Digging in

The Red Sox seemed determined to lose the last two games in Seattle, wasting a great start by Jon Lester Saturday night and a decent one from Daisuke Matsuzaka yesterday.

6+ innings, 1ER is a HOF-worthy day for Daisuke.

Meanwhile, the Yankees and Rays are only gaining more ground, as the Sox' struggle to stay afloat until everyone is healthy only gets harder. The bats have been all but nonexistent lately, bad news when they're headed to Anaheim for a three game set.

However, there is light at the end of the tunnel: they'll play three at home against the Tigers and four against the Indians before heading to New York for a four game set.

If they manage to put in a good showing for the next week-and-a-half, key contributors should be back soon. Victor Martinez might return for this series, while Dustin Pedroia has been spotted taking batting practice and fielding ground balls (albeit in his ubiquitous boot), and Jacoby (D-) Ellsbury has finally begun what is sure to be a lengthy rehab assignment.

Clay Buchholz makes his second start after returning from the DL tonight, against old frield Joel Pineiro. On paper, it looks like a sure thing, but nothing is for certain the way the Red Sox have played lately, and especially since Buchholz was less than impressive last time out. Time will tell, but you know I'll be panicking until it's over.

Getting the ball rolling

THIS was the John Lackey I expected when we signed him...

Despite a meltdown of monster proportions in the ninth inning, the Red Sox put their fifty-fourth win in the book late last night against the Mariners. Somehow, the Sox gave up five runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, resulting in closer Jonathan Papelbon's fourth blown save of the 2010 season.

The game took thirteen full innings, and the unlikely heroes included Hideki Okajima, Eric Patterson, and Ramon Ramirez.... What!?? Are the injured players back YET?

In all seriousness, the Sox need to keep winning, in any way they can. Their 54- 42 record would be good for first place in the AL Central, and second in the AL West, but they're SEVEN games behind the first place Yankees in the East and four behind the second-place Rays for the Wild Card.

I'm hoping last night's dramatic win galvanizes the Red Sox: the players should take inspiration from the great start from John Lackey and the clutch hitting of Patterson (I still can't wrap my head around that one), and I know that Theo Epstein is hard at work on a trade to bolster the moribund bullpen that managed to squander a five-run lead in the ninth.

I'm not ready to give up. There are sixty-six left to play, and players are starting to trickle off of the disabled list and back into the clubhouse, which can only mean good things for the Sox. I don't know that I'm holding out for the division title, but I think the Wild Card is within reach... However, it's unfortunately very possible that the Sox could win 95 games and miss the playoffs - but those are the breaks of the AL East.

Relax - Laser Show.

Love, love, LOVE.



Instead of dwelling on yesterday's loss, please enjoy this video of Pedey defending Papi at the beginning of the season. I'm sure Dustin would have similar sentiments about the state of the Sox if you asked him.

You can NEVER have too much pitching...

Remember this guy? Best attitude in baseball.

And ain't that the truth. The Red Sox hurlers were not spared when the injury bug attacked, as they lost starters Josh Beckett, Daisuke Matsuzaka, and Clay Buchholz for differing amounts of time, leaving the likes of Felix Dubrount and Scott Atchison to spot start.

For a team that has such a wealth of pitching on the 40-man roster, this week will mark the first time that Tim Wakefield, Clay Buchholz, John Lackey, Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, and Daisuke Matsuzaka will pitch all within seven days. However, after this week, Wakefield will likely be heading off to join the bullpen band, as he's generally the odd man out when the rotation gets overcrowded.

Of course, Wake has made it clear that he's less than fond of the 'pen, which is understandable since he's not getting any younger and getting up and getting warm is more difficult now than it was, say, ten years ago. Unfortunately, he's been pretty inconsistent this season, and the only player with MORE consistency issues is Daisuke, who has been consistently bad in the first inning, which effectively eliminates the 'pen from the realm of possibility.

The importance of the return of a full, heralded rotation absolutely can not be overstated, and the impending return of players like Victor Martinez, Dustin Pedroia, and Jed Lowrie (remember him?) could be the catalyst this team needs.

The Yankees got roughed up by the Angels last night, while the Rays lost - in embarrassing fashion - to the Orioles, so the Sox didn't lose any ground last night, despite losing a heartbreaker to the A's. Today's game is bright and early, at 3:35pm, so i'll actually be awake for the final out. Today is the first day of the rest of this season, ladies and gentlemen... I can feel it.

Must...Keep...Winning...

The rough run of luck experienced by the Red Sox this season is not about to get better; I don't think there could be a worse time for this team to have an extended stay on the West Coast.

Meanwhile, the Yankees play two against the Angels, four against the Royals, and four against the Indians, for a combined record of 129-151. The Rays will play the next three against the Orioles, the Indians (tough stretch for them), and the scuffling Tigers, with a combined record of 116-160.

The Red Sox will be playing a stretch of nine away games, all on the West Coast, against teams with a combined record of 132-149, the A's, Mariners, and Angels. The Red Sox MUST WIN a good portion of these games if they hope to be within crying distance of the playoffs when the reinforcements start to pour in.


The Sox made a good start of the trip last night as they defeated Oakland, 2-1, on the back of a strong outing by Daisuke Matsuzaka. Marco Scutaro was even featured on SportsCenter's Top Plays for an impressive grab after the ball was deflected off of Matsuzaka. This was the kind of game I envisioned when Theo dropped the much-analyzed "run-prevention" phrase last offseason (except for the piecemeal, 4A lineup card).

Somehow, I still believe in this team. I think they can do it, and I look forward to watching them. The talent is there. The hitting is there. And the determination sure as hell is there. I'm not looking forward to this string of late-night games, but I'll do my best to stay awake and send good vibes westward.

All hail Kevin Youkilis!

Kevin Youkilis is an amazingly effective ballplayer. He has impressive stats, year after year, and yet he's criminally overlooked. Last night Youkilis almost singlehandedly won the game for the Red Sox, driving in the tying run in the bottom of the ninth off of Cliff Lee, and then driving in the winning run in the bottom of the eleventh with a sacrifice fly to deep center field.

Of all the games in this series, last night's was the one I was ready to concede: Cliff Lee is anything but easy to beat, and he had the added motivation of wanting to win his first start in a Rangers uniform. Lee came all too close, getting one out away from a complete game victory when he was thwarted by Youkilis.

Youk often comes through in the clutch, but he's so consistently good that no one seems to notice when he's great. Famously snubbed for this year's All-Star Game, Youkilis shrugged it off, though Red Sox Nation was ready to back him up if indignation was the path he chose; causing a stir has never been his style.

Fiercely competitive (though quieter about it than some of his teammates), Youkilis just wants the Red Sox to win games, and he does everything he can to make sure that happens as often as possible. Every at-bat is a battle, just as every defensive chance is life-or-death, and more often than not, Youkilis comes through.

Here's hoping the dramatic win from last night spurs the Sox to even greater heights (a win streak would be nice) so they can stay alive until some reinforcements arrive.

Good Vibrations

I'm not entirely sure why, but I have a good feeling about the second half of the season. I suppose my philosophy is somewhere along the lines of "what [more] have we got to lose?"

I think Big Papi said it best in his blog: "Injuries were killing us, and the clubhouse is a hospital right now, you know what I'm saying? You have to be walking carefully in there just in case. Everybody is getting hurt so easy and in a way you wouldn't even expect."

Seriously. All these people injured with incidents like fouling a ball off their own foot; colliding with a teammate; running to second base; sports hernias; freak back problems; colliding with that teammate again... the list goes on. (I wonder if Beltre has collision insurance?) I half-expected to see a press release with something like "Kevin Youkilis strangled by own goatee, placed on 60 day DL," or "Adrian Beltre collides with himself, placed on permanent DL."

One man wrecking crew.

This team has had an extraordinary run of poor luck, and it's just got to turn around soon. The All-Star Break couldn't have come at a better time, and even though the American League finally lost it (thanks, Girardi), I couldn't be happier with the events of the last few days. Papi wins the Home Run Derby, Girardi loses the All-Star Game and thus makes the Yankees look bad, and our injured troops got a few days more to rest.

Tim Wakefield goes tonight against Tommy Hunter of the Texas Rangers. Here's hoping Wake continues that march toward the title of winningest Sox pitcher by pitching a gem to start of the second half in proper fashion.