Game 25: M's 5 Sox 4

Tough loss. Sox fall behind, come back to take the lead, and then blow it late. Cameron was the offensive star with two Fenway solo shots (one curved around the Pesky Pole, the other was into the Monster seats). Gonzalez also hit the ball hard a couple of times. Lowrie got robbed of a big hit in the bottom of the ninth when he hit a drive to the triangle in deep center. Any other park and that's a 410 foot home run. On the flip side, Pedroia seems to really be struggling lately. I can't remember the last time he got a solid, ringing hit.

Matsuzaka started but was pulled with one out in the 5th inning. NESN said it was elbow tightness but there wasn't anything discernible when they showed the replay of his last pitch. He was pitching okay. Still nibbling around the edges. The difference between him and Lester is that Lester throws those pitches so that they're strikes. Dice-BB throws them for balls.

Albers came in in relief. I don't really like his pitching motion and he seems to have control issues as well. But he escaped giving up only the inherited runner in 2 innings. Jenks gets the loss with 3 hits, 1 walk, and 2 runs in the 7th. He has not been looking good lately and four base runners is inexcusable.

Lackey's facing Fister today. Win! Win! Win!

Game 24: Sox 6 O's 2

Sox avoid the sweep behind Lester's arm and the Ellsbury/Gonzalez duo. Lester went 8 innings giving up 2 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks, striking out 5. The first run came on Lester's typical one wild inning, this time it was the first (1 walk, 2 hits). The second came on a solo shot by Guerrero (told ya he was in beast mode).

Ellsbury and Gonzalez each had three hits including a double for Ellsbury and two for Gonzalez. Crawford and Saltalamacchia each had a solid hit so it was good to see them contributing. Papelbon pitched a solid 1-2-3 9th in the non-save situation.

So Sox end the road trip 6-3. The time in Baltimore was disappointing but still a good road trip overall. The homestand should be good to the Sox: 7 games against basement dwellers the Mariners and the Twins and another 4 against the Angels. Let's cross that .500 line!

Game 23: Sox 4 O's 5

Aargh! I HATE losing to the Orioles. Sox blow it in the bottom of the 8th after scoring 4 runs in the top of the inning to tie it up. In a one run game, I know every play gets blown out of proportion, but several plays from this game were just boneheaded in hindsight:

- Ortiz out by a mile at home to end the Sox' half of the fourth inning. I don't know why he got sent in that situation: Markakis has a cannon, Crawford's .200 OBP is higher than Ortiz's chances of scoring, and you're begging for an injury sending the big guy barreling down the base paths.

- Derrek Lee "doubles" on a pop up in the fourth that left Pedroia and Ellsbury looking at each other instead of catching the ball. Beckett gets what should have been out three next before giving up back to back homers to Scott and Jones. Orioles score what should be 3 unearned runs.

- Youkilis was half way between third and home in the bottom of the 5th and still can't throw Andino out on the bunt single. Runners move up on a wild pitch Varitek should have had (more on that later) and Roberts hits a sac fly to score the O's 4th run. Beckett gets the next two outs and would have gotten through the inning if it weren't for the passed ba..., err, wild pitch.

- Varitek drops three balls (3!) in the 8th inning. One moves the runners from first and second to second and third. The second miraculously leads to Bard blocking the plate and tagging out Markakis, and the third is too late to do any more damage. With one out and a runner on third, Francona elects to pitch to Vlad Guerrero rather than put his concrete legs on first to try for the double play. Vlad promptly hits the game winning single past a drawn in infield. Note to Tito: Vlad is in "Hitting Everything" mode right now, not "Swings and Misses" mode. Everyone saw that coming.

And on top of all this, the MLB.tv/NESN feed was terrible for this game. Jerry Remy was sick today so NESN brought in Orioles announcer Rick Dempsey instead. Wow, he was TERRIBLE. I'd rather listen to air horns and sirens than his drivel. So I toy around with getting the WEEI audio feed instead or watching the MASN broadcast using the "park sounds only"audio feature (which is a great idea). But the feed keeps kicking me back an inning or two every time an inning ends. So finally I just tough it out and finish the game on NESN but the video gets extremely choppy and I feel like I'm watching a game under strobe lights.

Ugh. What a day. It can't get any worse tomorrow, right?

Game 22: Sox 1 O's 4

Well, you can't win 'em all. Buchholz struggled with his control today giving up 12 hits and 2 free passes to 5 Ks in 6 2/3. He was lucky to have gotten away with only 4 runs although he did do a very good job of keeping the ball in the park. The O's scored three times on sac flys and 2 of their runs came on poor defensive plays by the Sox. In the 2nd, Gonzalez didn't rush to get a groundball hit slowly down the line so it ricochets off the first base bag and allows a run to score. In the 5th, Buchholz wasn't able to cover 1st in what should have been a double play. The next batter, Jones, hits a sac fly to plate Lee.

Still, 4 runs is a winnable ball game especially with the Orioles pitching staff. But the Sox batters looked lost all day. Seemed like there were a lot of easy pop ups and groundballs hit right at the infielders. Sox were aggressive (14 of their 36 PAs were 3 pitches or less) but couldn't get good contact.

Tomorrow's matchup is more difficult in Guthrie. Beckett's no chump either though!

Game 21: Sox 7 Angels 0

How sweep it is! Sox take all four from the Halos.

Another great pitching outing from the Sox, this time from Lackey. He goes 8 strong shutout innings and pretty much looked in control all day (6 Ks, 1 BB, 6 Hs). Wheeler finished the game in the 9th with a clean frame. Yes, we had a big lead but it was still nice to see him finally pitch well.

Sox bats came alive with a 2-run homer from Crawford, his first of the year. Gonzalez also went 3-5 with a double and 2 RBI. Scutaro also hit some balls hard and collected 2 hits. Those batting averages in the box score are starting to look more respectable. Well, they're at least looking bigger than the players' weights now.

Sox get the day off before finishing the road trip in Baltimore. Hopefully the pitching will keep putting zeros on the scoreboard and the hot bats stay on fire.

Game 20: Sox 5 Halos 0

Another good game for the Sox. Matsuzaka throws 8 innings of 1 hit ball with 9 Ks and 3 BBs, surprising most everyone. He looked good today and showed that if he can locate his pitches, he has the stuff to dominate. The bullpen gets some much needed rest with Bard pitching the last frame.

Youkilis led the offense with a 2-run HR in the 5th. Crawford, Ellsbury, and Lowrie each had two hits as well. Nice to see Crawford hitting the ball hard. Varitek also collected a hit on an RBI double to break a 0-19 slump (according to NESN). He still doesn't look like he's seeing the ball well though.

Scary moment in the 2nd: Matsuzaka was pitching when Alberto Callaspo hit a screaming liner right back at Dice-K. It nearly hit him in the face but he was able to duck out of the way and only take a ricochet off the glove. He came up smiling and did a good job of putting what was surely a scary moment behind him to pitch the rest of the game.

Sox going for the 4-game sweep with Lackey on the mound today. Don't look now but the Sox are only 2 games behind .500!

Game 19: Sox 4 Halos 3

Another frustrating night trying to watch this game. Strange that it seems harder for me to watch the game when it's played here on the West Coast than when the Sox are back East. Usually I can get home from whatever I'm doing at 9 or 10 and watch the whole game before going to bed. Last night I didn't get home until ~10:30 but MLB.com wouldn't let me watch the replay until close to 11:30. I don't understand what they're doing in that time.

Anyway, enough of my complaining. This was a game of defensive miscues. Saltalamacchia scores in the 3rd after reaching on a ball Hunter should have caught. Two runs score in the 4th as three Angels stand around in the outfield looking at each other instead of catching an easy pop up by Crawford. Lowrie gets to third in the 6th on an error by Wells and scores on a single by Drew. The Sox were not immune either though as, in the 8th, Abreu scored the Angels' third run of the night from 2nd base on a passed ball. Saltalamacchia had no idea where that ball squirted off to.

Otherwise both pitchers looked good despite only lasting 6 innings. Lester got a lot of K's and I don't quite understand why he consistently fools batters. He's not throwing 100 mph, he doesn't change speeds drastically, and he doesn't have a big breaking ball. It seems like batters should be getting a lot of weak contact instead but I won't complain. The bullpen is getting a little taxed by these close games. Jenks and Papelbon have both appeared in the last three games. Jenks didn't look good but Papelbon did.

Hopefully today's game will be a blow out. Matsuzaka's going so it's looking like another long night for the pen.

Game 18: Sox 4 Halos 2

What a game! Beckett flirts with a no-hitter. Sox take the lead in the sixth, the Angels tie it in the 7th. Angels blow an opportunity to win in the eight trying to stretch a double into a triple. Sox win with two runs in the 11th and Papelbon shuts the door. Pedroia was all over this game: 3-4, 2 BBs, 1 R, and 1 SB. Sox got 8 hits and 11 (yeah, 11!) walks but struggled to turn those into runs. Beckett and the bullpen were fantastic with the only blemish a Torii Hunter 2-run home run. Papelbon's really done great so far this year after a kinda rough season last year. I guess it is a contract year this year.

I had a lot of trouble with MLB.TV today. The Playstation Network is down so I couldn't watch the game on the tv. Trying to watch it on the computer was fine except the feed defaults to the live feed if the game is going on even if I'm a couple innings behind. So I had to keep reloading the game. Then, once the game ended (but I was still in the 10th inning) the feed shuts down for ~30 minutes before I can reload to watch the end. Sheesh.

Hopefully the Playstation Network will be back tomorrow for Lester v Haren.

Game 17: Sox 5 A's 3

I don't know how we won this game. Seemed like every inning the A's were threatening but every inning the Sox found some way to sneak their way out of it. The A's got 12 hits and 5 walks to the Sox 10 and 1 but the biggest difference was probably 1 HR for the A's, 3 for the Sox (Drew, Lowrie, and Youkilis).

Sox faced another lefty (they've now faced 9 LH starters and 8 RH starters by my count) and had mixed success. The curveball gave them a lot of trouble again and they struck out 12 times in the game. Lowrie and Youkilis were both hitting the ball hard. I'm going to stop the Crawford update; he's starting to turn it around and I've made my point. I may need to start a Varitek Update though. He has all of one hit in 23 at bats so far and looks like he can't catch up to the heat.

Game 16: Sox 0 A's 5

This one was actually a pitching duel despite the final score. Lackey and Anderson battled to a 1-0 score into the bottom of the eight before the Sox bullpen imploded. One run for Wheeler and 3 runs for the recently called up Okajima (Felix Dubront was sent down to Pawtucket). Most of that was with two outs in the inning too. Miserable.

Really Anderson won this game for the A's though. He was throwing the perfect pitch today: a wicked curve ball that the Sox batters couldn't hit and yet it was in the strike zone too. Sox only got 4 hits and 1 walk out of 8 innings of Anderson while striking out 8 times. There were a couple of controversial calls (Pedroia caught stealing on what looked like balk promptly getting Francona tossed, Ellsbury called out trying to steal on batter's interference by Cameron) but they wouldn't have changed the outcome of the game with the A's big 8th inning.

Sox still looking for their first win on the road this year.

Game 15: Jays 1 Sox 9

Sox bats stay alive and bury the Jays to take the series. Lowrie keeps up the hit streak with four more hits today including a home run. Most of his hits lately have seemed like seeing eye singles to me but today he was really driving the ball. The home run was to deep left field, into the Monster seats. Youkilis and Ellsbury added home runs as well. Jacoby has 4 home runs on the season now; I think I projected 8 for him all season.

Crawford update: Batting 7th (Drew led off), 1-5 with an RBI double. Nice to see the solid contact; hopefully he's turning it around. A friend brought my attention to this tid bit today:

2010 Crawford: 16.5% LD, 35.6% outside swing, 82.8% contact, 0.342 BABIP

2011 Crawford: 15.9% LD, 33.3% outside swing, 84.1% contact, 0.156 BABIP

One of those stats doesn't fit with the rest. I don't know that I've ever seen a batter's LD% higher than his BABIP before. Gonzalez had a rough day today with 3 Ks and Varitek was the lone 0-fer. As long as the pitchers keep pitching gems when he's catching though, I don't mind.

Matsuzaka got the win going 7 innings giving up 1 hit and 1 walk to 3 Ks and blanking the Jays. Wakefield gave up a pop up solo home run over the Monster in the ninth. Matsuzaka looked better today but I thought he was really helped by the aggressive swings by the Jays. He was still throwing the breaking balls all over the place but this time the batters chased them. Seems like if he had been facing a patient team the walk total would have been higher and the game may have been in jeopardy.

But that's neither here nor there. Sox start a road trip tomorrow in Oakland. Let's hope Lackey can make it 4 in a row.

Game 14: Jays 1 Sox 8

Sox bats are heating up, plating 8 runs on 8 hits and 2 BBs. Saltalamacchia went 2-4 with 3 RBI and Ellsbury hit a three run homer in the 2nd. He's really done a great job of driving the ball this year. Previous years he's looked much more like a slap hitter looking to defend the plate and drive the ball into the ground to reach using his speed. This year, he's been staying back and hitting the ball with authority. He's already got three HR on the season so my projections may be off.

Lester looked pretty good but didn't do a good job of adjusting to the umpire's strike zone. All day the ump wasn't calling the outside strike but instead of making adjustments, Lester kept pounding the outside and staring in at the ump. He seemed lucky to only give up 1 run while allowing 6 hits and 3 BBs over six innings. On the other hand his one run came with men on 1st and 3rd, guy on first gets caught in a run down but isn't tagged out until the guy on third crosses home. Bad execution on the defense.

Crawford report: 0-4 today, 0.172 OBP for the season. Tito's got to move him down in the lineup. Get Tacoby Bellsbury leading off!

Game 13: Jays 1 Sox 4

Beckett looked good again today going 7 innings giving up 3 hits, 2 walks and 1 run while collecting 9 Ks. Bard and Papelbon shut the door in the 8th and 9th respectively. Sox batters were extra patient today working 8 walks to go with 9 hits. Lowrie continues to swing a hot bat collecting 3 hits including a homer. Gonzalez and Ortiz were both on 3 times as well with 2 and 3 BBs respectively.

It was a little disturbing to see a couple of batters square up to take a bunt with no one on. I don't know if that's to try to shake things up or if batters were doing it on their own but guys like Drew and Saltalamacchia should not be trying to reach via bunt. Swing the bat and hit a home run.

The other disturbing thing I've noticed lately is how freely runners seem to steal bases on the Sox. The pitchers do a good job of keeping the runners close but I don't know if it's slow deliveries or weak throws from the catchers but the Jays seemed to be running freely all day (3 SB today, 4 yesterday). Didn't end up hurting us today but it could in future games.

Lester going today. Let's get two!

Game 12: Jays 7 Sox 6

Another day, another disappointing loss. Sox have the worst record in baseball right now. I'm starting to think this blogging thing has cursed the team.

Buchholz didn't have his best stuff and struggled to find the strike zone all night (5 BBs). But he managed to keep the team in the game giving up only three runs. Jenks gets stuck with the loss pitching horribly (0.1 IP, 1 K, 4 H, 1 BB, 4 R). I had Jenks on my fantasy baseball team last year and I remember him being good most of the time but occasionally having days like today. Hopefully he doesn't make a habit of it.

Interesting play in the top of the first. Jays have two on when Lind hits a ball towards the Pesky Pole. It goes into the stands right around the pole and the ump calls it a 3-run home run. Replays showed it skipped behind the pole but it was hard to tell where foul territory was and what was in play (see the photo). There's a space between where the yellow line on the wall meets the foul pole and that's right where the ball hit. The umps ended up reviewing the call and deciding it was a foul ball. Someone should get those lines matched up though to avoid future confusion.

(Sorry, only photo I could find. Note the space between the line on the wall and the pole!)

Sox batters caught a few breaks today scoring 3 runs in the 8th with two outs. Pedroia hit a Monster homer and Youkilis had a nice drive to straight away center. Still, Crawford put up another 0-5 though and Drew was 0 fer as well. Having a .185 OBP leadoff hitter cannot be good for this offense. It's time to shake things up.

Game 11: Rays 3 Sox 2

Price was just too much for the Sox to handle today. And one bad inning sunk Lester. Even in the 1-run game he had against the Indians, I remember cruising for awhile, then hitting a stretch where he couldn't find the strike zone, and then getting back on track. Same thing happened in this game and the Rays capitalized.

The hitting didn't actually look that bad. There were a lot of non-regulars with a tough lefty on the mound (Cameron for Ellsbury, McDonald for Drew, Lowrie playing third so Youkilis could DH for Ortiz). It didn't seem like Price was blowing people away of making people look silly. The Sox got 9 base runners against him in 7 2/3 (5 hits, 2 BBs, and 2 HBPs). But once again, no one could get the big hit when it counted. Mike Cameron left a man on 2nd base in the 6th. Jed Lowrie left two on in the 8th. Big Papi flew out to deep right to end the game.

I was looking up some stats today with the Sox getting rained out tonight and here's what I think is ailing the team:

1. Pitching is the biggest culprit. A lot of this can be tied to Matsuzaka (15 runs), Lackey (10 runs), and Wheeler (7 R), but giving up 72 runs in 11 games is unacceptable and is the worst in the majors. Some of this is bad luck (a strand rate of only 63.5% is the 2nd worst in baseball) but it's also just plain bad pitching. We have to do better and we will: the team ERA will lower from 6.77 to something closer to the expected fielding independent pitching (xFIP) rate of 4.37 over the course of the season.

2. Bad luck for the hitters. As a rule of thumb, you can expect your batting average on balls in play (BABIP) to be 120 pts higher than the percentage of your hits that are line drives (LD%). So the Sox are 20th in the Majors with a 0.176 LD% and they're 23rd in MLB with a 0.266 BABIP when you would expect it to be 0.296. On top of that, the Sox are currently 28th with a batting average of 0.192 with runners in scoring position.

What we need is a couple of days off and to get Lady Luck on our side.

Game 10: Rays 16 Sox 5

That was a good ol' fashioned butt whooping. It was a laugher from the start and I ended up falling asleep way before the 7th inning stretch. The Rays finally woke up from their slumber. Before this game, they had scored a total of 20 runs in 9 games. In this one game they scored 16. Sheesh, just the Sox's luck.

Dice-BB was infuriating in this game. He either threw pitches way out side the strike zone or right down the middle. Really he's an umpire's dream right now: every pitch is either easily a ball, swung at and missed, or swung at and hit hard. There's no such thing as a called strike with the way he pitches. It's hard to imagine how he stays on the team at this point but I guess on the flip side it's hard to imagine him staying this bad all season. And dumping him now would be the definition of selling low.

Wakefield fared slightly better and Wheeler got rocked in his one inning of work as well. They both seemed more victims of bad luck though as compared to Matsuzaka's incompetence. Aceves was really the only pitcher who seemed consistently in control. On the hitting side it was nice to see Crawford start to turn things around getting 2 hits and scorching a couple of other balls. And Ortiz beat the shift a few times (which the Rays oddly enough also employed against Drew, Saltalamacchia, and Gonzalez). But we still can't seem to get that big hit with runners on or 2 outs. Five runs today was good but another 11 LOB wasn't.

I'm a day behind with last night's slumber so I'll have to catch up on Thursday when the Sox have a day off. I'll post about today's game tomorrow.

Game 9: Yanks 0 Sox 4

Ohh-wee! Beckett was throwing rocks tonight. Eight innings pitched (103 pitches), no runs, 10 Ks, and only 1 walk and 2 hits allowed. Robinson Cano got one hit, Teixiera got the walk, and Eric Chavez, who I hadn't realized signed with the Yankees, got the other hit. Papelbon came in for a 2 K inning to close the door. Chavez got three hits yesterday too and could be a pretty good signing for the Yankees if he can stay healthy. That's been a big "IF" for Chavez the last few seasons though.

Pedroia continues to be on fire with another 3 hit night and Scutaro went 2-2 with 2 BBs too. Crawford showed another 0-5 in the leadoff spot; he's really struggling. It seemed like the Sox didn't get a lot of hard contact against Sabathia today but they did get a lot of hits and succeeded in knocking C.C. out in the 6th. I'm still concerned about the lack of timely hitting by the Sox though. Four runs on 20 base runners isn't that great and ESPN was quick to point out the Sox have been atrocious with runners in scoring position (1 for 17 yesterday). Not sure how to fix that except to hope the hitters take a breath and relax at the plate.

Speaking of ESPN, I'd say their broadcast was only marginally better than Fox's. I like Orel Hershiser but Bobby Valentin may be worse than Tim McCarver. Every time he talked I wished he hadn't. And the live K zone was obnoxious. It blocked the view of the catcher and just confirms what we already know: umpires are fallible. It's part of the game, deal with it. Hopefully the live K zone goes the way of the glowing hockey puck.

Sox finally win a series and start a three game stint against the Rays tomorrow (another national broadcast game). Let's get two!

Game 8: Yanks 9 Sox 4

Sox batters did pretty well against Yankees starter Ivan Nova but couldn't get anything off of the Yankee bullpen. Pedroia led the charge again with three hits and a walk on top of 2 RBI. Lowrie was also on base three times and seems to be knocking on Scutaro's door. Sox just couldn't seem to turn the hits and walks into runs today.

The Yankees didn't have trouble with that. They knocked Buchholz out after only 3 2/3 IP and 5 runs (4 earned). Dubront (called up after Reyes was released) and Aceves didn't provide much relief giving up 2 runs each before Wakefield cleaned up with 2 perfect innings. Yankees hit 4 home runs including 2 by Russell Martin but it seemed like a lot of the runs were Fenway runs. A couple of hits off the wall, Granderson's home run around the Pesky Pole, and Martin's home run in the first row of the Monster.

I'd say the worst part of the game though was being forced to watch the Fox broadcast. I've been watching the NESN broadcasts and have really enjoyed Jerry Remy's commentary. Listening to Joe Buck and Tim McCarver was absolutely brutal in comparison. We'll see if ESPN's broadcast is any better later today.

Game 7: Yankees 6, Sox 9

O! Joy! Sox win! The Sox finally win!

I lost my internet connection last night so I had to wait until today to post. The Sox finally got all of those ground balls hit right at someone to find some holes today. Both starters looked suspect though. Hughes gave up 6 runs in only two innings before Colon came in and started mowing down the Sox. Lackey fared a little better (6 ER in 5 IP) but I swear he did everything he could to give the game back. In the end he did just enough to win though. Bullpen looked good with a Jenks-Bard-Papelbon tag team on a hitless 7-8-9.

Pedroia was the MVP of the game with 3 hits in 5 IP including 1 HR and 3 RBI. Youkilis was also on base three times with three walks. Gonzalez finally laid a bunt down the third base line with the David Ortiz shift that teams have been putting on him. I thought he was supposed to hit to all fields anyway? It was a really great looking bunt too.

Crawford and Scutaro were the only batters that failed to reach with Crawford going 0-5 with a K in the process. Crawford also seemed a little uncomfortable playing the Green Monster which is strange since he has spent his entire career in the AL East. He completely miffed a ball off the wall in the 2nd inning but did make an impressive catch right next to the wall in nearly non-existent foul territory in the 7th. Hopefully he's a quick learner.

Game 6: Sox 0 Indians 1

Pitcher's duel today and wouldn't you know it, the Sox lose it. Unbelievable. Lester looked fantastic throwing 7 scoreless innings, striking out 9. The hitters just couldn't put anything together against Carmona. Seems like every ball they hit was weakly struck except for a long drive by Crawford. Four hits and 4 walks spread over 9 innings just doesn't equal a win today.

Bard gets the loss again pitching in the 8th. No out walk, stolen base, sacrifice bunt, and the suicide squeeze that somehow surprised the Sox infielders. Then, to make things stranger, the Sox are rallying with two outs in the ninth. Ortiz walks and McDonald pinch runs for him. Drew gets an infield single ricocheting off the pitcher but McDonald overruns 2nd base to get tagged out to end the game. Game, set, another swept series.

What an unbelievable start to the season. Sox have lost in every way possible. The hitting looks atrocious at this point. I can't figure out why nobody seems to be able to put together a solid game or to get that big hit with runners in scoring position. Hopefully some home cooking will help tomorrow but playing the Yankees is only going to make things tougher.

Game 5: Sox 4 Tribe 8

Well, when it's not one thing, it's another. Sox offense wakes up enough to put 4 runs on the board but the pitching gives up 8. Matsuzaka wasn't terrible but only went 5 innings and gave up 3 runs early. The real loser was Reyes coming in relief to hit two batters and walk a batter trying to sacrifice bunt. Wheeler comes in "relief" and gives up a run on a strange fielder's choice (Youkilis drops a line out with the bases loaded, tags third and throws home but Varitek doesn't realize it's a tag out instead of force out so the runner is safe) before three more on an Asdrubal Cabrera home run. Game over.

Sox strike out 11 times but there were some bright notes. They forced out starter Talbot after only 4 and 1/3 innings. Crawford got going on the base paths with two SB. Scutaro gets his first hit and RBI of the season. And Gonzalez hit the ball hard twice, including his first HR (in a 12 pitch AB). But not enough offense for a night the pitching didn't show up.

Still looking for that first win...

Game 4: Sox 1 Tribe 3

Geez, where's this vaunted offense we were supposed to have this year? Once again the Sox get manhandled by a relatively unknown pitcher, this time it's Josh Tomlin. Until the last inning, it seemed like the Sox batters couldn't wait to get up to the plate so they could groundout on the first pitch (12 ground outs in the game for Tomlin, 15 PAs for the Sox were 3 pitches or fewer). The way this offense is supposed to be built, even if they have a rough game they should be patient enough to force the starter out by the 5th inning. Tomlin was pulled with only 91 pitches after 7 innings and the 8th inning reliever retired the side on 7 pitches!

Scutaro looked particularly bad and may have Lowrie breathing down his neck soon, especially if Lowrie is supposed to be the better defender. Saltalamacchia got his first hit and RBI so hopefully some of the pressure will be off of him. He's got to be more patient though. Really everybody looked terrible today though.

On the pitching side, I thought Beckett looked okay. He did give up 3 runs to a weak offense and he spent most of the day in hitter's counts, getting knocked out after 5. But he didn't have any control over his fastball tonight so eking by and giving his team a chance was encouraging. The curve looked good and the changeup was a great change of pace that had a lot of hitters fooled. I don't remember him throwing that pitch before. The bullpen came in and took care of business. Albers was wild but benefited from a generous strike zone to get three Ks. Jenks and Bard were both overpowering.

Rough loss today. Hopefully it'll be warmer tomorrow and more people will show up at the park (only 9,000 fans for today's game!). We've got to get the hitters going tomorrow, especially with Dice-BB taking the mound.

Game 3: Sox 1 Rangers 5

Boy, what a tough series. Rangers get 11 home runs over the three games including 4 solo shots today. Buchholz actually didn't look bad today, only giving up 1 hit outside of the four homers. The batting looked absolutely stifled by Matt Harrison (who?) and the umps gigantic strike zone didn't help. Every hit until the 7th inning was weakly hit and the Sox struck out 8 times. Maybe it was tough to see the ball during a day game? One bright spot: Crawford got his first hit and RBI as a Sox today. Still sitting on 0 fers from Saltalamacchia (who caught despite the day game after the night game) and Scutaro (who sat in favor of Lowrie today).

Day off tomorrow but hopefully things will get turned around in Cleveland on Tuesday.

Game 2: Sox 5 Rangers 12

Sigh. Another bad pitching performance tonight. Lackey gives up 9 runs in 3 2/3 and Wheeler gave up another 2 runs. Four of Lackey's runs came from a grand slam by our friend Adrian Beltre. Sigh.

Batting didn't look bad, scoring 5 runs. Crawford, Saltalamacchia, and Scutaro are still looking for their first hits of the season, although Crawford and Scutaro look the most lost. Big Papi hit another home run so maybe we'll get a big year from him.

Hopefully Buchholz can put a stop to the slide tomorrow.

Opening Day!

Disappointing game today. Sox were in it all game but blew it in the end. Lester looked rough today, giving up 3 home runs. The offense didn't look bad, scoring a lot of 2 out runs, and knocking Wilson out in the sixth. Ortiz got a home run so hopefully the concerns of a slow start will be dispelled. Really all of the hitters seemed to be getting hard contact except for Crawford. He looked lost with three Ks.

All in all, this loss gets pinned on the bullpen. Four ER from Bard is unacceptable for the "closer of the future." Let's get 'em tomorrow.