beckett in the first game. Alas, Beckett is facing the Jays once again this week, on Wednesday afternoon. Lackey goes tomorrow night, followed by Dice-K on Tuesday.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! GREAT JOB STOPPING THE SWEEP!!
Lester proved to be the stopper the Sox needed with his 7-inning, 2-run, 7-strikeout performance. The two runs came on two solo homers in the 4th inning, a strange inning where he struck out the side, but left two pitches out over the plate for Swisher and A-Rod. The rest of his outing continued his dominant streak that started at the end of last month.
Pedey's walk and Youk's double combined to score a run in the fourth. Two more runs are tacked on in the fifth, with a swing of Hermida's bat with Beltre on second. Burnett was yanked (pun intended) after Hermida's dinger. Sox up 9-2
Delcarmen reverted to shaky city in his inning of relief, allowing three hits and a run, but the run was harmless given the Sox' large lead. Wake mopped up the ninth with a 1-2-3 and the Sox kept the Bronx brooms in the closet.
Elsewhere in the baseball world, Dallas Braden, a.k.a. He Whose Mound A-Rod Invaded, of the Oakland A's tossed a perfect game against, of all teams, the Tampa Bay Rays. Yes, the 22-8--no make that 22-9 Tampa Bay Rays who--well we know what they did to the Red Sox last month. His stuff must have been insanely nasty to stop a seemingly unstoppable lineup. Add him to my Red Sox covet list. His grandmother was at the game for mother's day--Braden lost his mother to cancer when he was in high school--and she had some choice words for A-Rod after the game. How does "Stick it!" sound? You go, grandma!
Back to the Red Sox. Tomorrow, that team from north of the border--and unfortunately also north in the AL East standings--comes to town. Last time the Sox and Jays met, the Sox swept 'em up at the Rogers Centre, despite a nuclear outing by Beckett in the first game. Alas, Beckett is facing the Jays once again this week, on Wednesday afternoon. Lackey goes tomorrow night, followed by Dice-K on Tuesday.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! GREAT JOB STOPPING THE SWEEP!!
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Really?? Red Sox 2010 Edition
With apologies to SNL:
After an October where the Angels squashed them like a bug in the ALDS, the Red Sox brass decided to work on "pitching and defense" and "run prevention". Fast forward to now, when their pitchers get shelled against the big boys of the league and the new "defensive whiz" third baseman is doing his best Julio Lugo impersonation.
Really, Red Sox?? Really???
The Sox go and sign so-called ace Josh Beckett to a 4-year extension before the season begins, knowing full well that 2007 was a career year and he hasn't been consistent ever since and the Yankees tee off on him.
Really, Red Sox?? Really???
A week into the season, the "defensive whiz" third baseman and the speedy displaced left fielder collide, breaking said left fielder's ribs and slowing the team's baserunning to a snail's pace.
Really, Red Sox?? Really???
Every so often, the team teases the fans and media by playing decent ball, like their three-game sweep against the Toronto Blue Jays and the four-game sweep against the Angels, then gets swept by the likes of the Baltimore Orioles and pulverized by the Yankees two games in a row.
Really, Red Sox?? Really???
A $24 million DH platoon.
Really, Red Sox?? Really???
A $170 million payroll and not third but FOURTH place in the AL East.
Really, Red Sox?? Really???
A "bridge year" with the highest ticket prices in the game. And that's before the legalized scalpers known as Ace Ticket get a hold of their share
Really, Red Sox?? Really???
Atchison, Schoenweiss, and Bonser.
Really, Red Sox?? Really???
A third base coach mistaking Varitek for Ellsbury.
Really, Red Sox?? Really???
Oh, it's only May, they can turn it around. Look at last year's Yankees.
REALLY???????
After an October where the Angels squashed them like a bug in the ALDS, the Red Sox brass decided to work on "pitching and defense" and "run prevention". Fast forward to now, when their pitchers get shelled against the big boys of the league and the new "defensive whiz" third baseman is doing his best Julio Lugo impersonation.
Really, Red Sox?? Really???
The Sox go and sign so-called ace Josh Beckett to a 4-year extension before the season begins, knowing full well that 2007 was a career year and he hasn't been consistent ever since and the Yankees tee off on him.
Really, Red Sox?? Really???
A week into the season, the "defensive whiz" third baseman and the speedy displaced left fielder collide, breaking said left fielder's ribs and slowing the team's baserunning to a snail's pace.
Really, Red Sox?? Really???
Every so often, the team teases the fans and media by playing decent ball, like their three-game sweep against the Toronto Blue Jays and the four-game sweep against the Angels, then gets swept by the likes of the Baltimore Orioles and pulverized by the Yankees two games in a row.
Really, Red Sox?? Really???
A $24 million DH platoon.
Really, Red Sox?? Really???
A $170 million payroll and not third but FOURTH place in the AL East.
Really, Red Sox?? Really???
A "bridge year" with the highest ticket prices in the game. And that's before the legalized scalpers known as Ace Ticket get a hold of their share
Really, Red Sox?? Really???
Atchison, Schoenweiss, and Bonser.
Really, Red Sox?? Really???
A third base coach mistaking Varitek for Ellsbury.
Really, Red Sox?? Really???
Oh, it's only May, they can turn it around. Look at last year's Yankees.
REALLY???????
Friday, May 7, 2010
Jekyll and Hyde
The title of this blog summarizes Josh Beckett's outing tonight. Dr. Jekyll, a.k.a. Commander Kick-Ass was pitching the first three innings. Mr. Hyde peeked out in the fourth, with a hit, a walk, and then a 3-run jack. Jekyll came back out for the fifth, but he gave way to Hyde once again in the sixth and this time, Hyde was there to stay. He was atrociously wild with his pitches and plunked at least two batters and his own catcher. Beckett-as-Hyde effectively flushed the game down the toilet for the Red Sox, who could only manage two runs off of Hughes. It was a hot mess of an inning that killed any momentum the Sox had coming into the game from sweeping the Angels this week. This time, the Sox were looking an awful lot like the team they just swept as they went down quietly to their archrivals in a 10-3 blowout.
The silver lining in this debacle was the second consecutive strong showing at the plate for Big Papi. He knocked in 2 of the 3 runs the Sox scored (with Beltre tacking one on later in the game) via a sac fly and an RBI single. This is a very good sign for Papi, stringing together two good games. He'll likely sit tomorrow against Sabathia, and play in Sunday night's finale. Seeing that Saturday and Sunday's games are on FOX and ESPN, the mute button will be put to good use. The national broadcasters' fawning over the Yankees is too much to stomach.
It's up to Buchholz and Lester to pitch this weekend like they have been pitching lately (or in the case of Buch, all season) and the bats to give them whatever run support they need. It would be awesome if the Sox could win both weekend games, but with the way they've been stacking up against the Yanks, I'll take just one. As long as they don't get swept!
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!! SHAKE OFF TONIGHT AND WIN TOMORROW!!!!
The silver lining in this debacle was the second consecutive strong showing at the plate for Big Papi. He knocked in 2 of the 3 runs the Sox scored (with Beltre tacking one on later in the game) via a sac fly and an RBI single. This is a very good sign for Papi, stringing together two good games. He'll likely sit tomorrow against Sabathia, and play in Sunday night's finale. Seeing that Saturday and Sunday's games are on FOX and ESPN, the mute button will be put to good use. The national broadcasters' fawning over the Yankees is too much to stomach.
It's up to Buchholz and Lester to pitch this weekend like they have been pitching lately (or in the case of Buch, all season) and the bats to give them whatever run support they need. It would be awesome if the Sox could win both weekend games, but with the way they've been stacking up against the Yanks, I'll take just one. As long as they don't get swept!
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!! SHAKE OFF TONIGHT AND WIN TOMORROW!!!!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Papi Turning A Corner?
On a night where his presence in the lineup frustrated a large segment of Red Sox Nation, myself included, Big Papi delivered. Tito saw Papi's numbers against Angels starter (and ex-Sox reliever) Joel Piniero and the opportunity this gave the struggling slugger to break through. It wasn't as if everyone else was teeing off against Piniero--he held the Sox to a mere two runs, one of his better starts this season. Papi connected with a change-up and send it over the Monster for an opposite-field big fly. He had singled earlier in the game, so the dinger was the second hit of the night for him.
Lackey, in the meantime, showed the Angels just how much they miss him, holding them to one run over 7 innings. Like Lester, he has lowered his ERA to below 4. The only really bad outing Lackey has had so far in a Red Sox uniform was the shelling by the Rays last month. Given how the Rays are playing, there's not a whole lot of shame in getting trampled by them. The starting pitching, for the most part, seems to be settling in and putting quality starts together. Beckett, even though the Sox lost the last game he pitched, had a solid start after two poor ones. Lester has had one decent start followed by two outstanding ones. Buchholz has been the most consistently good so far this season. His last start wasn't one of his best, but it's not every day he gets drilled in the ankle twice by the same batter.
Last night's game was also a good one for Adrian Beltre. He went two for three with two RBI and a homer, his second so far this week. He also made a stellar defensive play with broken bat pieces flying in his face. Methinks that four-bagger on Monday night took a monkey off of his back and now he can relax a bit and trust his natural ability. As of today, he's 8th in the league in batting average, hitting .340 and finding his home run stroke at Fenway makes his offensive contribution all the better.
So, the Sox are now back at .500. However, they have one more game against the Angels and then the Evil Empire comes to town for the weekend. The Sox need to keep their momentum going by completing a sweep of the Halos today and winning at least two of three against the Yankees. That means Dice-K needs to improve on his last outing when he takes the mound tonight. Winning a series against the Yanks will be challenging, but not impossible. Especially if they keep playing the good baseball they've been playing since returning home.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! BRING ON THE BROOMS!!!!
Lackey, in the meantime, showed the Angels just how much they miss him, holding them to one run over 7 innings. Like Lester, he has lowered his ERA to below 4. The only really bad outing Lackey has had so far in a Red Sox uniform was the shelling by the Rays last month. Given how the Rays are playing, there's not a whole lot of shame in getting trampled by them. The starting pitching, for the most part, seems to be settling in and putting quality starts together. Beckett, even though the Sox lost the last game he pitched, had a solid start after two poor ones. Lester has had one decent start followed by two outstanding ones. Buchholz has been the most consistently good so far this season. His last start wasn't one of his best, but it's not every day he gets drilled in the ankle twice by the same batter.
Last night's game was also a good one for Adrian Beltre. He went two for three with two RBI and a homer, his second so far this week. He also made a stellar defensive play with broken bat pieces flying in his face. Methinks that four-bagger on Monday night took a monkey off of his back and now he can relax a bit and trust his natural ability. As of today, he's 8th in the league in batting average, hitting .340 and finding his home run stroke at Fenway makes his offensive contribution all the better.
So, the Sox are now back at .500. However, they have one more game against the Angels and then the Evil Empire comes to town for the weekend. The Sox need to keep their momentum going by completing a sweep of the Halos today and winning at least two of three against the Yankees. That means Dice-K needs to improve on his last outing when he takes the mound tonight. Winning a series against the Yanks will be challenging, but not impossible. Especially if they keep playing the good baseball they've been playing since returning home.
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!! BRING ON THE BROOMS!!!!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Bats Gone Bananas
A pre-game team meeting courtesy of the skipper. An inverted Wally in the NESN booth. Heidi Watney's return from the sports reporter DL. All these things preceded a Sox schooling of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. A sweep at the hands of the cellar-dwelling O's had the team and the fans reeling, with much of Red Sox Nation fearing an impending Soxmageddon. The Sox themselves were fed up with losing and a bunch of pissed-off ballplayers wielding bats put up a colossal 17-run attack on the Halos, who were just a half-game better than them record-wise, but in a considerably weaker division. Everyone in the starting lineup had at least one hit, with multi-hit nights for V-Mart (2 for 6), Youk (2 for 3, HR, RBI, 2 BB, HBP), Drew (4 for 5, 3 RBI), Lowell (4 for 4, 4 RBI, BB), Beltre (2 for 5, HR, 3 RBI), Hall (2 for 4, HR, 2 RBI, BB), and McDonald (2 for 4, RBI, BB). Youk, Hall, Beltre, and Pedey all went yard. For Beltre, it was his first dinger in a Red Sox uniform.
Buchholz had a rocky outing, but pitched well enough to win, thanks to his guts and determination as well as the deluge of run support he got from his teammates. Kendry Morales had made Buch's ankle his personal bullseye as he hit two balls right up the middle, one hitting said ankle and another one grazing it. Buch shook the first drilling off fairly easily, but got a little more rattled by the second one, which came in the fourth inning, where he gave up 3 runs. The ankle tightened up on him and his command suffered in the sixth, when recorded two outs, gave up a run, then handed it over to Manny Delcarmen. MDC promptly struck out the first batter he faced and retired the side in order the following inning. RamRam pitched a clean 8th, and Schoenweiss allowed the Angels to double their score in the ninth, prompting us to wonder why he was the better choice over Alan Embree.
Besides the offense, another positive thing in tonight's game was V-Mart throwing out a baserunner. Both he and Tek have showed improvement in their throws to second base lately, even in the debacle of a weekend series with the O's.
Tomorrow night, Lester faces Ervin Santana and he can only hope the offense has enough gas left in the tank after tonight's onslaught. You can be sure of one thing: Wally will be standing on his head in the booth!
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!! AWESOME GAME TONIGHT!!!!!
Buchholz had a rocky outing, but pitched well enough to win, thanks to his guts and determination as well as the deluge of run support he got from his teammates. Kendry Morales had made Buch's ankle his personal bullseye as he hit two balls right up the middle, one hitting said ankle and another one grazing it. Buch shook the first drilling off fairly easily, but got a little more rattled by the second one, which came in the fourth inning, where he gave up 3 runs. The ankle tightened up on him and his command suffered in the sixth, when recorded two outs, gave up a run, then handed it over to Manny Delcarmen. MDC promptly struck out the first batter he faced and retired the side in order the following inning. RamRam pitched a clean 8th, and Schoenweiss allowed the Angels to double their score in the ninth, prompting us to wonder why he was the better choice over Alan Embree.
Besides the offense, another positive thing in tonight's game was V-Mart throwing out a baserunner. Both he and Tek have showed improvement in their throws to second base lately, even in the debacle of a weekend series with the O's.
Tomorrow night, Lester faces Ervin Santana and he can only hope the offense has enough gas left in the tank after tonight's onslaught. You can be sure of one thing: Wally will be standing on his head in the booth!
LET'S GO RED SOX!!!!! AWESOME GAME TONIGHT!!!!!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
No Easy Answers
This season hasn't been for the faint of heart. After a glimmer of hope in the sweep of Toronto, the Sox returned to their hapless ways in Baltimore, dropping the first two games to the worst team in baseball and in danger of being swept by said team. One small step forward, two giant steps back. For a team that plays in one of the largest markets in a town that's crazy for sports, especially baseball, the struggles of the 2010 Red Sox are a huge deal. Having their two chief divisional rivals playing so well only makes it worse. Sox fans, especially newer ones accustomed to a team in perennial playoff contention, are in for a long, possibly very depressing, summer of baseball.
Injuries have hurt the team, but that's only part of the picture. The starting rotation is in disarray, despite two gems last week from Buchholz and Lester, and the bullpen is overworked. The hitting is about as streaky as it comes and even the games the Sox have won haven't been easy. I don't believe they've won one yet by more than two runs. The new acquisitions, especially Beltre, have been underperforming. Beltre's average is great, but no power and loads of errors in the field--alarming for a former Gold Glover. Not to mention, he's put the dynamic Ellsbury out of commission indefinitely. The DH, even with the two dingers in last night's game, has a lower batting average than most NL pitchers. It's been a Murphy's Law season for the Red Sox so far. It sure goes to show why baseball games aren't played on paper!
Can this season be salvaged? Do the Sox have any hope of competing with the Yanks and the Rays? It's still only the beginning of May, but I just don't know. I'd like to have faith, but I'm not blind either. I know what's going on on the field and it ain't pretty! The Sox getting schooled by the Orioles of all teams, now that's embarrassing. Right now, there is no guy in the minors or no one available in a trade that can easily slide into this team and make an impact. The Padres are leading their division, so that effectively takes Adrian Gonzalez off the table. As for the unsigned free agents waiting for work...well, there's a reason they're still not signed. The highly-touted prospects in the minors are still a year or two away from being ready to play at the major-league level. No lights-out pitcher is waiting in the wings either. The team right now has to go with who they've got--the question is, will they be digging themselves out of the hole this month, or further into it?
LET'S GO RED SOX!!! PLEASE DON'T GET SWEPT!!!
Injuries have hurt the team, but that's only part of the picture. The starting rotation is in disarray, despite two gems last week from Buchholz and Lester, and the bullpen is overworked. The hitting is about as streaky as it comes and even the games the Sox have won haven't been easy. I don't believe they've won one yet by more than two runs. The new acquisitions, especially Beltre, have been underperforming. Beltre's average is great, but no power and loads of errors in the field--alarming for a former Gold Glover. Not to mention, he's put the dynamic Ellsbury out of commission indefinitely. The DH, even with the two dingers in last night's game, has a lower batting average than most NL pitchers. It's been a Murphy's Law season for the Red Sox so far. It sure goes to show why baseball games aren't played on paper!
Can this season be salvaged? Do the Sox have any hope of competing with the Yanks and the Rays? It's still only the beginning of May, but I just don't know. I'd like to have faith, but I'm not blind either. I know what's going on on the field and it ain't pretty! The Sox getting schooled by the Orioles of all teams, now that's embarrassing. Right now, there is no guy in the minors or no one available in a trade that can easily slide into this team and make an impact. The Padres are leading their division, so that effectively takes Adrian Gonzalez off the table. As for the unsigned free agents waiting for work...well, there's a reason they're still not signed. The highly-touted prospects in the minors are still a year or two away from being ready to play at the major-league level. No lights-out pitcher is waiting in the wings either. The team right now has to go with who they've got--the question is, will they be digging themselves out of the hole this month, or further into it?
LET'S GO RED SOX!!! PLEASE DON'T GET SWEPT!!!
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