Game 49: Through Thick and Thicker

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 6, Kansas City Royals 3

This is a tough one. The Sox 6th win in a row, another good showing by the offense, and the return of Bartolo Colon. Let’s see how long I can go without making a fat joke.

Colon is best known for being the 2005 CY Young winner and then falling off the map. His arm injuries and wild streaks basically cost him his job during a contract year. Bad timing for any job… horrible if you’re a major league pitcher. In a league fraught with thin rotations, nobody wanted to take a flyer on Colon. He didn’t end up in Pawtucket because he wanted to eat fried seafood on Cape Cod, he wound up in AAA because he had nowhere else that would take him.

Watching him step on to the mound after his battle back from injuries and unemployment is inspiring. Ok, so it’s not “Cancer survivor pitches no-hitter” kind of inspiring, but you really only get one of those a week. To his credit, Bartolo stepped it up on Wednesday and brought some poise and heat from his award winning season. He hovered around 93-94 mph over 5 innings and only allowed 2 runs. Not too shabby for a 5th starter.

As I mentioned before, the offense was jumping again with multiple hits from Jacoby (including a solo hr), Pedroia and Tek (who looks like he’s still got some of the old pop too).

But the night belonged to Bartolo. I think he is a very good option as a split roll 5th starter. Once Buchholz gets off the DL, Colon and he will most likely be in oscillating jobs to save the Buch’s thin, young arm and Colon’s old and chunky one.

What a glut of pitching the Sox have right now. 6 Major league starters and Masterson waiting in the wings. Makes you wonder what they are going to do when Schilling wants to come back after the All-Star break.

Too many good pitchers? Now that’s a problem you hope to have. Just don‘t go rushing off to the trading tables… or you might end up with Wily Mo Pena.

Game 121: Let’s Play 2!

I will be live blogging BOTH games today! That’s right… I will distract you at work AND at home on this fantastic double-header Friday. I will be updating inning by inning (maybe?) and I wait with bated breath for the debut of Clay Buchholz. Wait… he has a double “H” in his last name? Clay desperately needs a nickname… I vote “Butch” but I am willing to hear some other alternates. I’ll be back with more before game time.

…….

Good morning everyone (or afternoon? I gotta stop drinking). Well, whatever time of day it is, I am more than ready for the all-day 2 game Sox explosion. However, before they can play ANYTHING the Sox need to change the roster a bit and it looks like Wily Mo is the odd man out. He has been given his walking papers to make room for Buchholz who will in turn be sent back down to AAA before the second game so Jacoby Ellsbury can start in the outfield. Now this means that new pickup Bobby Kielty might be out of luck for the time being, but he looked unready anyway. Interstingly the big problem with this move is WHAT is happening to Wily Mo. Is he DFA’ed? Has he been traded? It hasn’t been announced yet, but he is NOT in the park and his locker is empty.

ADIOS Wily Mo… I hope you get the at-bats you need, want and have been asking for. I just hope curveballs don’t make you go insane. Godspeed.

So let’s get this party started. I’ll be back with a little hair of the dog, first inning insights and thoughts on the man with the pending nickname: Clay Buchholz.

See you in 30.

First Inning:

Mmmmm. That first beer is always the smoothest. Anyway, Clay looks like he’s 12 years old. It’s Jimmy Fund Day at the ballpark and I thought Clay was gonna be one of the little kids that reads off the lineups and calls everyone “Mr.”

Clay is having trouble finding the strike zone and his first 4 pitches were balls to Figgins. Great… not like this guy can run or anything. After a popup from O-Cabs, J.D. Drew just gave me another reason to hate his guts. Vlad hit a LAZY fly ball and Drew just dropped it. No excuses, he just freaking dropped it. If Clay could shoot lasers out of his eyes, I know who he’d be looking at. Figgin scores on Andersons groundball out. He strikes out Gary “I have a contract cause I had one good catch” Mathews Jr. to end the threat. Angles got a run… but they didn’t get a hit? Gimme a break.

As for the Sox turn at the plate, Don and Jerry were JUST saying how good Lackey is when Pedroia lines one into the corner. It was going to be a double anyway but some moron touched it. DON’T TOUCH BALLS IN PLAY JERKS!! Youk struck out (weakly) but it didn’t really matter… cause Papi had the tomahawk chop and BLASTED a homer off Lackey. Then Manny singled deep, then Drew redeemed himself with a mighty triple (?!?!?!?!) and then Lowell singled him home. After Coco popped out, Belli ALMOST was a stud who hit a bomb, but settled with a DEEP RBI double. Cora doubled him home… but he comes up lame! Oh man… I hope we got enough runs cause Belli looks really hurt. If your keeping score at home, the Sox have batted around and hit for the cycle in the first inning… fun fun fun.

Almost lost in all this fun was the destiny of Wily Mo Pena. Sox just announced he is going to the Nationals for a player to be named later. I hope that player isn’t Wily Mo Pena.

Sox 6, Angels 1

Second Inning:

ANNNNND Belli is done. Tek (who might be catching BOTH games?) is now behind the plate. This could get ugly later. More bad news… the no hitter is now over as Kotchman lines a single into center. Another walk and Clay looks like he is having some location troubles. Tek and Lowell hold a mound meeting to tell him that he better throw strikes or he is getting the WORST pink belly ever. It works. He gets a big double play to end the inning.

After Ortiz gets a single through the shift, Manny steps in and has some choice words for himself or Lackey or SOMEBODY after a powerful foul ball. Lackey gets mad and puts one on his jersey. Smart move for a guy who is letting everyone hit EVERYTHING… why not put another guy on base? Drew quickly gets a single up the middle and loads the bases.

Oh man… they just showed the pizza throwing thing again on NESN. I’m laughing so hard I’m ALMOST ok that the Sox just squandered the bases loaded situation. Almost.

Sox 6, Angels 1

Third Inning:

Official word is that Belli has a strained right calf and may not be available for the second game tonight. Who knows what this really means. They might have to amputate his leg for all we know. The problem now is what do we do for a backup? Is Cora gonna catch?? Yikes.

Anyway, Clay is STILL having control issues. He’s not missing by much, but he IS missing. Seems like a nibbler type of pitcher. I hate that. One thing he does have going for him is that his location creates some awesome opportunities for double plays… and he gets another one here. Another thing he has is a nasty changeup that makes hitters looks silly when they expect a low 90’s fastball. The kid looks a little rough… but has a very high upside. Another walk to Figgins and a single to Vlad don’t amount to anything as Clay wiggles his way out of trouble.

Now, who’s this guy pitching for the Angels? He looks like Lackey and is wearing his uniform, but he actually looks like a good pitcher! Shocking! The Sox go down in order. I hope we aren’t letting these guys off the hook.

Sox 6, Angels 1

Fourth Inning:

Wow… Gary Mathews has NO answer for Clay’s changeup. It’s just a nasty pitch that fooled the overrated outfielder for the second time today. A double from Kotchman spoils the perfect inning, but Clay is unfazed. If his wildness today is just nerves then this guy is gonna be really good. His fastball, curve, slider and changeup all look like major league stuff.

Reports of Youk’s demise were false indeed as he gets in on the hit parade and singles into center to start off the top of the fourth. Then something I never seen occurred. After Papi and Manny pop up, Drew hits a soft single to Vlad in right. Vlad quickly throws into third to try to get Youk… and he gets him alright… gets him right in the shoulder. The ball bounces into the dugout and Youk is given home plate and Drew stands on third. Really weird way to get a run. Whatever, I’ll take it.

Sox 7, Angels 1

Fifth Inning:

Clay seems to be coming apart a bit. Single, single, single, single and the Angels get 2 more runs on the board before I get a chance to open another beer. He struck out Willits to start the inning, but has looked like a T-ball pitcher since then. Thankfully Gary Mathews Jr. is his bitch and lines into a prefect double play to end the inning.

Awww… Lackey is cut loose and Chris Bootcheck gets the mound and mop-up duty. Coco greets the new pitcher with a single into left and now every Sox starter has a hit in this game. Little stats like that are why I get up in the morning. Coco moves to second on a questionable balk from Bootcheck, but the Sox can’t manage to get him home. I hope the bats wake back up because I have the feeling we are going to need some more runs in this one.

Sox 7, Angels 3

Sixth Inning:

Clay (82 pitches) is still in but Oki is now warming. Kotchman (kinda owns this kid) doubles and Aybar bunts him over to third (nice slide to first from Youk to beat Aybar). Sac fly plates Kotchman and I’m stating to get pissed. The Angels freaking small ball makes me sick to my ass. Just hit the ball like a normal team and pick a city to call your own while you’re at it. Can you imagine the Harford Red Sox of Boston? Yeah… it sounds stupid. Willits strikes out and that should be the end for Buchholz. His line is a solid 6 innings, 8 hits, 4 runs, 3 earned, 3 BB and 5 K. Good job kid.

Eliza Dushku in the booth with Don and Jerry. Sooooooo hot. She’s talking about cancer and the Jimmy Fund (good cause… call the telethon line at 1-877-738-1234), but wow… really hot. Watching Don and Jerry flirt (LOL) is just distracting enough to almost miss Youk and Ortiz go down quickly. Manny singles, but is left on when Drew lines out. Mmmm Eliza Dushku…. but she's dating Brad Penny? Ewwww.

Sox 7, Angels 4

Seventh Inning:

Oki is in and Oki is freaking amazing. 2 K’s (made O-Cabs look BAD with an Oki-dokie) and the first 1,2,3 inning of the day for the Sox. We need to see this guy in the 8th. I am calling it right now… he MUST pitch the 8th inning. He only threw 10 pitches! Don’t screw this up Francona.

Bootcheck is back for a 3rd inning. The more I look at this guy, the more I realize his name is stupid. I guess his family comes from a long line of cobblers. Well shoemakers or not… he shuts the Sox down in order. Somebody tell Don and Jerry. They were too busy laughing about losing Bill Simmons registration for Sox Nation President to watch the game. I haven’t really commented on the whole President of Sox Nation thing… because I don’t care! It’s a marketing thing and a silly one at that. Great… now I sound like a stick in the mud. Damn you Sox Nation.

Sox 7, Angels 4

Eighth Inning:

YES! Oki is back! And he gives up a lead off single? Whoops… my bad. After a pop out, Kotchman gets his 4th hit today and now the tying run is at the plate. Oki gets Aybar swinging and then Francona goes to Papelbon for the 4 out save. Well, he got the first one with no problem. It only took 2 pitches to get pinch hitter Izturis to pop out and to get me to spill a beer with a yelp of joy.

Angels switch things up with pitcher Greg Jones. Good thing too cause we couldn’t touch Jackboot or whatever his name was. Pedroia is particularly thankful cause he takes Jones deep with a big ‘ol swing over the Monster. Then he couldn’t find the plate. Walked Youk and hit Manny (not intentional), but reclaimed his composure and K’ed Drew. They got the one run, but I think Francona is still gonna stay with Paps to close it out.

Sox 8, Angels 4

Ninth Inning:

Jerry Remy just called out Bill Clinton and Kevin Garnet for not getting anyone in Arkansas or Minnesota to call in and donate to the Jimmy Fund. That was a little surreal. Anyway, Papelbon hasn’t been donating money… he IS money. He K’ed Willits then punched out Figgins on a nasty pitch on the outside corner. O-Cab singled to Manny, but Vlad pops out to the triangle to end it.

So a good win for the Sox and the first for Clay Buchholz. Still working on a nickname for this guy. So far “Butch”, “Buck”, “Clay” and “Double H” are on the board, but I am willing to hear others.

Next game starts at 7, so I am gonna take a little break. This got kinda long so I’ll split the second game into another post. Great job taking the first one guys… I want to see Beckett go 8 strong in the second match-up so our bullpen isn’t too taxed. Hopefully we will have more info on the catcher situation soon. I would really hate to see Tek catch both games… but what are the other options? See you at 7.

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 8, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 4

Game 115: The Umpire Giveth With One Hand and Taketh Away With the Other

Boston Red Sox 5, Baltimore Orioles 6

...and then Eric Gagne gives it back like a five dollar hooker during Fleet Week. I was a little wary of Gagne already because (unlike Robin) I did not watch the end of the Wednesday's game, which means I have yet to see a post-trade Gagne appearance where he did not give up a run. After tonight, though, I think we can call the honeymoon over; the Second Coming our newest pitching arm is not.

For a second, here's the rational part of me thinking: this loss was a betrayal of trust. That's a bit bothersome in its own way, because there's absolutely no rational reason for a fan to put trust in his team, but you follow a sport closely enough and you expect certain outcomes. Sure, Gagne had a particularly bad night, but he happened to have it on a really bad night for failure; the time we when fans needed that trust reinforced as much as possible. In addition, because Gagne's new and unproven with this club, he gets the brunt of a blame he should probably share with Okajima.

Ok, rationalization over. I can't believe we lost. I was ready to declare this game over and done by the seventh. Bedard was dealing; he had one sketchy inning that he escaped from thanks to home plate umpire CB "My Strike Zone is Shaped Like an Amoeba" Bucknor and a poorly-placed ground ball. Dice-K pitched great, but the team had the one run lead hanging over them the entire time. I had been reduced to praying for members of the laughably bad Baltimore bullpen to make an appearance when something happened in the eighth. Part of it was CB Bucknor, who sent a call or two the other way, giving Wily Mo enough chances to start a two-out, five run rally with an RBI single. Part of it was magic, but the sort of magic that kills your family when you wish for a million dollars. It was magic with an ugly side.

So, after hours of frustration, the Sox had their moment in the sun (or the park lights) for half an inning until first Gagne and then Okajima (who will escape tonight relatively scar free thanks to an established trust with RSN) did their clever lead disappearing acts, snatching away all of the glory and stuffing it down a black hole, leaving naught but gloom and irritation in its wake. Trust is a pain in the ass.

Game 107: Baby Come Back!

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 5, Baltimore Orioles 4

Oh that feels so good. Throw some Player on the hi-fi and listen to a golden oldie… cause any kind of fool could see, there was something in everything about you (man, I don’t think anybody is gonna get that).

70’s music aside, this was a fantastic win in a fashion I thought was no longer viable. With Tavarez making his spot start an exercise in stranding runners and Trachsel dealing (yeah Steve freaking Trachsel), I thought it was going to be another depressing night for the Red Sox. Honestly, I can’t even remember the last time they had a comeback like this. Was it all the way back to Mother’s Day? That’s awful.

Anyway, the Sox were trailing by 2 in the 7th when Baltimore picked some random guys off the street and decided to call them a bullpen. Seriously, Paul Shuey RETIRED 4 years ago (not a joke) and “Hanging” Chad Bradford was bad when he was on our team. However, even with the lower degree of difficulty the Sox have had trouble getting late runs. Not tonight thankfully. Papi, Youk (biggest hit of his season?) and Tek all came up huge when it mattered. The other big contributor Dustin Pedroia (still quietly having a ROY season) was 3 for 4 and had the other RBI of the night. Timely hitting from the Sox makes me smile like a curveball pitcher throwing to Wily Mo.

Great comeback aside, I think the biggest excitement came from the guy throwing out the first pitch. New Celtic Kevin Garnett threw a floater in to Ortiz and then came up for one of those big Papi bear hugs (he should raffle those off) and then I think he ended up pitching for the Orioles later in this game. Seeing KG there with Papi made me realize something… Minnesota must freaking HATE everyone in Boston right now. The Sox turned a Twins castoff into Big Papi the superstar, the Pats grabbed their former Vikings star wider receiver Randy Moss and now KG is a Celtic and the talk of the town. Kinda funny when you think about it… except if you’re from Minnesota. No hard feelings, ok guys?

Deadline Dealing

Somebody help me out cause I’m a bit confused. Why are the Red Sox making so many moves right now? Are we in second place and nobody told me?

Maybe I’m wrong, but it seems that the Sox are making deals just for the sake of making deals… and that NEVER works out well.

Joel Pineiro to St. Louis for cash and prospects to be named

This makes sense. We weren’t going to call him back up and it was shocking to me he didn’t jump ship after we DFA’ed him. The Cardinals need another live arm in their rotation so this could work out for them. I just hope we got some young guy with some sort of upside.

Willy Mo Pena and Manny Delcarmen or Justin Masterson for Jermaine Dye

I don’t think this will happen now. The Red Sox really don’t want to risk pairing anyone with any projected value along with Wily Mo for Dye just incase Dye becomes a total bust (and he is looking pretty BUSTY). I know the Sox need a new 4th outfielder, but giving up too much doesn’t make sense at this point. If this happens (which looks unlikely) I hope Dye can show some shades of 2006.

Kason Gabbard and David Murphy for Eric Gagne

It’s sad that I’m praying for Gagne to block this deal with his no trade clause. This is basically a done deal except for that little fact. I guess it’s good to have a stacked bullpen… I didn’t think that was our weak point! Are they just adding strength to strength? Gagne is pretty good, but is it worth a guy like Gabbard and the potential of Murphy. This is something I see biting us in the ass down the line…

I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Game 97: I Think That Chicago Deep Dish Pizza Gave This Team the Runs

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 11, Chicago White Sox 2

So in a game where the Red Sox score 11 runs… how is it that Manny (2 walks) and Ortiz (didn’t play but the MRI was clear on his knee) had NO HITS? Well thanks to the amazing offense from Coco, Lugo, Drew and Hinske the Sox were still able to score more runs then I ever could have hoped (even with the umps blowing the Lowell out a home call). I can’t verbalize how much I love seeing the dregs produce when the heavy hitters struggle. It’s like losing your wallet on the subway, but then finding three grand in the street.

Speaking of finding gold… is it too late to jump on the Kason Gabbard bandwagon? The only run the Pale Sox scored on him should have been unearned (awful fielding from Wily Mo, somebody him out of MY misery) and he allowed only 3 hits in 7 innings. Combine this with Schilling looking good in AAA and Tavarez running out of crazy magic, I think this means Julian gets sent to the pen while Gabbo is here to stay. Oh and I hope Tavarez doesn’t know where I live because he’d kill me in my sleep for saying that.

Finally, I am not 100% sure these last two games are complete signs that the Red Sox have found a way to turn the “we can’t score runs” thing around. Not to take anything away from the great performance of the lineup OR from the masterful work from Gabbo… but the White Sox suck. I mean they REALLY look awful and lost out there. Who the hell walks in 3 runs?? That’s madness. I’ll need at least a week more at this level and some other teams to test the waters with before I can start screaming about how we’ve turned a corner. But who knows? I hope this is the norm and not some fluke like Wily Mo’s grand slam earlier this year (I heard he’s on roids now! Somebody help me spread that rumor).

Game 68: The Big Hitting Glow

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 9, San Francisco Giants 5

Did the Sox achieve a bloody, messy victory for Father's Day 2007? Most definitely - a victory well-worth Tim Wakefield's rising ERA and even (though I hate to say it) the home run he surrendered to Barry "*" Bonds. A golden slice of heaven, a sweep (!) that soothes the mind of a Red Sox fan so much more because for three reasons: first, it upped the gap over the dangerous Yankees up to 8.5 games; second, after two weeks of weak play and two lost series, a series sweep fits in well to that old joke about the similarities between sex and oxygen: sweeps are only important when you're not getting them.

The third reason is by far the most important: the Red Sox are really, legitimately hitting again, or at least I'm going to say so because the extended dry spell had me so freaked out that even two (non-consecutive) heavy-offense days will need to stand in as the steel and flint to spark a return to hitting normality. In other words, I'm willing to pin my hopes on this weekend's efforts, because the Sox have the mother of all evil road trips coming up and need to keep hitting.

So, let's revel in the glory of yesterday's hitting: the only starters not to get hits were Lugo (ugh) and Wily Mo, but Wily Mo left after three at-bats for Crisp, who got a single in the eighth. J.D. Drew as lead-off continues to pay unexpected dividends, as Drew converted a hit and two walks into two runs thanks to a strong showing by the heart of the lineup: no less than 2 for 4 for Papi, Manny and Youk, topped by another Man-Ram bomb. Even better, the Sox took the lead early with two runs in the first, then took the game away with a gorgeous five-run explosion in the third. I don't know about you, but I'm still basking in the happy glow.

Game 58: June Swoon

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 2, Oakland Athletics 3

Believe it or not, there were two moments of last night's game I actually enjoyed: first, seeing the Sox score their first runs in seventeen innings, by doing what they do best: putting the ball in play with enough room to spare. Manny doubling to lead off, Youkilis knocking him in with a triple, then coming home when Wily Mo hit a grounder to the left side of the infield. Sweet, sweet relief, like a baseball equivalent of rain in the desert footage played at high speed on a nature show, where the plant grows, uncurls and blooms in the span of about a minute. Of course, this bloom got to about half explosion before it fell over and the plant died, but it was something.

Second, Terry Francona completely losing it on a strike two call to Pedroia in the eighth. Or, more accurately, Francona loudly telling homeplate umpire Dan Iassogna - from the dugout - that he disagreed with the high strike call, getting tossed for his trouble then storming out of the dugout, exchanging some words with Iassogna then getting so angry he took out his gum/chem mix and threw it on the ground so he could give Iassogna the reaming of his life. The complaint wasn't entirely justified - nor was the ejection - but Iassogna had it coming: he'd been consistently inconsistent about the size and shape of his strike zone all night and had a made a terrible check swing call against Ortiz in the sixth. But more importantly (and this is what really made me feel good), Francona expressed what everyone on the bench and every Red Sox fan watching the game felt: this team has suddenly hit the brakes going 100 mph down the long train track to the post-season and it isn't fun to watch.

This morning I realized that the descriptor we're looking for is June Swoon. With six losses in the past seven games after a lights-out April and May, with an offense that's left its bats back in Boston, with four runs scored in three games, with seven double plays in the past two days (a number so incredible
it defies the imagination, like trying to imagine infinity), with the four game sweep looming...yeah, June is the word and swoon is the verb. Will the Sox pull out of the tailspin today? I hope so, but with the limited experience the Sox have against Joe Blanton - today's hopeful victim - I think we need to expect Manny to lead the charge.

Game 41: This Temple is Dedicated to Dice-K, We Just Worship in It

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 13, Atlanta Braves 3

When Chipper Jones complained about the imbalance of Interleague schedules earlier this week, I think today's game might have been what he had in mind. With Dice-K pitching a gem that, like a flawed ruby, was marked only by a single mistake (a pitch rocked by an always-aggressive Jeff Francoeur), the Braves had no chance to win and, with a string of pitchers whose flaws stood in direct contrast to the Zen Master, they helped themselves to a loss that may reverberate into tonight's part two.

Here is the measure of Matsuzaka's recent magic: in seventeen innings over two starts, he's allowed four men to cross the plate and won both games. He's been aggressively pounding the strike zone, surrendering fifteen hits and striking out eleven, but giving up nary a single walk on 227 pitches. His only harmful mistakes in both games have been two home runs, another symptom of how much he's trying to crush the zone right now. To say he gave Boston what was needed today in Game 1 is understatement - he just put the fear of God into most of the Braves lineup so they'll be mystified when they face Hansack tonight.

Then there's the offense; marvelous, magic, full of life and power and - holy crap - home runs from unexpected places. Julio Lugo homers to start the Sox half of the first, setting the tone. Kevin Youkilis hits his second home run in four games, adding to an RBI streak that started back on May 12 and a hitting streak that started on May 10 and pushing the game to 3 - 0 in the second. Mike Lowell redeemed a missed bases-loaded chance in the first with a grand salami in the fifth and Wily Mo...well, Wily Mo did what he does best. Into the parking lot, baby.

To say this team is firing on all cylinders this year is an understatement of extreme proportions. To say that as a Red Sox fan (especially as a Red Sox fan) that I'm anxious about the other shoe dropping is just as much an understatement...but for the moment, I'm happy to take a cue from Matsuzaka's performance on the mound and just like things roll. 10+ games up on the AL East? Best record in baseball? Best record in baseball since the 2001 Mariners, the only other team in history to have this good of a start? It's a good time to a member of Red Sox Nation.

Game 36: Send you crying home to Mama

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 6, Baltimore Orioles 5

Oh! Does that hurt? Do you need to tend to that wound? You bleeding and sore and want to cry? Well, your mom came up to see you Orioles (it is Mother's Day after all) and she can kiss that booboo and tell you everything is gonna be ok. But she’s lying… you got beat brother. You got beat bad.

Yeah you had us on the ropes for a while. All game in fact. Forget that Beckett struck out 7 in his short effort. He got hurt and that kills us. Once he got that cut/slash/blister on his middle finger… he had to sit. That’s his “FU” finger and he needs it fully rested and healthy. Then you orange birds put up some runs on our bullpen and it looked pretty safe huh? Our bats had nothing.

That guy Guthrie… wow. He was amazing. He had our number from the start and combined with some of the WORST strike calls I have ever seen, he was almost untouchable. Why’d he get pulled again? He only had 91 pitches!! It was crazy. Did you think Baez had the better stuff? Yeah his NO outs really helped. And what about that closer of yours, Baltimore? I know Wily Mo already has his number (grand salami), but today’s walks, Tek’s double and Lugo two run single/error was the final signature need for transfer of ownership. Get it? The Sox OWN you now, Ray. Oh and Millar, your secret embedded Red Sox check is in the mail. Nice toss to first.

The crowd was the best. Fenway looked like a South American soccer riot broke out and people didn’t want to leave. Fans (read: I) love the come from behind walk off wins and we love them even more when they give us the best record in MLB. Yep, we are the best of the bunch now with a VERY good team from top to bottom, amazing chemistry and they seem to be getting some luck too. Sure it’s still early (when is it late enough so I can stop saying that) but the Sox look like they really have the best team.

Whoops, how insensitive of me, Baltimore. You must be upset. I see em. The tears. There they are in the corner of your eyes. Got a big sniffle coming? It’s ok Baltimore… it’s ok to cry. I guess on Mother’s Day there IS crying in baseball.

Game 34: Bad, Bad Luck

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 3, Baltimore Orioles 6

Man, I hate games like this one; games where nothing goes quite right, where the other side offers the bait so many times, then keeps making the plays that kill the almost rallies; games where the umpires don't make the opportune calls or - sometimes - even the right call...games that the Red Sox have been lucky enough to consistently win this year, but ended up on the wrong side of the coin last night.

How did luck hurt the Sox? Let me count the ways:

1. Too many men left on base. The Sox pulled five walks and loaded the bases three times, but only scored three runs: two runs on walks and one on a Julio Lugo double in the second. Boston had had plenty of opportunities to put the nails into the coffin, but Orioles starter Brian Burres managed to keep wriggling away at the last second. The Sox ended the night with thirteen men stranded.
   
2. Miguel Tejada's jumping abilities. The last time Boston loaded the bases was in the seventh inning, on a series of walks and a double. Up strides pinch hitter J.D. Drew, coming in on his night off to face old friend "Hanging" Chad Bradford and finally break this stupid game open. Drew smashes a ball towards left center that by all rights should have been a two-run single, until Tejada leaps, catches it and nearly doubles Mike Lowell off second base. As a reprise, Tejada does the exact same thing two innings later, stealing a hit from Kevin Youkilis.
   
3. Bad umpiring. It's always worse when it goes against you, but the Sox do have plenty to complain about with the current umpiring crew: a questionable "he swung" call against Big Papi in the sixth, a bad out call against Wily Mo Pena at first in the third inning and a worse strike three call against Mike Lowell to kill a rally in the first inning involve three-quarters of the umpiring crew that will be officiating the next two games. Not a pleasant thought.

Now, all of the bad luck in the world doesn't excuse not making the chances happen anyway - and it's not like Tavarez and the rest of the Red Sox couldn't have won that game if things had clicked. Which is why they'll try again today.

Game 27: A Win Only a Mother Could Love

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 8, Seattle Mariners 7

In the XBox 360 version of MLB 2K7, Daisuke Matsuzaka is called Dennis Miles - presumably because of some sort of licensing issue. Like his real-life counterpart, Dennis Miles has an obscene number of pitches (I think the game includes six) that he can throw for strikes, mystifying batters and leading to complete pitcher domination. However, knowing how to select those pitches and place them in effective spots requires someone behind the controller with enough baseball knowledge to know how to a.) set up the hitter by changing speeds, b.) place the pitch so the hitter can't get the good part of the bat on the ball and c.) figure out which pitch from the arsenal the hitter isn't expecting. Get one thing wrong and you can recover; get all three things wrong and, for all his fancy pitches, Dennis Miles becomes just as hittable as a ball sitting on a tee.

The reason I bring this up is because last night, that wasn't Daisuke Matsuzaka pitching. That was Dennis Miles on the mound, with a fourteen-year-old kid with an understanding of pitching mechanics shallower than Paris Hilton operating the controls. Three walks to start the game, a five run first inning, five innings total with a bad spot at the end of the night made for Dice-K's worst outing in a string of three mixed-bag starts, where one inning tells the tale: command slips, hitters aren't fooled and that massive arsenal doesn't seem to mean anything.

There's a two-part silver lining, however:

1. All of these problems are in Dice-K's head. As every other inning he's pitched demonstrates, when he gets past the freak out, Matsuzaka can dominate hitters in the US as much as he did in Japan; he's got a 1.89 ERA (6 runs in 32 innings) when he's not having a meltdown. Even better, the solution to the problem is one-dimensional: find the key to those slips and he becomes balls-out nasty all the time.
2. If you're feeling some deja vu, you're probably thinking of the 2006 edition of Josh Beckett, struggling to adapt to a new league. Hopefully we won't have to wait until 2008 for Dice-K to undergo his own transition into the comfort zone, but there's definitely precedent that Matsuzaka will eventually come around.
   

So, to get back to the game, a quick sum up: Daisuke Matsuzaka = Dennis Miles, the bullpen was four pitchers short (Timlin on the DL, Hansack, Okajima and Papelbon all unavailable) and operating on a tape and glue budget that made Robin's fears two nights ago look like idle fancies and the Sox still came back from a five run deficit to win. There were plenty of contributions, of course: Lowell going 3 for 4; Wily Mo going 4 for 4 with three singles and a double, looking as comfortable as can be at the plate; even Pedroia knocked in a run. But the real hero was Manny with his two home runs, his fingers to the sky excellence, his sheer exuberance at cracking the hit that won the game in the eighth, as if he had found a way to focus the thousands of beams of happiness shooting out from the crowd into a single point of happiness brighter than the sun. Welcome back, Manny. It's good to have you here.

Game 21: Wily Mo No Longer The Worst Ever

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 5, Baltimore Orioles 2

I say a lot of crap on this blog/fansite/sound board/soap box, but I usually can back it up (except for the Bridget Moynahan baby stuff… I apologize to you, Tom Brady and your lawyers).

So it’s rare that I take back the horrible things I say. I may be swayed by good play (Coco was coming around before he got hurt) or awful play (Pedroia still needs to be buried somewhere) but I don’t often do I do a complete 180 on a player just because of one play.

Damn it Wily Mo… you hurt me SO GOOD.

That ball he hit? It bounced off the Hubble Space telescope and landed above the Red Sox bullpen in Camden Yards. Just when we needed him to come out of the strike out phase (yeah he still managed to K tonight) he hits a blast that saves Beckett’s performance, the 5-0 record, the sweep and my sanity. I’m standing right now and giving Wily Modesto Pena (you Baby Huey looking awful center fielder) a slow clap applause for his tremendous homer. This guy is like Joaquin Phoenix in Signs… no he doesn’t have a hair lip… he just swings as hard as he can at every pitch. It feels wrong NOT to swing. My gu-estimate tally on the Wily Mo season? 25 HR, 110 K, 250 AB. Doesn’t leave much room for error does it?

Other than that feat, the rest of the story belongs to the Sox pitching. Beckett got his league leading 5th win with 8 innings of… well… actual pitching! He didn’t rely 100% on his heat and he looked better for it. All that humble pie needs is a cool scoop of Paps being all “I’m the awesome closer” and you got win alamode.

Anyway, I hate short the series. Two 2 game stretches in a row? That’s hardly enough time to learn to hate another team. But it is good to get out of Baltimore and away from that stupid bloody sock thing. That got WAY out of hand. This is the stupidest non news item I have ever heard. Yes I put this up there with Kevin Millar drinking story... there I said it.

Next up is Dice K, Pettitte and… ME!!! Yes I will be there first hand to see Japanese people pass out like they are 1960’s teens and the Beatles just showed up. I just hope another sweep is in the cards.

Game 12: Same Old Story Same Old Song and Dance

Final Score: Toronto Blue Jays 2, Boston Red Sox 1

SSDD. I think this is something I am going to have to get used to. The Red Sox are now a pitching/defense team rather than a run scoring monster. Or at least that’s what the record says. I can deal with that… sure… this bottle of Thorazine tells me that “I.can.deal.” Dice K did a pretty good job until a bad call led to him being shaken like a James Bond cocktail. Two singles, a walked in run and a whole lot of pigeon Japanese being blurted out by Tek and John Ferrell and the damage was limited to 2 runs.

Now we already had a MASSIVE Wily Mo homerun to dead center (he freaking crushed it) so it was 2-1… that’s nothing! We can make that up in 4 innings. There is NO reason that Dice K should suffer another loss. The man had 10K today! That and a flawless bullpen (I like me some Okajima) should mean a WIN.

It’s just too bad that we are facing the UNDEFEATED Chacin and his amazing ability to look like a BUG and still pitch like a semi-competent human being. And then there’s the “stunning” Blue Jays bullpen that happens to have their closer on the DL.

Oh but wait… we can only give ONE pitcher a week run support so tough luck Dicey (oh I hope that doesn’t catch on) and I hope you can get used to having an under 3 ERA and a 2-14 record.

Yeah that sounds GREAT.

Game 1: Fear of a Blue Meche

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 1, Kansas City Royals 7

"Thump. Thump. Thump." A lone scribe sits alone in the dark of an early April evening, thumping keys on a Dell Latitude X300 and imagining he's one of those grumpy old sportswriters who still writes columns on a Remington typewriter because he's too full of cuss to deign to use anything else. This particular wannabe has a mind full of irritation and a heart full of disappointment, but so does every other red-blooded Red Sox fan out there, with an Opening Day affair against a team that dreams of .500, against a pitcher whose $55 million price tag made headlines for its underscoring of the flaws of the current state of free agency, all designed to be an easy transition from Spring Training to the big time. Instead: Boston humiliated, Schilling heading to the dugout (and, presumably, the blog) in disgust after four and a third disappointing innings, Gil Meche the master of the day and the Sox lineup reduced to one run on eight scattered hits.

As the game wound down and I watched a young unknown named Joel Peralta give the lie to his 2006 stats and surrender two hits over the eighth and ninth innings, I gave some thought to the thing about this game, losing excluded, that disappoints me most. Was it Schilling's pitching? How about our lead off man, who struck out three times? Maybe Big Papi's rally-killing strikeout in the eighth, or how Wily Mo still seems willing to swing at anything that comes close to the plate, or Manny's inability to hit anything on Opening Day for the past seven years? Maybe it was Wonderboy, who did his best to reinforce DC's faith in his future stardom by trying to turn a clear single into a double, getting thrown out by a mile at second? I'm feeling the Wonderboy pick; that seems to be the point where the game started to go south for the offense, when Mr. Meche realized he could, in fact, pitch a house afire. Anyone have another choice they'd like to voice?

All They Needed Was Some Rain...

DC IMed me on Wednesday, wondering whether or not we should be concerned that the Sox seemed to have lost the ability to score runs. He had a good point. Ever since the game on Monday where the Sox blew their load surmounting a five run Yankee lead, Boston scored 3 runs over three games, losing all three contests despite quality pitching from Beckett, Gabbard and Snyder. A mini-slump seemed to be rearing its ugly head as the weather up in the Northeast grew warmer and warmer...and then something weird happened: the wind shifted.

Temperatures dropped in the Northeast and right now it's sleeting something fierce here in New York City. Meanwhile, at the Dodgers/Sox game today in Florida, the skies opened up and poured rain on Holman Stadium. Eventually the weather postponed the game, but not before Wily Mo, Tek and Hinske all pounded in long home runs, scoring more runs (five) in two innings than they had all week. To top it off, Francona ordered Dice-K not to swing at any pitches today (probably with Mike Hampton well in mind) so when Matsuzaka came up he watched as Dodgers starter Hong-Chih Kuo worked the count to 0 and 2 before walking him on four straight balls, thereby assuring Kuo an almost guaranteed spot as the Dodger's sixth starter.

Nice interview on Yanksfan vs Soxfan with journalist Rob Bradford, where Bradford discusses the problems inherent with being a journalist and a fan of the same team. Rob doesn't out-and-out say so, but it sounds like getting a pass to go beyond the lines that exist between fans (including most bloggers ) and players as a member of the press is a bit like biting the apple of the Tree of Knowledge: your priorities change and you can't really go back to the way you were. The interview also links to Rob's blog, Bradford on Baseball, which is an excellent read.

What's Up With Wily Mo?

Last year, he was the Golden Boy slugger the Sox snatched from the Reds in exchange for the Red Sox player well-known for chasing college-aged...well, snatch. Now Wily Mo Pena can't even get a contract and might become the first arbitration case of the Epstein years? Answer me this, Theo: is it because you got married?

Let's examine the situation a little bit. Pena is 25, a mountain of a man who can absolutely rock the ball when he catches it properly and is surprisingly quick for a man his size. Last year he had his highest average and second highest OPS in his four year career, albeit with his second fewest ABs. He legged out 15 doubles and 2 triples, a testament to his speed. All good things so far, I would think. 162 game averages aren't nearly as impressive, with a group of average and below-average numbers, but Pena started out as even more of a free-swinger (unless I'm misinterpreting seasonal average) than he is now. On a related note, his strikeout total and strikeouts per at bat, while much higher (90 total, .32 per AB) than it should be for a full-time player, declined for the first time last year, even taking into account his reduced playing time last year. So what's the deal?

DC put me onto this train of thought earlier today, but I wonder if maybe the Sox don't want to take the time to train Wily Mo to be a more patient hitter, even though it seems like his experience as a Red Sox has already started him on that road. With the sudden appearance of J.D. Drew on the market this winter, his subsequent signing by the Sox and the acquisition of the more patient (if slower footed) Eric Hinske (and his two-year contract) last summer, it's possible Pena's value in Boston has dropped to the point where the Sox are happy to low-ball him or send him somewhere else without feeling like they're on the short end of a stick.

Drew: Can't Live With Him, Can't Replace His Shoulder With A Servo

Woo, J.D. Drew's shoulder-hanging-by-a-thread throwing arm and his "patient bat" really will be playing in Boston next year. That's right: the deal that was done back on December 5 really is done, like, for reals, after working out some "minor issues." You know, like his shoulder falling off mid-swing on Opening Day. According to the Globe, the resolution to those minor issues is that Drew gets the first two years scot-free, but problems in the third year plus means cancellation of the contract after three years. Not bad, but that could very well mean three years of pain for RSN and Mr. Drew sitting in the sun doing his best Carl Pavano impression. Or it could be five years of hitting super awesomeness and fielding fairly decent awesomeness like the front office is promising.

Frankly, I don't think there's much of a choice here - Nixon's gone, the free agent pool is empty, Wily Mo doesn't seem to be the big time material quite yet and trading for someone means trading one of the young guns (which Robin will discuss in a future post). We're stuck with J.D. because someone needs to man the far reaches of right field and backup Coco Crisp when he misses a dive and the ball heads into the triangle and to spot for the Captain in the five hole in the lineup. I take a very realistic philosophy about baseball, because I know the best I can do is rail about it with my friends or in this blog and know that no one of consequence to the decision making is listening, because they've made up their minds. I'm willing to give Drew a shot, because I have no choice - and I'll give him his fair chance, too - but my jaw won't drop if Wily Mo is starting in right field starting in June.

Are You Frickin' Kidding Me?

I spotted a disturbing Murray Chass/NY Times piece in Google News today, after someone told me they had heard a rumor about the Giants trying to trade for Manny. No truth there from what I found, but "Unsigned Bonds Awaits Further Review" floats another unpleasant idea: with both Barry Bonds and J.D. Drew floating in contract limbo for the past few weeks (thank God) and the Giants looking like they're seriously considering the idea of killing Bonds's contract after the amphetamine news of last week reared its ugly head, Chass thinks the Red Sox should go after Bonds if he suddenly finds himself unemployed, giving the Sox to move Manny back to his original position in right field and (presumably) adding another explosive bat to the lineup.

As you can probably tell from the title of this post, I think that's a less-than-stellar idea. It comes down to two reasons:

1. On a purely technical level, the last time Manny played right field was five years ago, for a grand total of seven games. The last time he did so on a regular basis was in 2000, in Cleveland. Ignoring the difficulties of playing right field in Boston - remember the scary Wily Mo experiments last year? - it requires a lot of running and that's not really the Man-Ram's style. Bad idea right off.
2. Then we get to the real heart of the problem: it's Barry Bonds. Sure, he's put up some of the most impressive offensive statistics ever, but guess whose name shows up next to the definition when you look up "clubhouse cancer"? This is a guy who just threw his teammate under the bus as a defense for drug use. Can you imagine what it would be like in Boston, with the home run record chase, Bonds's reputation of hating everyone and everything AND the dreaded Boston sports media all working in the same sphere? The universe would probably fold in on itself.

Hopefully I'm just overreacting to write a post and this passing thought at the head of an article will remain nothing more than a passing thought. RSN has dodged too many bullets over the past few years to have the biggest bomb of them all come to town.