Game 61: Sox 11 Yanks 6

Slugfest! Well, not the slugfest everyone was expecting. After hitting two batters yesterday, Ortiz doing a twirl, and just pummeling the Yankees in general, many expected this game to come to blows. Instead we played a clean game with a ton of runs.

Wakefield did enough to get the win giving up 5 runs in 5 1/3 innings. The knuckleball was really dancing except for a period in the 5th inning when the Yankees gathered 3 runs. Aceves pitched the remainder of the game earning the rare 11 out save. It certainly seems like having the two of them team up on games is better for the Sox than having Matsuzaka go every fifth day.

Ortiz hit another dinger in this one, a two-run shot in the first. Ellsbury's absolutely been on fire lately and gathered another three hits today. He and Scutaro both got stolen bases as well as we may have finally found a catcher worse at throwing out runners than the Sox in Cervelli. Crawford and Drew also had home runs today in the ninth inning to keep the game out of Papelbon's hands.

Sox going for the sweep tomorrow. Beckett again finds himself squared off against an ace, this time it's Sabathia. I'd be perfectly happy going to the Bronx and getting 2 out of 3 from the Yankees but continuing our dominance this year would be awfully nice too. Sox are 7-1 against them so far this year. Let's make it 8-1.

Game 60: Sox 6 Yanks 4

This was a fun game. Sox beat up on Garcia early and maintained a relatively comfortable lead over the Yankees all game. Ellsbury lead the charge with a leadoff home run (his 7th thus far). Pedroia followed with a walk and was sent home by Gonzalez with a triple. Youk scored Gonzalez on a sac fly to get the Sox to an early 3 run lead. Sox would add a run in the 2nd and a 2-run bomb in the 5th from Big Papi (his 14th). Papi added a little twirl for showmanship but it seemed a bit uncalled for especially with Lester's lack of command early in the game.

Lester was struggling to control his cut fastball hitting Teixeira and Martin in the 1st inning. He was lucky to get out of the inning giving up only one run on 33 pitches. He ended up getting the QS, giving up 3 runs on 6 IP, 8 hits, 5 Ks, and 1 BB but he's really struggled to put together a dominant start in awhile.

Jenks only pitched to one batter in the 7th before needing to leave with back spasms. Hopefully not anything to serious. Albers pitched the 7th, Bard the 8th, and Papelbon the 9th for the save. Papelbon gave up a run but looked pretty dominant actually.

Sox are now tied with the Yanks for the AL East lead and are actually only 0.5 a game behind the Indians for the top record in the American League. Let the good times roll!

Game 59: A's 3 Sox 6

Lackey's first game back and he gets the W. This looks more like the Lackey I was expecting giving up 3 runs in 5 and 2/3 innings, doing just enough to get the win. Bullpen pitches 3 1/3 of 2 hit, 1 walk ball to preserve the win and Bard gets the save.

At the plate, the Sox had a lot more success against Anderson than they did last time. He didn't have that devastating curve in this game. Crawford hit a three run bomb into the bullpen in the 2nd to get the scoring started and Gonzalez contributed with his 12th home run in the 4th, a 2 run shot over the Monster. Ortiz was absolutely on fire getting three hits and really doing a great job going the other way with the ball.

Great to get the sweep after the last series. Sox have the day off tomorrow and start a three game set against the Yanks in the Bronx next. This series will be important as the teams are only 1 game apart for the AL East lead. Go Sox!

Game 58: A's 8 Sox 9

What a crazy ninth inning! Beckett starts the game strong and leaves in the 7th with a 5-2 lead thanks in part to a Gonzalez home run, his 11th. With 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th, Papelbon is already warm so he comes in to protect a 4 run lead in the ninth. No problem right? Here's what transpired:

- Single, walk, swinging K gets two on with 1 out. Papelbon feels like he's being squeezed but the K-Zone thing NESN uses shows that the umpire is getting the calls right.

- Tailor-made double play ball is hit right at Pedroia who muffs it. 1 run scores, runners at 1st and third.

- Double by Pennigton scores a run and Varitek is thrown out as he immediately starts screaming at the umpire for the perceived injustice.

- Single scores two more runs, tie ball game.

- Papelbon throws a strike to the next batter and makes an exasperated expression trying to understand why that was a strike and the others weren't. Umpire starts yelling at him and he blows up getting tossed from the game as well.

- Jenks comes in a gives up a single before striking out two to get out of the inning.

I have no problem with Vartiek getting tossed; if you don't like the calls, pitch better and don't commit errors in the field. Papelbon getting tossed rubbed me the wrong way as I felt the homeplate umpire initiated the argument by jawing off at Papelbon instead of just letting him be frustrated. The umpire's supposed to be the grown up in that situation.

It looked like the Sox were going to lose the game in the 11th as Aceves gives up a walk, a double and a sac fly to start the inning off. But he gets the next batter to ground the ball right to a drawn in Lowrie who throws the ball home for the tag out. (by the way Saltalamacchia did a great job of applying the tag without putting himself in a position to get hurt like Buster Posey did earlier this year). Aceves gets out of the inning giving up only the one run. Lowrie and Drew strike out to start the bottom half of the inning but on the first pitch he sees, Saltalamacchia scrapes the wall for a double and Ellsbury doubles him home to tie the game.

In the bottom of the 14th, with two outs, Crawford hits a double for his 4th hit of the game. Lowrie is intentionally walked to get to Drew who rewards the Nation with a game winning single. Phew! Glad to eek by with that one in a game we should have won handily in regulation.

Game 57: A's 6 Sox 8

Not Buchholz's best day today but the Sox come back for the win. Buchholz had an ugly first inning giving up 4 runs on 5 singles and a fielder's choice. But the Sox claw back with 2 in the 1st, 1 in the 2nd, and 2 in the 3rd, chasing A's starter Outman. Buchholz gives the lead back up with 1 in the 4th and 1 in the 5th before getting the hook.

Sox load the bases in the 7th with only one out but it felt like they were going to squander the opportunity when Lowrie flied out too shallow for the sacrifice. But Crawford worked his clutch magic against Fuentes and got the two run single to give the Sox the lead back. Saltalamacchia hit a deep homer in the 8th for insurance and Papelbon pitched a perfect ninth for the save.

Glad they won that game as losing 5 in a row especially with Oakland just getting in town after being swept by the Yanks would have been heartbreaking. Word on the street is that Buchholz had a cranky back that's accounted for his recent struggles. Francona may try to give him a few extra days of rest to get back on track.

Game 56: Pale 7 Carmine 4

What a terrible game. Red Sox get swept by the lowly White Sox who came in to town scuffling while the Red Sox were, well... red hot. And in the process, Rich Hill injures his elbow in the 7th inning, grabbing his elbow in obvious pain and leaving the field immediately. Terrific.

The game started well enough with the hometown team getting off to a quick 3-0 lead in the 2nd inning. But the White Sox added a run in the 4th and then took advantage of some miscues in the field to tie the game in the 5th. Here's the blow by blow:

- Wakefield's unable to find the strike zone, even with his slowball, and walks Castro the catcher

- Beckham hits a bloop down the 1st base line that Pedroia gets to but drops it out of his glove (no error for some reason)

- Juan Pierre hits a ground ball at Lowrie who tries to start the double play getting Beckham at 2nd but Pedroia throws the ball wide and Pierre reaches as Gonzalez can't handle the throw

- With Ramirez at the plate, the Sox pitchout and catch Pierre trying to steal. During the rundown though Pedroia swipes at Pierre and pretty clearly got him (I thought) but the ump calls him safe at second (BS)

- Ramirez grounds out to deep short, scoring Castro when we should be out of the inning unscathed

- Quentin doubles, scoring Ramirez, tie game

- Konerko flies out to end the inning

In the 6th, the White Sox took the lead on a home run by Lillibridge. I point this out only because his previous at bats screamed that he was going to take the knuckleball yard. I remember in 2003 watching Boone hit several foul ball home runs down the left field line against Wakefield in Game 4 of the ALCS before finally straightening one out to win game 7. Some guys jsut seem to be able to pull the knuckleball really well. Lillibridge is one of those guys; he had the same at bats leading up to the 6th inning. Foul ball home run to left before striking out in the 2nd, double off the very tippy-top of the Monster in the 4th, and a monster shot to left in the 6th. Saw that coming from a mile away.

Ortiz knots the game back up at 4 in the home half of the 6th but Albers gives the lead right back up in the 7th. Bard pitches well but Papelbon gives up a huge 2-run homer to Konerko in the non-save situation in the 9th. Sox batters never really even made it interesting after the 6th inning.

Sox are now 2 games back of the Yankees and have an off day tomorrow before hosting the A's. Maybe some rest will help as it's been a long stretch of games. Also, word has it Matsuzaka is going under the knife for Tommy John surgery. The perfect ending to a crappy day and a crappy signing.

Game 55: White 10 Red 7

That was disappointing. Lady Luck finally left Aceves' side as he gives up 8 runs (6 earned) on 8 hits and 3 BBs over 5 innings. Lowrie didn't help the cause by booting a ball in the 4-run 2nd inning to extend the inning. Atchison coughed up two more runs in the 6th. Jenks was activated off the DL list and wiggled his way out of the 8th inning. Wheeler pitched the 9th and has actually looked pretty good since he's come off the DL (4 2/3 inning, 0 runs, 3 hits, 4 Ks, and 2 BBs).

Sox batters made Philip Humber look like a Cy Young award winner eeking out only 1 run over 7 innings on 6 hits and 1 walk. The replacements came in after the 6th and finally put some runs on the board. Reddick and Sutton were key to the 6 runs the Sox scored in the 8th and 9th. Also key was Big Papi's 12th home run of the year, a 3-run shot in the 8th. Gonzalez had a tough day with three Ks including one to end the game with the tying run on deck.

Can't win them all but the White Sox are a team we should be beating. Hopefully Wakefield can right the boat.

Game 54: ChiSox 7 BoSox 3

Boy, Lester looked terrible in this game. Couldn't find the strike zone all day and got beat around hard. Eight hits, 4 walks, and 2 HBPs in 5 and 2/3 innings. I blame some of that on Francona though. Lester was obviously exhausted in the 6th inning and couldn't find the strike zone to save his life. But instead of pulling him and bringing in a reliever to get us out of the jam, he left Lester in to get tagged for four more runs. Sheesh. I guess he wanted to give Lester a chance to earn the win but instead Lester ended up earning the loss.

Batters weren't looking bad against Peavy but once the White Sox took the 4 run lead they lost all their steam. A-Gon hit a beautiful solo shot to right in the first. Pedroia had a great battle of an at bat against Peavy in the 3rd that brought in two runs to knot the game at 3. But then Lester imploded and we couldn't put anything together to make it exciting.

I was watching this game live since I have today off. Most games I've watched after the fact so on the one hand it was annoying to have to sit through all of the commercial breaks and the pitching changes. On the other hand, it was definitely more exciting. It's hard for me to watch the games after the fact without MLB.tv telling me what will happen next. So live definitely upped the anticipation. I was also talking to Dad for the last three innings or so. He was watching the game on Gameday and I was surprised to find that Gameday was a pitch ahead of MLB.tv. Fun to commiserate with Dad during the loss though and share some complaints/insights.

Game 53: Sox 0 Tiggers 3

Well, Sox ran into a wall named Verlander in game 2 of the doubleheader. Verlander pitched 7 2/3 inning (and threw 132 pitches!) of shutout ball to stop the Sox in their tracks. Drew had the most success against him going 2-3 and representing exactly half of the hits the Sox got on the night. Verlander looked like the second coming of Pedro throwing heat in the high nineties, a change around 85, and a solid 12-6 curve for strikes. Just gotta tip your hat to him.

Beckett on the other hand really struggled with his control walking 5 over 6 innings to match is 5 Ks. He ran afoul in the first inning giving up 2 runs on 1 walk and three hits. He settled down somewhat after that to pitch 5 more scoreless innings. It's a testament to how good he's been that he was able to get out of such a bad game giving up only two runs. Hill pitched a clean 7th and Atchison gave up one run in the 8th.

Sox start a homestand against the White Sox next. First game will be the toughest as the Sox face Jake Peavy, Adrian Gonzalez's former teammate. Sox counter with Lester. Let's get a W!

Game 52: Sox 4 Tiggers 3

Let's play two! Sox got rained out on Saturday so Sunday was a day-night doubleheader. In game 1 we got treated to a pinch hit home run by Ortiz in the 9th to win the game. Wowee, the Sox are smoking right now! I forgot to mention yesterday that the Sox took sole possession of first place in the division with yesterday's win. Sox have won 5 in a row and 13 of the last 15 games.

Buchholz looked okay this game going 6 innings with 3 earned runs to get the Quality Start. He did give up two long balls, one to Andy Dirks and the other to Brennan Boesch. Albers looked really good pitching two innings of relief and Papelbon came in for the bottom of the ninth for the perfect inning, 2 Ks, and the save.

Pedroia took my words to heart and hit a solo home run in the 3rd. He was accompanied by Mike Cameron who doesn't hit often, but when he does, it goes a long ways. His solo shot in the 2nd was his 3rd of the year in part time duty. The Sox also took advantage of Victor Martinez catching today by stealing 4 bases in the 1st inning. Even Youkilis stole a base! And as I mentioned already, Ortiz pinch hit for Saltalamacchia in the ninth, facing Detroit closer Valverde, goes deep to right-center for the win. Apparently this was only the second time he's faced Valverde and he now has a home run in both matchups.

Beckett-Verlander in the ngiht half of the doubleheader. Should be a good game. Sox won the last time these two faced off 4-3 on a walkoff single from Crawford. We won't have home field advantage this time though so let's win early.

Game 51: Sox 6 Tiggers 3

Sox jump out to another early lead but this time they get absolutely stymied by the Tigers' long relief. Porcello was chased after 6 runs in 3 innings but Furbush went 5 innings of 2 hit ball in relief. Part of that may have been the strike zone expanding as the umps were ready to go home. On the Sox side, Wakefied pitched another solid game. Seven innings, 2 runs, 5 hits, 2 BBs, and 2 Ks. Getting closer to that career mark! Bard pitched a clean 8th and Papelbon gave up a run in the non-save situation.

At the dish the Sox were lead by home runs from Jacoby and Crawford in the third inning. Youkilis also hit a two-run double in the third when the Sox put up 5 runs. On the not so good side, Pedroia's and Lowrie's lines didn't look so bad in the box score (1-4 and 1-3 respectively) but they didn't look so good watching the game. Both of them seem to be out of rhythm and aren't hitting line drives. Everything's a fly ball or a weakly hit ground ball. Pedroia's particularly concerning as his contact ratio (82.9%) is way down from his career numbers (91.3%). Hopefully they can both turn it around soon.

Game 50: Sox 14 Tiggers 1

Sox bats are alive and well. That's two games in a row putting up 14 runs. Crawford was hot again going 4-5 with 2 triples. Jacoby hit a three-run blast in the 2nd to give the Sox all the runs they needed. Papi also looked good going 2-3 with 2 walks. Even the newcomers were getting in on the hit parade. Josh Reddick got the start after being called up today as McDonald was put on the 15-day DL. Reddick went 3-5 and Sutton, giving Lowrie a day off, went 2-5. Every Sox starter got a hit so they all looked good.

Aceves pitched well with the lead giving up only one run. I again felt like the Tiger offense doesn't have much to fear and having a big lead certainly helps. One thing I did notice is that it seems like when Aceves misses it's near the head of right handed hitters. He nearly hit someone today and the last time he pitched he hit Marlon Byrd in the face. Maybe it was a wet ball he lost control of as the game only went 7 1/2 innings before getting called.

Sox are now tied with the Yankees for first. Quite the comeback after starting 2-10. Let's get out in front tomorrow!

Game 49: Sox 14 Tribe 2

Well, that was VERY satisfying. After getting embarrassed our first trip to Cleveland, bludgeoning the Indians for 14 runs, 7 in the first, felt like two or three wins. Lester looked fantastic going 6 strong with no runs, 3 hits, 1 BB, and 7 Ks. The only runs came off Morales in the 8th inning. Wheeler and Atchison chipped in two scoreless innings.

At the dish, Sox put up 20 hits and 4 walks amassing 14 runs. Who didn't contribute? Well, Youkilis and Drew sat the game out in favor of Sutton and Cameron. Also Lowrie was a noticeable 0-5 but he did score 2 runs. Here're the offensive highlights:

- Crawford 4-4 with what should have been the cycle but was given a double and advanced on the error instead

- Saltalamacchia hits a three run homer in the 6th. Here's starting to get hot!

- Pedroia hit a two run shot in the 1st to set the pace and had 3 RBI on the night

- Ortiz hit his 10th HR of the season and has really had a resurgence this year. I attribute it to finally going the other way instead of trying to pull everything out of the park

- Cameron looked kind of foolish his first couple of at bats but turned it around and drove some balls deep towards the end of the game. It's tough coming off the bench but he can be a fantastic 4th outfielder if we can get him some playing time

Sox travel to Detroit for another day game. Strange to have back-to-back day games. Aceves goes against Scherzer. Scherzer's put up surprisingly good numbers so we could have our work cut out for us.

Game 48: Sox 4 Tribe 2

Sox finally beat the Indians. Beckett was awesome per his usual this year. 6 and 2/3 innings, 1 ER, 6 Ks, 5 hits, and 3 walks. Hill pitched 1 and 1/3 in relief (a risky proposition on Francona's part) and Papelbon gave up only a solo home run earning the save.

Varitek essentially gave the Sox the win with a 2-run HR in the 7th. Speed on the base paths gave us two runs in the 3rd (Ellsbury and Crawford both steal second in the inning to get in scoring position). Ortiz lead the charge with two doubles on a night when there wasn't much offense. Sox put together 4 runs on 5 hits and a walk as Carmona looked good again.

Good. I'm glad we finally got that win under the belt. Let's get the series win tomorrow. Lester pitching. Be an ace.

Game 47: Sox 2 Tribe 3

I'll take the blame for this loss. When I got home it was a 0-0 game in the third (due to a 1 hour rain delay). I was watching the game just in time to see Crawford hit a single and Pedroia drive him in three batters later to take the 1-0 lead. I stepped outside to do some lawn work and came back inside to find the score tied at 1 in the 5th. Fortunately Crawford was the first batter I saw and he hit a solo blast to give the Sox the 2-1 lead. I kept the game on through the 7th inning before leaving for frisbee. When I came back, the Sox had lost giving up 2 runs in the 8th. So clearly, my viewing the game had a direct correlation to the Sox's success and I let everyone down by only watching the entire game after it was over. My bad.

But really, the Sox lost this game in the top of the 8th for two reasons you won't necessarily see in the box score:

1. Ellsbury gets caught stealing with one out. As a premier base stealer, that was a situation in which Ellsbury has to get to second base. Shoot, he could have done nothing and gotten there once Pedroia walks. Because he gets caught the inning is over when Youkilis flies out. If he's safe on the play, he either scores on Gonzalez's single the play before or else scores on the sac fly by Youkilis.

2. Pedroia comes up lame rounding second on Gonzalez's single and is replaced by Drew Sutton. This impacted the outcome of the game not because Sutton was on the basepaths but because in the bottom of the 8th, Sutton misses a ball Pedroia absolutely would have had. That single ends up chasing Buchholz out of the game, extends the inning, and was the run that tied the game up.

Tough loss to take. I don't understand why we can't beat these guys. Or why Masterson is throwing 96 mph now after being mediocre when he pitched for us. Shoot, even Bard was topping out at 97. Beckett - Carmona tomorrow so it's not going to get any easier.

Game 46: Cubbies 1 Sox 5

Wakefield looked awesome making the spot start for Lackey. Only one run over 6 and 2/3 innings of 4 hit, 0BB, 3 K ball. More of that and we won't miss Lackey or Matsuzaka. The win also gets him within 12 wins of the Red Sox all time win record (held by Roger Clemens and Cy Young). Bard and Papelbon close the door.

At the plates, Gonzalez had another great night going 4 for 4. Saltalamacchia hit another HR over the Monster and Youkilis had a big two run triple to the triangle that gave the Sox some breathing room. This was another night that everyone got a hit except Cameron and Crawford so the team is really playing great ball right now.

And it's a good thing too as the Sox head to Cleveland next to face the team with the best record in baseball, the Indians. Let's not get swept again!

Game 45: Cubbies 9 Sox 3

Boy, that was a tough game. Sox felt like they had this one in the bag before the Cubs put up 8 runs (8!) in the 8th inning. Aceves did a stand up job in the spot start going 5 innings with only 1 run. He did hit Marlon Byrd in the face in the 2nd inning, a scary sight to see. Sox got the runs on a two-run shot by Ortiz in the 4th and an RBI single by Jacoby in the 6th.

That seemed like it would be all the offense needed as Wheeler and Hill held the line through the 7th. But in the 8th with Albers pitching, the Cubs turned 5 hits, 3 BBs, and 3 errors into 8 runs. Albers certainly didn't look sharp tonight especially walking in a run but the errors were the hardest to take. Lowrie dropped an easy pop up with nobody out and the bases loaded, Varitek threw the ball away in a run down between home and third (but the error was given to Youkilis who got a glove on it), and Crawford missed the cutoff man trying to get Varitek's errant throw back into the infield.

Fortunately it's only one loss and the Sox will get a chance to win the series in the rubber game.

Game 44: Cubbies 5 Sox 15

Sox made several moves before this game:

- Dan Wheeler came off the DL list and Michael Bowden was sent back down to AAA to make room.

- Iglesias was sent back down to Pawtucket and Drew Sutton was brought up in his place. Apparently Scutaro is going to be injured for longer than originally thought and it didn't make sense to have Iglesias riding the pine the entire time.

- Sox acquired Franklin Morales from the Rockies for cash considerations (aka a bucket of balls) and Okajima was DFA'd to make room for him on the 40 man roster. Seems like a pretty lateral move to me and I feel bad for Okajima getting jerked around this year.

During the game, Lester did not look very ace like giving up 5 runs, 12 hits, and 2 walks in 6 IP. The Cubs had at least two runners on every inning Lester pitched. He was bailed out by the hot batters who took care of business against weak pitching from the Cubs. Gonzalez continues to rip it with 4 hits. Youkilis hit a two run home run and Saltalamacchia added a solo shot. Both home runs were over the Monster and both of them were absolutely crushed. Ellsbury seemed to be on base all the time and Pedroia finally found his stroke as well. Cameron was the only starter to go hit-less. Nice to see the Sox finally put up some crooked numbers and win easily after so many close games.

Aceves is making a spot start with Matsuzaka on the DL. He;ll be going up against Zambrano. Sox and Cubs will be wearing 1918 throwback uniforms; both jerseys look AWFUL.

Game 43: Tiggers 3 Sox 4

Wow! I might start calling these guys the Kardiac Kids. Sox scrape 3 runs together against Verlander. Drew had a couple of bad plays in the outfield but the early offense was brought to you by the letters J and D (sac fly in the 2nd, HR in the 4th). Ortiz also had a HR against Verlander and put together some good at bats against a tough pitcher. Same goes for Varitek as well.

Beckett left early (83 pitches after 6 innings) with neck tightness (I haven't heard any updates). Albers held the 7th but Bard coughed up the 2 run lead by giving up back to back solo shots on off speed pitches. Why, when you can throw 100 mph, would you toy around with off speed pitches? In the ninth, Papelbon puts a scare in the fans by loading the bases with one out on 2 singles and a walk. He works his way out of it with 2 Ks.

In the Sox half of the ninth, they get the bases loaded with no outs on a Youkilis walk, an Ortiz single, and an intentional walk to Drew. Lowrie has a great 10 pitch at bat working back from an 0-2 count but his bloop into left field gets Iglesias (pinch running for Youkilis) stuck guessing if it would get caught or not. So he was forced out at home. Not to worry though, Mr. Clutch himself, the King of the Walkoff, Carl Crawford hits a stinging line drive to center field with the outfield drawn in to drive in the winning run.

A lot of fun to watch this team when it's clicking and taking care of business against a top notch pitcher like Verlander. Sox next host the Cubs for three at Fenway for the first time since the 1918 World Series. Should be fun.

Game 42: Tiggers 0 Sox 1

Boy, what a nail biter! It was another cold, rainy night in Boston (and a gorgeous day here in Seattle) and the game got delayed for ~20 minutes in the 8th inning. Both starting pitchers had pretty much stifled the batters. Coke through 7 innings of 3 hit, 1 BB shutout ball and never seemed in trouble. Buchholz matched that with 7 innings of 4 hit, 1 BB shutout ball but was a little more shaky. In the 6th, the Tigers got a runner to third with one out but stranded him. In the 7th, Buchholz loaded the bases with two outs on 2 HBP and a single but Buchholz worked his way out of the jam with a strikeout.

The only run of the game scored in the bottom of the 8th on a Crawford walk and a Saltalamacchia double off the Monster. We've been waiting all year to hear those two names contributing to a win so it's great to get some production out of the bottom of the order.

Sox have their work cut out for them today facing Verlander. But they'll counter with Beckett. So now that I've said that, expect a shoot out in the New England fog.

Game 41: O's 7 Sox 8

Phew, finally caught up. It's been cold and wet in Boston this week so yesterday's game was rained out (funny, it's been beautiful here in the NW; who would have thunk it?). Sox won an exciting game to keep the win streak alive.

We got Dice-BB for this game and were, as a result, in a 6-0 hole early. Matsuzaka gave up 5 runs in 4 1/3 innings on 5 hits, 7 BBs (!), and only 2 Ks. For the most part the O's didn't seem to hit the ball hard (with the exception of Vlad Guerrero) but you don't really need to with so many free passes. Atchison got knocked around a little (he was called up with Lackey headed to the DL) but Aceves did a great job of eating three inings to keep the game close.

On the hitting side, the Sox couldn't get anything going against starter Tillman but started the comeback in the 6th with a 5 run inning. In the bottom of the ninth, after an Ellsbury BB, Pedroia worked a one-out walk out of an 0-2 count in a 10 pitch AB to keep the inning alive. Adrian Gonzalez came up and you just knew the game was over. Two run double off the Monster, game over, Sox win. Wow.

Game 40: Sox 7 Yanks 5

Sweep! And .500 for the first time this year! Man, the Yankees-Sox games are long bouts to watch! 3:41 for this game, 3:26 the game before, and 3:35 for the first game.

Lester was not the ace we thought he would be but after giving up 4 runs in a shaky first two innings, he settled down for a solid outing (6 IP, 5 H, 4 BB, 7 Ks). This was a game of home runs though as the Yankees scored 3 of their 5 runs on HRs. The Sox countered with a 3-run HR from Youkilis to tie the game in the 3rd, Ortiz gave the Sox the lead with a solo shot in the 5th, and Saltalamacchia hit his first home run of the year (a pop up to the right field porch) in the 8th to seal the deal. Surprising Gonzalez didn't get in on the fun!

Bullpen did a great job of holding the tenuous lead Lester gave them between Aceves, Bard, and Papelbon (who had some trouble keeping his shoes tied for some reason). Really nice to see a Sox sweep of the Yankees to put them back into contention in the AL East after such a miserable start. Still, the Sox need to take care of business against everyone. Let's start that with this two game tilt against the Orioles.

Game 39: Sox 6 Yanks 0

Thank God for "park sounds." Another Fox broadcast that I was spared from listening to as the Sox rolled the Yanks. Both Beckett and CC looked dominant for the first half of the game. Beckett did a better job of spreading 4 hits and 2 BBs over his six innings than Sabathia did spreading 7 hits and 3 walks over 6 and 2/3. It also helped that Gonzalez went yard again, this time a three run bomb to chase Sabathia in the 7th. Pedroia did well working three hits and Ellsbury started the scoring with a key two run double in the 5th.

Man, Beckett looked fantastic. The 9 Ks in 6 innings were nice although the Yankees did a good job of getting him out of the game relatively early. I was gone all weekend so I'm catching up as fast as I can (which is oddly making some of the games blend together) and it would have been really frustrating to come back to three losses to watch, especially to the Yankees. Lester's going next against Garcia and I've got a good feeling Sox fans will need their brooms in the Bronx.

Game 38: Sox 5 Yanks 4

Sox win! Sox batters get 3 runs off of Colon (who looked suspiciously good for a washed up 38 year old) and 2 off of Chamberlin and manage to hold off the Bombers for the win. Buchholz looked in control all game giving up only 2 runs but Bard looked shaky in the 8th giving up another run. Papelbon's line didn't look so good (1 IP, 2 Hs, 1 ER) but seemed to be more a victim of bad luck than anything else. Jeter and Granderson hit some pretty good pitches.

At the plate, Gonzalez hit a monster shot to right in the 4th and Youkilis hit a two-run homer off of Joba in the 7th. Every Red Sox had a hit except Crawford and as a team they worked 5 walks. So overall a great job of being patient, working the pitcher, and getting pitches to hit.

Sabathia and Beckett in a tilt next. Should be exciting!

Game 37: Sox 3 Jays 9

Lackey is so bad. Nine runs in 6 2/3 innings. Some of that is on Tito for waiting so long to go out and get him (5 runs allowed in the 7^th). But still, Lackey’s ERA is now 8.01 this season and he has a WHIP of 1.74. Rajai Davis, who was batting 0.197 for the season before today, went 4-4 with 2 R, 2 RBI, and 2 SB.

Gonzalez and Ortiz both hit home runs in the 6th, Ellsbury went 0-fer to end his hitting streak, and Crawford got two hits to extend his streak to 11 games. But a disgusting game all in all.

Day off tomorrow. Three games in the Bronx this weekend.

Game 36: Sox 6 Jays 7

This L is brought to you by the pitching. Lester gets flustered by the umpire's strike zone in the 1st inning and gives up 3 runs. He settles down after that but takes on 2 more runs on two solo shots (Bautista in the 5th, Arrencibia in the 6th) over 5 1/3 innings. He also gave up a season high 5 walks to go with 7 hits and 5 Ks. Bard gives up another solo shot in the 8th inning to backup David Cooper.

Albers gives up the winning run in the 10th an a seeing eye single to Rajai Davis, 2 SBs (including 2nd on a pitch out), and a sacrifice fly by Cooper. Those SBs are on Varitek. Stealing on a called pitchout is inexcusable and the steal of third wasn't on a breaking ball. If that's the kind of SB prevention we're going to get, other teams are pretty much always going to have someone in scoring position against us.

The batting looked good though. Gonzalez hit two home runs and had three hits total. Ellsbury and Ortiz also had three hit nights (one of which was a HR for Papi). Pedroia is finally starting to make some contact too and Crawford extended his hitting streak to 10 games now. Sixteen hits as team and 6 runs so like I said, the hitting was not the problem tonight. Let's get 'em tomorrow.

Game 35: Twinkies 1 Sox 2

If you had told me Beckett and Blackburn would be stuck in a pitcher's duel for this game I would have shook my head in disgrace. Blackburn's been mediocre at best this season and Beckett's been on an absolute tear of lately. But somehow Blackburn was able to spread 7 hits and 3 walks out over 6 1/3 innings and only give up one run while the Twins seemed like they got 6 bloop hits off of Beckett.

The Sox finally scored in the 5th when Varitek hit a double, Ellsbury moved him over to third, and Gonzalez hit a two out single. Minnesota tied the game in their half of the eighth on a weakly hit infield single, a ridiculous balk call (by the same umpire as earlier this series!), and a two out single (also a bloop) by Kubel against Papelbon.

Sox won it in the 11th. Lowrie walked and was pinch run for by Iglesias. Crawford hit a low ball to right field on a pitch Iglesias was stealing on. He had to hold up at second as the wind had been absolutely howling in from centerfield all game and killed nearly every fly ball hit. But the ball did indeed hit the wall and Iglesias scored at home with a slight margin. Oki gets the win pitching two innings (which was really surprising as he looked exhausted in the top of the 11th)

Exciting to see Crawford hit another walkoff hit. Disappointing to see Beckett not get the W in a game he pitched well. Ellsbury extends the hitting streak to 18 and the Sox take the series 3-1. Now lets go to Toronto and sweep the two game series!

Game 34: Twinkies 5 Sox 9

That was a fun game to watch. Twins kept it interesting all game but at the same time, it never seemed like the Sox weren't in control. It was an offensive game with the Twins taking an early 3-0 lead in the first inning but the Sox came back scoring 1 in the 2nd and 4 in the 3rd. After that they kind of traded scores but the Sox kept a comfortable margin between them.

Gonzalez hit another Monster shot to go with two other hits on his 29th birthday and Ellsbury extended the hitting streak to 17 games with 3 hits as well. They also got help from the Twins defense who committed 3 errors.

Matsuzaka looked good after the first inning. That first inning was frustrating to watch and looked like typical Dice-BB pitching. But after that, he settled down, didn't give in to the batters, and put in a solid Dice-K effort (6 IP, 5 Hs, and 4 Ks to 2 BBs). Albers pitched well again for another 2 innings and Bard looked great in the 9th.

Jose Iglesias got in the game as a 9th inning defensive substitute. Apparently Scutaro was put on the DL with an oblique injury so the highly touted defensive prospect got his first action in the Bigs and retired the last batter of the game. Big grin on his face after that one!

Overall a great game to watch. Let's build off of it and win the series tomorrow.

Game 33: Twinkies 0 Sox 4

Boy, that game was quick! Or at least it was quick for those of us who watched it after the fact and didn't have to sit through the 2 hour rain delay between the 2nd and 3rd. MLB.tv worked like a charm this time allowing me to zip through the 2:45 minute game (plus rain delay) in under 2 hours and listen to just park sounds instead of the stupid Fox broadcast.

Buchholz looked good today although the Twins' lineup is pretty anemic without Mauer. He only went 5 innings with the rain delay but still managed 6 Ks to 2 hits and 1 BB. Hill, Albers, Bard, and Papelbon cleaned up the rest of the game giving up only 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 4 between them. Papelbon continues to shine in his contract year.

At the plate, Ellsbury continues to swing a hot bat. I think he has a 16 game hitting streak now with two hits today (including a 2 RBI single in the 8th). Crawford also continues to look good, hitting a cool .400 over the last 6 games. He's swing is such a slap type of swing though; I have no idea how he hit nearly 20 home runs last year. I think it's time to start moving him up for the 8th spot in the lineup. Pedroia got a hit finally today but still looks like his timing is off.

Lowrie had another fielding error today but it didn't result in a run scored and he made up for it by getting an RBI in the first. C'mon Jed! Clean it up!

Game 32: Twinkies 9 Sox 2

So much for that. Twins came into this game averaging 3 runs per game for the season. So wouldn't you know it, they triple that and drop 9 on the Sox. Some of that just comes with the territory when you send Wakefield out to the mound. But of the 8 runs Wakefield gave up, many of them could have been prevented. In the 2nd inning, Lowrie misses a backhand grab which would have been a double play. Instead three runs score in the inning, including one on a balk pickoff throw to first that got Francona ejected for arguing (I think he's now 2 for 2 on getting thrown out because of arguing a balk call).

In the 5th, Hale just left Wakefield in too long as he was obviously tiring. Bringing in Aceves (who was back in Boston after Atchison got sent back down to the minors) may have ended the inning. However the Twins did score two more runs that inning on a Lowrie error. He had two errors on the game; the second was on what should have been a caught stealing that he mishandled into short left field. That runner ended up scoring on Aceves' record. I guess we're finally seeing the defensive sacrifice we have to make to get Lowrie's bat in the lineup (although it wasn't much help today).

Speaking of the lineup, Baker silenced that bats for eight innings. The book on him is that he gives up a lot of fly balls so the Sox did get two solo shots off of him (Drew in the 2nd and Gonzalez in the 4th). But that was all they got. Pedroia still looks lost at the plate, swinging at pitches out of the zone and not making contact when you would expect him to.

Two day games coming up and the bullpen should finally be rested with the Pawtucket Express taking over duties the last two nights.

Game 31: Halos 11 Sox 0

Lackey really crapped the bed on this one. After last night's marathon, the Sox needed a solid game from Lackey to rest the bullpen. Before the game, Jenks and Wheeler were both put on the 15 day DL and Scott Atchison and Rich Hill were called up from Pawtucket. I think the official injuries were bicep cramps and a pull in Wheeler's calf but this seems more like a DL trip for suck-itis. Anyway, Lackey only gave the Sox 4 innings so both Atchison and Hill saw action in their first game in the Show.

Lackey was awful. Eight runs in 4 innings + 2 batters, 10 hits and 3 walks, and only 1 K. It seemed like most of the Angels' runs scored with 2 outs; at one point Lackey gave up 5 straight singles. The Angels were also running at will. They only got 4 SB ( and 1 CS) but they would have had more if their teammates hadn't gotten so many hits while they were running. Atchison looked decent in relief and Hill looks like he'll be death to left hand hitters. He might not be very good against righties though.

On the hitting side, Ortiz was on base 4 times with 3 hits and a walk. He's going the other way a lot this year. Seems like he's decided to forgo the power numbers to beat the huge shift they put on him instead. Otherwise, the Sox looked anemic against another mediocre pitcher (Pinero). I don't understand how they can get to Hernandez, Weaver, and Haren, but can't seem to touch the likes of Pinero or Fister. Is it a lack of familiarity thing? It's good to be able to hit the good pitchers during the playoffs, but we need to take care of business against the dregs during the season.

So the Sox end up splitting this series with the Halos and finishing the season series 6-2. The floundering Twins come into town next for a 4 game set. ESPN is saying Wakefield will start with Matsuzaka having pitched an inning on Wednesday.

Game 30: Halos 5 Sox 3

Long day for the Sox today. The game started in a light rain and was held up for 2.5 hours in the 5th as they waited out the storm (Angels are traveling after tomorrow's game so they wanted to get the game in if at all possible). Then the Sox claw back from a 2 run deficit to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth (two outs, full count, bottom of the ninth: dream scenario for Dreamboat). They play 12 before bringing in Matsuzaka to pitch the 13th.

What do you think would happen bringing Matsuzaka in for the 13th? Of course he loads the bases up on two singles and a walk. Abreu, Dice-BB's personal nightmare, hits a two run single to win the game. Anyone could have seen that thing coming from a mile away. There must not have been anyone else left in the bullpen but jeez, Matsuzaka in that situation? Really?

Sox had a couple of opportunities to win it. Lowrie hit a two out double in the 10th with pinch runner McDonald on first. McDonald gets stranded on third though. In the 12th Scutaro hit a one out single right before Youkilis hit what looked like a game winning home run into the Monster seats. But it bounces high off the wall instead and Scutaro gets tagged out at home. Youkilis gets to third on a single by McDonald but Lowrie grounded out to end the inning.

Sox go quickly in their half of the 13th seeing only 6 pitches while going 1-2-3. Wheeler deserved the loss giving up 2 runs on 2 hits (including a homer) and a walk while only getting one out in the 7th. Pedroia also had a crappy game going 0-6 with 4 Ks. Seemed like he killed a few rallies in the process.

Oh well. Tomorrow's game starts in only a few hours. Let's shake it off and win the next one.

Game 29: Halos 3 Sox 7

Watch out world! The Sox bats are coming alive! This game felt like it was going to be a 1-0 duel but the Sox batters were finally able to put some pressure on Dan Haren in the 6th inning, taking a 2-1 lead. Haren came apart after that giving up another run in the 7th and then a solo shot to A-Gon into the bullpens before getting yanked. The flood gates opened after that with Ortiz hitting a homer around the Pesky Pole and Scutaro sneaking a homer over the Monster in the 8th too.

Lester looked good; he's only blemish was a solo home run in the 2nd inning. He ended up going 7 innings giving up 6 hits, 1 BB, and 11 Ks. Both he and Haren benefited from an exceptionally wide strike zone from the home plate umpire. Again the bullpen didn't take advantage of the big lead; this time it was Papelbon giving up two runs on 3 hits (including a ground rule double) in the 9th.

Crawford's really starting to catch fire. He went 2 for 3 with a walk. It was also nice to see Gonzalez go deep for only the 2nd time this year. Sox have now won all 6 games they've played against the Angels this year with 2 more to go. Hopefully the bats are around for good from now on. Beckett faces off with Santana tomorrow.

Game 28: Halos 5 Sox 9

Exciting game! This one was close while Weaver and Buchholz were in, duking it out. Sox had a big inning in the 5th, getting two runs to take a 3-2 lead. Pedroia hit a 2-run single with two outs on a 13 pitch marathon at bat against Weaver. That was the game changer. If Pedroia strikes out there, it's a different game.

After that though the Sox offense explodes in the 7th for 6 runs to put the game away. Gonzalez hit a three run double followed by an RBI double by Youkilis and a two run homer by Ortiz. The Sox really showed off what everyone thought they were capable of. Even Crawford was hitting the ball with authority. It's nice to finally see the offense we expected 1/6th of the way into the season.

Also nice to beat Weaver who has started the season 6-0 with a 0.99 ERA. But the one dark cloud: Wheeler and Okajima give up three runs in 2 innings. With a 7 run lead, you'd really like to see them mowing guys down but instead they gave up 5 hits including a home run. The bullpen as a whole needs to be better at holding leads if we're going to turn this season around.

Game 27: M's 2 Sox 3

Baseball is a weird game. The Sox can't manage to get anything going against Fister but got two runs early off of Felix today. Wakefield makes the pinch start for Buchholz and the old man looked fantastic giving up only 3 hits and a walk in 5 2/3. Jenks blows it in the 5th coming in with two outs to give up 1 hit and 3 walks before getting the third out. But Albers and Papelbon hold the line until Lowrie reaches third base on a triple Ichiro lost in the sun and with two outs, Carl Crawford delivers a rope up the middle to win the game.

What a game. Certainly losing 2 out of three wasn't what we had hoped for but to beat Felix to avoid the sweep was nice. I thought for sure after losing the first two, we were playing so poorly we didn't have a chance at beating the King. But that just goes to show you, baseball's a weird game.

Game 26: M's 2 Sox 0

This was a game of missed opportunities. Somehow the Sox get blanked by 8 innings of Doug Fister and Aaron Laffey. Seven hits (5 of which were doubles) and 6 walks equal 0 runs. Sox had the bases loaded twice, once with no outs, and scored no runs. Four innings the Sox got a runner all the way to third base and still managed to not score. No runs. All game.

Lackey looked pretty good overall going 6 innings and getting the loss. It was really nice to see Okajima and Wheeler pitch well after struggling some previously. Milton Bradley got thrown out in the third arguing about a play he wasn't involved in. The umpire missed the call but still, that's just stupid.

I'm most upset with Youkilis. Twice I telepathically told him I just wanted a home run for my birthday and twice he didn't deliver. Some friend. Thanks for nothing.

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.

Opening Day Eve

Today was opening day for several teams; the Red Sox open at Texas tomorrow. Terry Francona has already announced the lineup as well:

CF Ellsbury (L)

2B Pedroia (R)

LF Crawford (L)

3B Youkilis (R)

1B Gonzalez (L)

DH Ortiz (L)

RF Cameron (R)

C Saltalamacchia (S)

SS Scutaro (R)

SP Lester (L)

No surprises there really. Cameron gets the start over Drew and Youkilis breaks up Crawford and Gonzalez instead of Gonzalez and Ortiz but that's all due to the fact they'll be facing lefty C. J. Wilson tomorrow. I expect to see Drew in Right and Youkilis batting 5th most games. Although with 3 left handed outfielders, Cameron's going to get lots of opportunities to play this year.

I tried out the MLB TV feed today too with the opening day games and was pretty disappointed. For purportedly providing HD service, the feed on the live game was dreadful. The only time I got HD was when nothing was moving on the screen. During the game I was lucky to get SD and whenever there was any action at all (like oh, I don't know, during any pitch or whenever there was a batted ball) the resolution downgraded into gigantic pixels. I'm sure if I called it in, my connection speed would be blamed instead of their service but this was downright atrocious.

The saved games were better in terms of resolution but I'm still disappointed there's not a better way to jump ahead a few seconds to skip the between-pitch video. A 5-second skip would be ideal. I can skip to the next "event" (hit, K, SB, etc.) but the fast forward doesn't preview to where you're at in the game and it needs to reload anytime you go forward or backward. So fast forwarding 5 seconds takes 15 seconds to reload. Looks like I'll have to watch every second of every game if I'm really going to watch all of the games. Yikes!

I'll be out of town this weekend so I may be slow to post my observations for the games this weekend but stayed tuned. Baseball's back, baby!

Projections

I've played in a fantasy baseball league the last couple of years so I can't help but come up with my own projections for the Sox players next year. Because we're not playing fantasy this year, I'll let you in on my thoughts before the season starts. It might be interesting to see how the numbers work out at the end of the year.

My projection system consists of looking at the last three full years and guessing that next year will be somewhat similar. I assume every player will play a full season because a season ending injury seems purely random. I apologize in advance if the tables don't come out well on your screen. Blogger doesn't have a table tool for some inane reason.

So without further ado, in order of my projected lineup, the hitters:

Pos Player R HR RBI SB BA

CF Ellsbury 96 8 63 51 0.284

2B Pedroia 110 16 84 17 0.315

LF Crawford 91 15 93 52 0.295

1B Gonzalez 89 38 108 0 0.282

3B Youkilis 91 25 102 3 0.301

DH Ortiz 78 29 100 0 0.268

RF Drew 71 21 70 2 0.270

C Salty 53 14 68 0 0.259

SS Scutaro 85 10 63 5 0.272

Gonzalez and Crawford are hard to project as they've changed teams, although Gonzalez is an order of magnitude more difficult with the league change too. Saltalamacchia is difficult too as he hasn't had much big league experience to project off of. Ellsbury, Pedroia, Scutaro, and Youkilis are all coming off of injury shortened seasons so it'll be interesting to see how they bounce back. Ortiz and Drew are going to have pretty quite years but as long as the Sox are winning, I don't think people will mind.

Now the pitching, in the order Francona already announced (starters only; who projects relievers anyway?!?):

SP W K ERA WHIP

Lester 17 215 3.34 1.24

Lackey 13 145 4.01 1.33

Buchholz 15 132 3.51 1.28

Beckett 16 185 3.95 1.22

Matsuzaka 11 154 4.48 1.35

I'm surprised at the Lackey-love from Francona; I didn't see much to like from him last year and he's really only ever had one year where he was close to dominant (2007, with the Angels). Lester will be just as good this year as last; Buchholz won't be as lucky as he was last year but will still be good. It's an odd numbered year so expect a big season from Beckett (more like 2009 than 2007). Matsuzaka has had 4 years to find his feet in America; it doesn't look like he's going to be anything more than what we've seen already.

So there you have it. Now let me have it in the comments.

Sox are 12-14 in Grapefruit League action so far. I don't mind losing any of those games while they're still in Florida. Save the wins for when they count. 11 more days till Opening Day!

The Competition

Last week the Sox went 3-4-1 in Grapefruit League action but more interestingly, they went 2-0-1 playing division foes Baltimore and New York. Which got me thinking: I wrote about the Sox offseason, maybe I should comment on the competition. Ergo, in no particular order...

Baltimore Orioles (2010: 66-96):

The O's probably had the most active offseason in the AL East. They also had the most ground to cover after finishing last for the third straight year. New pickups included veterans Derrek Lee and Vladimir Guerrero as well as infielders JJ Hardy and Mark Reynolds. Essentially the Orioles turned almost half of their batting order and it's a good thing for them. Last year's lineup posted a miserable 9 WAR combined. Yikes. The pitching benefits from the signing of Justin Duchscherer and relievers Jeremy Accardo and Kevin Gregg. Overall, the Oriole front office has shown an interest in winning this year but you can't help but look at this team as too little too late. The improvement isn't going to win a title this year and isn't sustainable enough to win in future years. In the AL East, you need to have long term homegrown talent to compete with the Sox and the Yankees and the Orioles are lacking that.

New York Yankees (2010: 95-67):

The big story of the offseason for the Yankees was the deal they didn't make. Cliff Lee shocked the world by scorning the Yankees (and the Rangers) and signing with the Phillies. This left the Yankees in a bit of lurch and made the jewel of this offseason signing catcher Russell Martin who will take the load off of Jorge Posada. Andruw Jones was also signed as a fourth outfielder and relievers Pedro Feliciano and Rafael Soriano were added as well. Overall, a disappointing offseason for the Yankees but in reality, they had so much strength in so many aspects of the game last year, not making any moves would have still left them with a very good team. Starting pitching appears to be this year's team's main weakness with the retirement of Andy Pettite but look for the Yankees to still have a very competitive team, especially come trade deadline time.

Tampa Bay Rays (2010: 96-66):

The defending AL East champs made the fewest moves out of any of the competition, inking only three new players. Former Sox and members of "The 25" Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez were added to replace Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena. Kyle Farnsworth was added to the bullpen but the rest of the Ray revisions were replaced with home grown talent. You can't help but look at this Rays team and feel like they're moving in the wrong direction. After making the World Series in 2008, the Rays have been essentially treading water each year and just getting a year older while doing it. Unless their payroll increases drastically, they won't be able to keep their home grown talent and maintain their competitive advantage. This next year seems to me like the year they lose their momentum but that may just be wishful thinking on my part.

Toronto Blue Jays (2010: 85-77):

Our sole Canadian MLB representatives are another team that seems to be just treading water but they've been doing it for nearly a decade. This last offseason saw the addition of West Coast outfielders Rajai Davis and Juan Rivera along with relievers Carlos Villanueva, Jon Rauch, and Octavio Dotel. It's hard to get excited about any of those pick ups though really and after last season, it's hard to understand what the Blue Jays front office's strategy is for becoming competitive. It's been a long time since the Blue Jays were competing for the division title and it doesn't look like this year will be any different. Maybe the strategy is to catch lightening in a bottle every year, a la Jose Bautista last year.

So there it is in a nutshell. The Sox have a good chance of taking the division with this motley crew but one thing we all learned last year was that injuries are an element than can throw any team's chances for a loop. All of this prognosticating is pointless until they've played the games after all.

T-minus 24 days till Opening Day!