Surprise, Surprise: Tazawa Signs With the Sox

Welp...looks like we got ourselves another pitcher. Actually, we've got ourselves another two pitchers, but anyone excited about Wes Littleton and his rapidly declining ERA+ and climbing WHIP might need to get themselves treated for baseball withdrawal. But no, the pitcher in question is, of course, the result of Boston's far eastern fishing expedition, the man who landed in Boston so he could (supposedly) pitch with idol Daisuke Matsuzaka: Junichi Tazawa.

Frankly, I don't know what to make of Tazawa: the Globe reports that in addition to a low-90s fastball, "[Tazawa] is said to have good command of both a breaking ball and changeup, the latter reportedly having the action of a split-fingered fastball," but then they go on to use Craig Hansen as a precedent for signing an amateur to a major league contract...and we all know how that experiment turned out (whether or not you want to blame Hansen's ultimate failure in a Sox uniform on his own inabilities to adapt to major league hitting or his overexposure in 2006 is a point for debate, but the end result is the same). Tazawa will start out in the minors and his contract is a paltry $1 million a year, so I guess if he doesn't pan out it won't be a big loss.

The real Hot Stove starts when, now?

And We're Back

Or I am, anyway. Robin's still hiding under a rock somewhere, slugging whiskey and singing sad songs about bases-loaded ground outs. I needed a break from baseball for a few days, but I'm otherwise whole in mind and body. Disappointed, yes and happy to root against the Rays, but more than cognizant of how much of a miracle it was to even fight back to Game 7 with three shaky starting pitchers and no starting third baseman.

Of course, I felt a little differently that night. I think the end of Game 7 was the only time all playoffs I had to turn off the sound on the TV, because I was getting so worked up about the slurping noises coming from the broadcast booth about David Price that I was moments away from throwing a chair through a window. And those windows have bars on them, so it would have been a doubly-wasted effort. Here's the thing about David Price, which Caray, Martinez, and Darling seem to have missed: he's Craig Hansen three years ago. So he's struck out Yankees at Yankee Stadium...and he's gotten a post-season win and a post-season save before accomplishing the same achievements in the regular season...so what? The Yankees weren't particularly good in September and more importantly, no one's seen this guy pitch more than a couple of innings. Sure, he could be the next pitching Jesus, but he could also flame out as quickly as Hansen and find himself pitching for a AAAA team in two seasons.

Besides, he's only got two pitches and his fastball has enough outside arc on it to double as a sail.

Anyway, after I turned off the noise from the box, I realized that even if the announcers seem to have contracted a huge case of the idiots, the Rays probably have more than enough sense not to overexpose their hot new prospect, and more importantly that they were winning/had won because the Sox couldn't string together enough hits to score two runs with the bases loaded. We were defeated by our own inability to keep the momentum running - and perhaps our manager's loyalty to one Jason Varitek.

What of Varitek? I've talked with a few people about this issue and I have two thoughts:

• The only reason I can think of why Francona did not choose to pinch hit for Varitek was his concern over long-term employee relations. The Captain had already made (albeit minimal) signs of his displeasure about exiting for a pinch hitter public, which suggests there was much more discussion going on behind the scenes. Since it's still not clear whether or not Varitek will be coming back to Boston next season, it would be best not to burn any bridges. It's not a particularly good theory, but I'm running with it because the alternative revolves around Francona pulling a Scoscia (yes, I went there) and forgetting how to manage in the playoffs.
• Speaking of Varitek coming back, what do we think? This year's free agent catcher class features a whole host of catchers a year or two over thirty, but some of them have club options and none of them are particularly outstanding hitters...and hitting seems like it would be the only balance we could have against losing Varitek and his sway over the pitching staff. I'm thinking no more than a two year deal with a permanent spot in the nine hole would be in order, while Boston does its best to acquire or train a solid backup in the minors.
  

Manny Questions are Answered in this Q and bAy (and other bad word plays)

To break this whole Manny trade and Bay pickup deal-e-o I’ve decided to go internal. I will interview… myself… in this in-depth Q and A. Please sit back and enjoy.

Q: Did this Manny deal REALLY need to get done?

A: Oh hell yes. These last few weeks were the final straw in Boston’s love affair with Man-Ram. He can hit the stuffing out of a baseball, but he can burn bridges just as effectively. Besides feuding with teammates (Youk), knocking down team officials and his imaginary injuries… Manny has SAID a ton of stupid things this year too. You can’t have those distractions on a winning team.

Q: Was it a great deal?

A: Oh hell no. You can’t get equal value for a Hall-of-Fame hitter. It doesn’t exist. Plus, throw in the fact that to get a team to take a needy disgruntled player you needed to give up 2 other major league ready players AND pay the rest of his salary… it looks like the Sox got 100% fleeced.

Q: Did they?

A: Not really. Getting rid of Hansen is adding by subtracting. His 5+ ERA and uncanny ability to make blowouts close games will not be missed. Brandon Moss is kind of a sore spot because he would work well in a few places and was a solid 5^th outfielder… but it’s still a backup. And as I stated before… you needed to get Manny out of town. So getting Jason Bay is some really good return on a desperate deal.

Q: What Soundgarden song where you thinking of when the trade was announced?

A: Limo Wreck.

“Building the towers, belongs to the sky
When the whole thing comes crashing down
Don't ask me why”

Q: What feelings were going through your mind when the Manny trade unfolded?

A: Well if the song in any indication, I was ready to write off the season and the team for the foreseeable future. I felt everyone was giving up for no reason. Why not join them?

Q: What was the most shocking moment for you in this whole ordeal?

A: Hearing about the secret meeting between Theo and Sox veterans where everyone agreed that Manny needed to go. Wow. This blew me away. ALL the vets invited wanted him gone? That’s almost unbelievable that nobody was coming to his aid. There must have been so many behind the scene things with Manny that nobody knew about or maybe the idiot savant routine gets old if you are around it all day.

Q: Who got too much blame in this ordeal?

A: I think Theo got a bit too much crap from the fans and media. What the hell was he supposed to do with a player who didn’t want to play? Manny put the Sox in an un-winnable situation that wasn’t going to go away like the last few debacles. This was the end of his contract and the Sox almost got stuck getting nothing for him. Good on Theo for pulling the trigger and getting at least a bat back.

Q: Who deserves more ire than they received?

A: Scott Boras got off with a slap on the wrist in my mind. He barely got a dirty look and he should have gotten at lease 4 or 5 evil stares. This guy takes over Manny at the beginning of the season and Manny being Manny becomes Manny being Madonna for a half season. You don’t think Boras wasn’t saying “Manny you are the best, but they don’t respect you. Are you gonna take that?” on a daily basis? Boras doesn’t get paid if Manny can’t land a fat contract with free agency… so why make him happy in one place? Screw that meddling bloodsucker.

Q: Funniest joke from the Manny trade?

A: Well there are a few:

Manny traded to Moon. Blocked deal when he found out that it wasn’t made of cheese.

Manny to Seattle. Blocked deal when he found out that Sonics season tickets are nonexistent.

Manny to Green Bay for Brett Favre. Yeah, but where are we gonna play him?

Manny to Mars. Blocks trade when he finds out women are from Venus.

Manny to Dodgers so he can play with Nomar and Derek Lowe. Oh wait… no joke… and they are managed by Joe Torre. See? Real life is way better.

Q: So after you talked yourself into the deal, what Soundgarden song popped into your head?

A: Fresh Tendrils:

“Long time coming
It seemed to take me through
Long time coming
Many served the few”

Q: So after his first game, what do you think of Jason Bay?

A: Wow… umm I hate these rush decisions. I mean come on! One game? What a small sample size. Sure he scored both Sox runs, but what does that mean?

Q: No really. Are you now a Bay fan?

A: Hmmm tough to say. I love him… but am I in love with him? I know it’s too soon and he is just a rebound star. But wow… that Canadian grin, sharp ringing triple and sexy OBP? Please Jason, lets get some Molson and just go crazy on each other. Just you me and a bag of bats… call me?

Clay Buchholz and Game Score

I spotted the following headline this morning: "Red Sox’ Buchholz had good stuff, but Lackey was better." 'Odd,' I thought, 'How do you figure?' Could a guy who gave up five runs really have "good" stuff? As it turns out, there's some room for argument. Consider the facts:

1. We're viewing Buchholz's start behind the blinding glare of Lackey's near no-hitter. Given the circumstances, only a pitching duel would make Clay look good.
2. Buchholz might be responsible for five earned runs, but only three of them scored when he was on the mound - the other two came home after Craig Hansen took over in the seventh.
   
3. Buchholz's line without those two additional earned runs (6.1 IP, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 90 pitches/57 strikes) qualifies him for a quality start, a statistical measurement of quality.
4. Buchholz left the game with runners on first and third and one out. It's possible a pitcher with better control than Hansen might have prevented the runner on first from scoring, but the runner on third seems likely to have scored no matter what.

Point number four is the difference: if those two runs don't score, Buchholz ends up with a decent-looking night. Should he be punished for the two base runners his relief allowed to score?

Fortunately, we can give that whole argument a miss by relying on a statistic instead: Game Score. Game Score figures out the value of a pitcher's start by starting with 50 points, adding points for positive actions (innings pitched, strikeouts) and subtracting points for negative actions (hits, walks, runs). Results above 50 are considered quality starts - "good" in terms of the article headline. Last night, Buchholz scored a 41. He did not have good stuff.

Game 83: When Statistics Are Wrong

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 10, Houston Astros 11

Statistics is the science of using past performance as a predictor of future results, where increasingly massive amounts of data and more and more complicated equations can tell you what's likely to happen most of the time. Collect the right information and you can establish patterns: see that Mike Lowell's hitting style will smack double after double in Fenway, find that Manny is at his most dangerous when he's facing an 3 and 0 count. These patterns tell you the story that will happen most of the time, or at least a plurality of the time. The rest of what goes on is the excitement of the game.

Ironically - after my ponderings on long relief yesterday - "the rest of what goes on" was what happened yesterday: like Matsuzaka two days ago, Lester lasted five innings (he didn't pitch as well, but that's a different matter), already breaking the average of six innings that Red Sox starters have created. However, his relief couldn't pull the same trick two days in a row, giving up another five runs over four innings; Hansen might have been able to hold the fort - a good sign, by the way, for his potential future as a closer - but his was a solo effort.

So much for statistics; did we really just lose a slug fest to the Houston Astros? Here's a team battling the Reds for the position of cellar dweller of the NL Central, rocking a slugging percentage some thirty points behind the league-leading Chicago Cubs (and about 45 points behind the Sox, who are second in the AL in bashing things), scoring runs in a tit for tat that could have been a Sox/Yanks game from a few years ago. Good job on Boston's part playing down to the other team's level.

Game 81: Grumpy Old Men

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 5, Arizona Diamondbacks 0

Now I’m no stat guy (that’s more of an Eric thing) but I think the combined ages of the two starting pitchers in this match up was somewhere in the range of 300 years. They have been called veterans, vintage and seasoned. But honestly Randy Johnson? HE’S OLD! Tim Wakefield? OLD! These guys are just freaking old.

Fortunately that doesn’t mean that they aren’t freaking good, too. Randy went 6 and gave up 2 earned. He looked pretty good, but the Sox had some chances they couldn’t capitalize on (read: Lugo forgot how to run bases). Wake was masterful. He had the knuckler moving and diving and made the snakes look silly. 7 innings, 2 hits 1 walk and 6K… NO RUNS! That’s a champ and a half. Sox completed the shut out with a good inning from Delcarmen, a bad partial inning from Hansen (2 walks and a single) and a big K from Papelbon (who got a save that I don’t really understand). That’s a pretty damn good outing if you scratch the Hansen meltdown. His roller coaster outings still scare the crap out of me.

As good as the pitching was, the Sox bats were pretty quiet for the majority of this game. Moss had the first two RBI’s (both made on outs) and the rest of the Boston crew seemed content on leaving men on base all night. That is, until Kevin Cash stepped up to the plate with two men on in the bottom of the 8th. KABOOM! Cash was money and blasted a shot over the monster. This homerun was not only huge on distance (in the parking lot!) but it was also huge for the man himself because it was the first he has hit since 2005! Way to go Mr. Backup catcher. Sox win the series and end the home stand on a high note. Even the geezers have to smile.

More Reasons to Love Papelbon

Watch this interview with Papelbon, where he answers reader questions sent in to Comcast Sports Net. Enjoy the Pirate names and the fact that Craig Hansen's pirate name is too filthy to be mentionable on a family show. Laugh and disuade yourself of any fear that a.) this team has lost the loose edge they had in 2004 and b.) our closer is getting any less crazy as time goes on. I expect him to start wearing costumes during interviews on a regular basis any day now.

Game 77: Too Soon?

No official commentary - or even speculation - about why Dice-K's command was so poor yesterday that reporters noticed it during his warmup tosses in the bullpen, so I'm feeling free to make up my own reason: Matsuzaka might have been physically fit enough to return from his rotator-strain-induced hiatus, but he wasn't psychologically ready for anything bigger than a simulated game with a member of the Red Sox coaching staff at the plate and John Ferrell calling out advice from the coach's box next to first base.

How else do you explain someone going from hero before his DL trip to zero his first day back, handing out walks like a Tammany Hall politician handing out free meals for votes, coverting baserunners to runs so quickly it revises ideas about relativity, digging one of the biggest holes Boston's had to try to escape from this season, all - and this is the really impressive part - in the course of one inning and some change. Bad day at the office doesn't start to cover the gap: he just wasn't ready to return, and I suspect he's only back because Colon is on the DL and there was no one else to pitch - an ironic situation when the Sox have so much quality starting pitching lying around. Why not bring back Buchholz? He seems to be doing pretty well in AAA...but that might be a solution anyway.

By the way: did I call Timlin on the DL or what? Of course, because Timlin is such a huge badass, he a.) won't admit his knees are the source of his recent pitching problem and b.) didn't want to take the time off anyway. If the schizophrenic duo of Delcarmen and Hansen can continue to hold the fort while he's gone, I think we shouldn't have too much to worry about.

Game 75: J.D. Drew Is a Power Unto Himself

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 7, Philadelphia Phillies 4

I have a solution to the global energy crisis. There is an untapped clean power source that is being developed in Boston right now that could help fuel the entire world.

Let’s all plug in to J.D. Drew… cause he’s as hot as the Sun.

I don’t know if he got Papi’s life energy “Highlander style” or what, but this guy is a beast that cannot be stopped. This afternoon he went 4-5 with 4 RBI and 2 runs. His biggest hit was a 3 run shot in the first to give the Sox a lead they would not relinquish.

Unfortunately, another guy with a hot bat got cooled off due to an injury. Coco Crisp got pulled for Brandon Moss after Coco hurt his hand swinging. He’s day to day.

Masterson pitched a good, but WILD 5 innings for his 4th win and held the Phillies to 4 singles and 2 runs. Masterson is another hot player and he better stay this way because Bartolo just hopped on the 15-day DL with a case of “I’m too fat to swing a bat”.

I guess the biggest negative I can pull from this day game was the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde appearance from the bullpen. Embattled reliever Craig Hanson faced 3 batters, saw 2 of them score and didn’t get any outs. Ugly. Meanwhile, embattled reliever Manny Delcarmen pitched 2 great innings and basically saved the game from getting out of hand. What I wouldn’t give for some consistency out of these guys. I guess you can’t have everything.

Oh and by the way... just in case you wonder if we watch any OTHER Boston sports, our buddy DC has a Celtics post raring to go. Gotta love those parades!

Game 66: Masterson Of the Universe

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 2, Seattle Mariners 1

Young Prince Justin lofts his mighty sword in the air as lighting strikes with metamorphosing power. His slight frame suddenly is host to muscles and poise beyond his years. He glares at the costal invaders and immediately drives them away with a flurry of fastballs and sliders. No longer a flash in the pan myth, the Masterson is the real deal and soon to be staple of the Red Sox rotation.

Well until Dice-K comes back…

All drama aside, I cannot get over how well this kid has been pitching. Masterson looks as good as any of our new batch of young guys and it gives me great hope for the future of this staff. 6 innings, 3 hits and 1 R was the line today for the newest phenom to grace this Sox staff. This was his 3rd win in 4 starts.

Along with the great starting pitching, the relief corps came out today as well. Hansen, Oki and Paps combined for 3 innings, no hits and one walk to shut down the Mariners in this close game. This is exactly what I want from these guys. No drama, just solid, quick innings. It’s hot enough outside, I don’t need rough outings to make me sweat even more.

Finally, I think I need to talk about J.D. Drew. With Ortiz on the DL for the foreseeable future, and rough stretches from Pedroia and Youk, the Red Sox NEEDED someone to step up and grab control of this offense. It seems that Drew has taken over this task. Now hitting in the 3 spot, Drew has been a beast. He hit the go-ahead solo homer today and has carried this team with a .519 BA, 4 HR, 10 RBI line so far in June. Yeah he’s that freaking good. Long gone are the boos and jeers from last years under performance. Drew has solidified himself as one of the premier hitters in the Sox lineup and has done so just in the nick of time.

Game 62: Home is Where the Heart is

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 5, Tampa Bay Rays 1

So what is it about being in Fenway that makes the Sox so good? The offense just clicks here in Boston and it doesn’t seem to be centered around one player. EVERYONE looks good at home… and yes, even the people I always complain about.

Crisp and Drew got some big hits tonight and I can say that without the shock and awe that usually comes with a statement like that. Crisp has had two good games in a row and is making a case to be an every day player. Sure I know he isn’t going to replace Jacoby (who also had 2 hits today), but maybe he can be an every day player on ANOTHER team. Until then, glad to have the super sub. Also, loved the hard slide and "talk" with the Rays skipper Maddon. Just classic hard nosed baseball.

Drew on the other hand has been hot for a week now. He suddenly is living up to the potential he is getting paid for. Will he keep this torrid pace up? I have no clue. This guy is hotter and colder than any player I have seen wearing the scarlet “B”. I would like to see him end with 20+ HR and around a .300 average… but I want to win the lottery too, it doesn’t mean it’s in the cards.

This was also a good game for the bullpen. After Beckett left in the 7th (just slipped on the mound, he’s fine) Oki, Delcarmen and Hansen pitched 3 really good innings to close it out. I am happy to see Oki come back to form (did my anger motivate him?) and it’s great to see MDC and Hansen put together some back to back quality relief appearances. If THIS is the bullpen we can expect (much better than the crap we’ve been seeing on the road) then the Sox are going to be tough to beat this year.

Oh, and by the way? First Place!!!

Game 57: Totally Necessary

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 5, Baltimore Orioles 2

You hate to see a team lose a game because of costly errors. Stupid, unsightly errors (three in one inning!) and sloppy base running (Kevin Millar! Embedded Red Sox! Incidentally winning the game for us once again!) by the other team just make you feel like you've been cheated out of a hard-won victory, that the baseball gods, in their fickle fashion, have granted you something you don't deserve out of spite or caprice.

Who am I kidding? The way the Sox have been hitting lately, I'll take a win any way I can get, three unearned runs or no, particularly when the regulation portion of tonight's game - and its bevy of missed opportunities - are factored in. Eleven men left on base: that's the total of tonight's blown chances to score runs against an increasingly wily Daniel Cabrera, who's either finally gained effective control over his fastball, or is extracting his vengeance on me for dropping him from my fantasy team like a hot potato back in April.

Fortunately, the entirety of the pitching corp, from Beckett to Papelbon, pitched the like the pros we've all been pretty sure that they are. Beckett - with the exception of a wild sixth - was the strikeout pitcher we know and love, complete with misplaced pitch that wound up over the fence and six innings of two run lock down. Okajima was his charming self for an extremely helpful two innings, while Craig Hansen pitched a phenomenal inning and two-thirds where he not only kept men from scoring, but even killed off an inherited runner. It was like I'd died and gone to bullpen heaven.

Both sides will hope for long outings by their starters tomorrow, but what I'm hoping for even more is that by capitalizing on tonight's opportunities - even if the Orioles eventually had to offer them with double-dipping exaggerated courtesy on a silver platter (three errors in one inning!) - Boston's bats will finally wake up and score runs. It might well be totally necessary.

Game 50: The Closest Blowout Ever

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 11, Kansas City Royals 8

You know what’s NOT supposed to happen? A save situation in a game were your team hits 2 GRAND SLAMS. When 2 gannys are hit… saves should go out the window. Looks like someone forgot to tell that to the Boston Red Sox. Not only did Papelbon get the save here, but he let the tying run step to the plate before he could close it out.

How did this happen? The Sox led by 8 in this game so isn’t that pretty much an assured victory? Well nothing is assured when the pitching sucks this bad.

Dice-K was one out away from going 6 innings, walked a small village of batters, but still managed to get his record to 8-0. The bullpen (besides Lopez) was God awful. Hansen proved he isn’t good from much of anything while Aardsma was just as bad. One of the worst relief performances ever by a winning team. Ick. Just don’t do it again. Ok?

As I said before, the bats were tremendous. Drew and Lowell both went deep with the bases jacked. Reminded me a lot of Bill Mueller when he got his two Grand Slams in a game in 2003. An amazing feat.

All in all, the Sox squeaked by and somehow they were able sweep the Royals and the home stand. Not too shabby. Now the Sox take their MLB leading record and zoom over to Oakland where the games start at an ungodly hour. Thanks timezone shift... now I'm gonna get less sleep than normal.

Game 37: Josh and Kevin are TIGER HUNTERS!

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 5, Detroit Tigers 1

Call Beckett and Youk the big game hunters. Never letting the sharp toothed beast out of their sight, these two warriors looked into the eyes of a ferocious animal… and the big cat blinked.

After the mauling the Sox took in the last frame yesterday (with Lugo providing the bait), the Sox bounced back with a game and series victory. Beckett earned his 4th victory with a powerful 7 inning 8K performance. Other than the 2 out hit parade (it was weird, like his focus left him after he got two outs in an inning) he dominated the Tigers offence. I hate the fact that our shortstop sucks (and boy does he suck) but starts like these from Beckett remind me that I would still do the Hanley Ramirez trade any day. At least I keep telling myself that.

As for the bats, they were lead by the hottest hitting hand in the land. Kevin Youkilis has been on FIRE as of late and provided another 2 run bomb in this match up. He is now up to 7 dingers (tied for 2nd in the AL) and 27 RBI (4th in the AL). Oh and he’s 2nd in the AL in OPS and Slugging and he and Manny are tied for 1st in extra base hits. So just in case you’re wondering… yeah he’s hitting pretty well.

Now add in the 2 RBI for Tek and the solid relief from Hansen and MDC (finally some luck there) and this striped monster is put down. The Red Sox win the season series against the Tigers 5-2. So after the awful start Detroit has had, it makes you think: maybe this team that was amazing (on paper) isn’t that scary after all. Maybe they are just big pussy cats.

Game 23: Sick Sick Sick

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 4, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 6

Call it a super bug. This freaking flu has downed Tek, Beckett, MDC and now Dice-K. Lowell is down with his wrist injury, Coco’s hammy still sucks, Cora has his bum shoulder and now Youk is out stiff neck. So starting for the Sox this week could very well be you, me and Dom Deluise. But on the bright side, they called Craig Hansen back up! Oh wait… that’s not much of a bright side.

So instead of 4 game winner Dice-K, we get the embattled Jon Lester and his 10,000 pitches… oh and he only has 3 days rest. You can imagine how this one turned out.

Actually it was a lot closer than I thought it was going to be. Lester pitched 5 innings and gave up 4 earned, but walked far fewer than his usual allotment (he did give up 9 hits). As for the bullpen, well…

Hansen + Lopez + Timlin = just enough to lose.

That crew gave up 2 runs, one from Hansen right after a Papi homer tied the game at four and one by Timlin late to ice the game. As much as I love the late inning comebacks, the Red Sox bats cannot carry them with out SOME bullpen help. Especially now that the whole roster is so banged up. Sox need to heal up… and quick.

Spring, Spring, and Other Things

I'm going to break a blogging rule and talk about three different things in one post. I'm such a rebel.

Item the first: Spring Training starts tomorrow! Officially! Now we can start obsessing over the important things, like whether or not Schilling's career is over or he's just the victim of the rumor mill (oh, the irony), if Josh Beckett became a fat sack of crap over the winter or if photographer Matt Stone is a just a vindictive SOB, how Craig Hansen's sleep patterns just matched J.D. Drew's sick kid as the "don't we feel like dicks for giving up on you" illness of the year, and whether or not they believe in business in the front, party in the back in Japan, too. That's not even taking into account the Coco/Ellsbury competition, Lester and Buchholz fighting for roster spots, Pedroia avoiding a sophomore slump, showing off the next class of Red Sox rookies, and seeing whether or not standing pat on a championship team will lead to massive ass bitings later on. I'm getting worked up just thinking about it.

Item the Second: We'll be running season previews in the coming weeks, detailing our predictions for all six major league divisions. Joining us in a reprise of our ego and superego feature will be guest columnists DC and Yankee Mike, along with Mets superfan Dave. We promise to be coherent and entertaining, which is almost too much to ask.

Item the Third: I don't like Roger Clemens. Robin doesn't like Roger Clemens. But that doesn't mean either one of us want the government running show trials in the name of finding facts about baseball. Look, guys: we understand you all love baseball as much as we do, and that as fans you want to know as much as anyone else how deeply the poison of HGH and steroids runs in the veins of the game. But the harsh light of Senate scrutiny isn't particularly illuminating when murky he said, he said statements are the name of the game and it's clear that the truth will remain buried somewhere in the darkness. Maybe Clemens is guilty, maybe he isn't, but it's a dead issue: he's out of baseball, the culture of steroids has begun to evaporate, and we've all accomplished the greater good by vilifying performance enhancements. Running an inquisition is just boring overkill.

Game 90: Seventh, Eighth and Ninth

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 9, Toronto Blue Jays 4

This year's team does seem to have a wonderful effectiveness against their AL East opponents, don't they? In stark contrast to the 2006 campaign, when it felt at the end like they couldn't beat anyone on the East Coast, Boston now stands with a combined 21 and 10 record versus the AL East. As of today, if you arrange the winning percentage of Boston against the four AL East teams in order from top to bottom, it matches the league standings. Thus our team's dominance.

Back in May I gushed happily about Okajima and Papelbon and their ability to lop two innings off the end of a game with their filthy, filthy dominance. More recently, I've found a new thing to love about the Red Scare: Manny Delcarmen. MDC entered this year a question mark, a subpar 2006 behind him, consigned to Triple A until he found the stuff that brought him to the majors for the first time in 2005. I recall reading about a turning point game where he and Craig Hansen gave up a pile of runs; MDC resolved afterwards to fix the problems and move back up. Fortunately for us, he did so with aplomb.

As of today, the Red Sox starting rotation has pitched 551.2 innings over ninety games, which works out to a bit more than 6 innings per start. In a close game - say Red Sox on the over by three runs - the likely scenario has shifted twice over this season in wonderfully unexpected ways. At the start of the year, we'd expect the starter for six, some combination of the Red Scare for the seventh and eighth and then Paps in the ninth. Then Okajima became a dominant force and the first shift occurred: now the Red Scare only needed to cover the seventh inning in tight games.

Today, I'm ready to declare the second shift as past and the seventh inning covered, MDC style. It's been 8.2 innings, seven appearances and almost a month since he's surrendered a run. In that time, opponents have managed a paltry four hits and two walks, while striking out 12 times. Close game, Red Sox on top? Opponents now have six innings to score some runs...if they're lucky.

A happy team is a healthy team

Everyone knows about injuries in Baseball. Every team gets them, they are a part of the game, conditioning prevents them, and depth makes up for them. Right. Sure. I know, I know, I know. That’s all well and good, but injuries DERAILED the Red Sox last year. We had everything from bad knees and shoulders to irregular heartbeats and cancer. Half of our starting pitching went down and two thirds of our outfield missed a big chunk of time. Not to mention any catcher that wore a Red Sox uniform ended up hurt. It’s easy to drop from first to third in the standings when your team is pieced together with AA guys and waiver wire pickups.

Now I know it’s only Spring Training, but I want to keep track of who is getting hurt from the very beginning. This will help me continue season long tirades against individuals that spend more time with their limbs in ice rather than in gloves and cleats. Not too many guys are members of the walking wounded club yet, but there are three bodies that have seen better days.

Mike Timlin- left oblique: Old guys are always gonna have problems. As the season wears down, they do as well. So it is a REALLY bad sign to see Timlin start hurting before he’s even faced an opposing batter. He’s already started working out again, but his planned appearance against the Twins in the opener Wednesday has been pushed back a few days. Remember when everyone was blaming Timlin’s troubles last year on the WBC? Well maybe we should have been blaming father time.

Craig Hansen- back: Young pitchers who get stiff backs get me a little annoyed until I remember that the act of pitching is an unnatural movement. The human body wasn’t meant to throw a ball that fast and you do damage to yourself every time you do it. That being said, this kid was supposed to be the closer of the future. What happened to that? Now it’s being said Hansen will be lucky to make the bigs when the season starts. Another satisfied Scott Boras client.

Matt Clement- shoulder/brain: If Clement was a horse, he’d be Barbaro. If he was a ship, he’d be the Titanic. If he was a Yankee, he’d be Carl Pavano. He (and many of his deluded fans surprisingly) are holding out hopes that he will be able to pitch sometime this year. That’s ridiculous. Even if he gets a clean bill of health, he’s weak-sauce mentally. This guy hasn’t been right since he took a liner to the head back in ’05 (and he was starting to come apart before that). This guy has done nothing but not live up to expectations, so much so that I bet he WILL pitch this year just because I expect him not to (he’ll still suck though).

Anyway, the injuries are not much to speak of just yet and I hope it stays that way.

To bring up a happier topic, despite my thinking the first game was Thursday (don’t know why I thought that) it is actually tonight against the cross town spring rivals from Minnesota.

There will be REAL Red Sox baseball being played tonight. I can’t explain how happy that makes me.

The Helton You Say!

This happens almost every year. A trade rumor comes around that is SO juicy yet SO foul tasting… I want to distance myself from it completely. Maybe it’s because the guy we might be getting is overrated or maybe the other team is asking too much, but no matter how good it looks… something is fishy and I want no part of it. Before it was guys like A-Rod and Tejada. Looked good on paper and the deals were almost done, but nobody was really happy, too much was about to be given up and they never got the trigger pulled.

This year it looks like Todd Helton is the target. And just like before, talks are serious, high level and continuing. The current mumblings are that Mike Lowell and Julian Tavarez are going to Colorado for the hard hitting Helton. I guess that will put Youk back at 3rd base. That’s really something… woo… Todd Helton. Wow.

So yeah… it will never happen.

Now, I am not 100% sure it won’t happen, but I would put my certainty in the high 90% range. First off, this guy is owed A LOT of money and the Sox are going to want the Rockies to foot some of that bill. Big sticking point. Second, the Rockies also have mentioned interest in getting Manny Delcarman or Craig Hansen to sweeten the deal. Our psycho pitcher, defensive double hitting machine and our young reliever core? That’s asking quite a bit. Lastly, it’s freaking Todd Helton?!?! This guy is a big shot! The Red Sox only get big shots when:

a) Nobody had a clue it was going to happen.
b) He’s washed up and we get played for suckers.

So since I am talking about this right now… it isn’t option “a”.

So wow… it would be great if we got Todd Helton. A normal priced, 100% healthy, not old as the hills Todd Helton. But I don’t see that happening.