Indians @ Red Sox Preview

The Red Sox lead over the Yankees is down to just 1 game. Last night, the game was tied in the 8th inning until Bard came in and blew it. He has been so good all season that I really don't read too much into it. Eventually everyone get it.

Tonight we will see David Huff vs. Josh Beckett. Huff lost two starts against Boston last year, but gave up just 3 earned runs in 11 1/3 innings. Since being called back up from the minors Huff has been actually pitching pretty well going 1-1 with a 0.71 ERA over 12 2/3 innings with nine Ks. Still with Jiminez being aquired this is probably Huff's last night.

Beckett wasn't as sharp in his last outing giving up 4 runs in 7 innings to the Royals. It wasn't a bad start,he just had one bad inning. I think he will come out strong tonight, even though he has struggled against the Indians in his career (4-5 5.04 ERA). Other then that last start Beckett has been amazing at home with a 1.88 ERA. Look for Boston to win big tonight.

Red Sox win 7-2
Player of the Game: Pedroia/Beckett
Game starts at 7:10pm

9 Indians, 6 Sox

Even though Daniel Bard gave up the dagger runs, I'm still going to blame the loss on John Lackey. Through the 1st three innings he pitched real well. Lackey gave up a run in the 4th to make it 3-2, and was fine until the 6th. Lackey got hit for 3 more runs in the 6th, including back to back homers by Cabrera and Hafner. Lackey ended up with 6 2/3 innings, giving up 8 hits, 5 runs, and struck out 5.

Speaking of Asdrubal Cabrera, he absolutely killed the Sox and went 3-5 with 2 homeruns.

Crawford and Salty chipped in with solo shots each. And everyone except Ortiz had a hit. We tried, just bad luck yesterday.

Indians @ Red Sox Preview

The Red Sox and Indians both made trades to improve their rotation, but that isn't something we will see tonight. Tonight we get Lackey vs. Josh Tomlin... very thrilling.

Tomlin has been the surprise of the Indians season going 11-4 with a 4.01 ERA, and is 4-1 with a 3.81 ERA over his last eight starts. Tomlin isn't an overpowering pitcher, but I guess on some level you have to give him respect with how well he has pitched this year.

The Indians as a team though have been struggling. They are just 2-8 over their last 10 games and have fallen 2 1/2 games behind the Tigers for first place in the AL Central. Even with their trades you have to wonder if this overachieving team may have finally leveled out.

Red Sox lead the majors with 586 total runs and have scored 15 over their last two games. As DP and I have stated several times this is the best offense we have ever seen. It is really hard for me to pick again them on any night, even with they have that shit head Lackey on the hill.

Lackey won his last four starts with a 2.52 ERA, so hopefully he has turned the corner. I still think he is letting up way too many hits and eventually that will come back to haunt him once again. Still, think the Red Sox win tonight though...

Red Sox win 8-6
Player of the Game: Ellsbury
Game starts at 7:10pm

MLB Trades That Happened Over The Weekend

Texas Rangers add Mike Adams and Koji Uehara.
The Rangers have a lot of problems when it comes to their bullpen, so adding to of the best set up men certainly helps. Their combined stats are: 95 innings, 51 hits, 111 strikeouts, 17 walks. Also they control them for next year too.

Hunter Pence to Philadelphia Phillies
How do the Phllies constantly make awesome moves. They gave up some pretty good prospects but Pence fills a huge void in a what is a surprisingly bad Phillies line up. Pence will most likely take Raul Ibanez's spot out there, Ibanez is terrible in the field and is batting around .260. I like the deal.

Doug Fister and David Pauley to Detroit Tigers
Another move I'm in favor for, with Brad Penny being awful and the Tigers constantly having to call up some prospect to get rocked every 5th day, this should put a stop to the bleeding. Fister is 3-12, but remember he's on Seattle who is allergic to runs, he also has a 3.33 era and about 90 Ks. David Pauley should fit some of the bullpen void as well.

Ubaldo Jimenez to Cleveland Indians
I like this move for the Indians, a lot of people are saying that they gave up too much by involving top prospect Drew Pomeranz and Alex White, however, Ubaldo is 27, is coming off a 19 win season and flirts with 200 Ks a year. He could be an Ace for Cleveland who need a top of the line rotation guy. They have him for the next 3 years at a relatively cheap price. Like the aggressiveness by Cleveland.

Michael Bourn to Atlanta Braves
Good fit for the Braves who need an OF and need speed. They got both and didn't give up that much.

Indians Trade For Kosuke Fukudome

The Indians acquired right fielder Kosuke Fukudome and about $3.9MM from the Cubs today for minor leaguer outfielder Abner Abreu and reliever Carlton Smith. This is actually a really good fit for the Indians. They have been having to play without Shin-Soo Choo and Grady Sizemore since they are on the DL and Fukudome can slid in and pick up some of the slack.

Fukudome isn't anything special, but he is a patient hitter that can at least be a nice stopgap option for awhile. Plus the Cubs are picking up most of the tab on him, so I think it's worth the risk.

The two minors the Indians gave up are nothing that they'll miss. Abreu is only in Class A ball, and is ranked 23rd among Indians prospects. Smith is just a AAA middle reliever.

Grady Sizemore To The DL.... Again

The 1st place Indians lost who should be their best player for the 3rd time this year with a knee injury.

Sizemore has never been the same for the passed 3 years, and last year was out 10 months due to microfracture surgery. He wasn't having the best year this year hitting around .240 with 10 hrs and 30 rbis, but he's been injured a lot.

The Indians have been amazing this year figuring they have been able to still be in 1st place after 92 games with that slapstick line up and rotation.

Shin Soo Choo Has Had A Rough Year

Indians outfielder Shin-Soo Choo could miss up to 2½ months after having surgery on his broken left thumb. ESPN

1st the guy gets a DUI, then he forgets how to hit, then breaks his thumb and is now out a billion weeks.

The Indians have slowed down significantly from their ridiculously hot start and now with losing presumably their best players, this only spells more trouble for the Tribe. Choo is a big part of their offense and even though he wasn't hitting that great he was still very aggressive on the base paths. I don't expect the Indians to be in it once he comes back so this won't do much, but is definitely the nail in the coffin.

14 Red Sox, 2 Indians

Home run derby time as the Red Sox beat the shit out of the Indians started off with 7 quick runs and ended up winning 14-2. In the 14 runs the Red Sox had 4 homeruns, Pedroia hit a 2-run homer in the 1st, Crawford hit a solo shot in the 3rd, Ortiz had a solo homer in the 6th, then the next 2 batters reached after Papi, and Salty brought them in with a 3-run shot.

Everyone on the Sox got at least 2 hits except Jed Lowrie who went 0-5.

Jon Lester was great. Lester went 6 innings, gave up only 3 hits, no runs, 1 walk, and struck out 7. Lester has a major league best 7 wins.

We were up on the Yankees for an hour, but they ended up winning.... gay

Red Sox @ Indians Preview

The Sox finally beat the Indians, and with Lester on the hill one would think they should be able to win another one today. In a rare day game we get Lester vs. Mitch Talbot.

Mitch Talbot (1-0, 1.46), who has been on the disabled list since April 17 due to a strained throwing elbow get the start for the Indians. Personally, I think he sucks. I know every time I say that the player goes out and has a great game, but this guy throw garbage. Talbot's season debut came against the Red Sox, when he allowed 2 runs, 5 hits and 3 walks over 4 1/3 innings of Cleveland's 8-4 victory. You can tell that even though he only allowed 2 runs, he was far from strong in that game. I think today Boston capitalizes and blows this guy up.

Lester is 3-1 with a 3.93 ERA in 9 career starts versus the Indians. He is also an amazing 8-0 with a 3.16 ERA in 10 May starts over the past two seasons. Lester has won his last two start, but has been far from sharp. He has allowed a total of 14 runs over his last 3 games, including 12 hits against the Cubs last time out. The Red Sox really need him to step up, and be an ace (along with Beckett), which the starting rotation looking thin. I expect 7 innings from him every time out, something he hasn't done in each of the last 3 games. Lester is too good to struggle for long, so today would be a perfect day to go out and throw a gem.

Red Sox win 7-1
Players of the Game: Lester/Gonzalez
Game starts at 12:05pm


***LINEUP***

Kevin Youkilis has a sore left hand, the result of a fielding play last night, and is out of the lineup, but Pedroia is back. Here is the rest of the lineup...

Ellsbury, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Gonzalez, 1B
Ortiz, DH
Lowrie, SS
Crawford, LF
Saltalamacchia, C
Cameron, RF
Sutton, 3B

4 Sox, 2 Indians

"Fuck this! Fuck This place!"

That's what Josh Beckett was screaming after he was relieved by Rich Hill in the 7th after walking a batter. Rich Hill promptly struck out Jack Hannahan causing Josh Beckett to expressing his true feelings towards Cleveland and earning his first win at the Jake. Hill worked the 8th only allowing a walk. Papelbon worked the ninth and despite giving up his first home run of the year to Travis Buck, gets his ninth save of the year.

Beckett was really good tonight, 6 2/3 innings, five hits, and allowing one run in the second. Beckett's ERA this year is now a ridiculous 1.69 on the season.

Adrian Gonzalez and Jed Lowrie both drove runs in and David Ortiz is the only member of the Sox who had a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4.

Sox are a half game back in the AL East.

Box Score

Red Sox @ Indians Preview

The Sox have battled out of one of their worst starts to a season they have ever had, but they still (like much of the league) haven't figured out the Indians. Tonight they will get another shot with Beckett going against Carmona.

Beckett has been awesome this year (3-1 1.73 ERA), but had to leave last game with a stiff neck. Hopefully that is gone tonight, and he can get back to dominating, because the Sox can't afford to lose another starting pitcher. Beckett has not been very good against the Indians going 0-3 with a 6.48 ERA in 3 starts.

Meanwhile, Carmona has been pretty damn good against the Sox with a 1.69 ERA his last 4 starts against Boston. Carmona is a guy who lives for ground balls, so the Sox are going to need to find a way to elevate the ball. They also need to be patient, as Carmona has had a tendency to walk a lot of guys (though not this year 19 in 64 1/3 innings).

The Red Sox haven't dropped seven in a row in Cleveland since a 12-game skid Aug. 23, 1931-Sept. 15, 1932. The streak has to stop somewhere, so I say it stops tonight.

Red Sox win 6-3
Player of the Game: Ortiz
Game starts 7:05pm

3 Indians, 2 Red Sox

Daniel Bard sucks... He's on my shit list for a while.

Daniel Bard came in with 1 out and 1 on in the 8th and couldn't get the job done as the Indians scored twice and took the first game 3-2.

Clay Buchholz had another good start as he went 7.1 innning, struck out 4 and let up 2 er.

Dustin Pedroia left the game with an unknown leg injury that was sustained when he rounded second and seemed to get his feet caught up. No word on what the injury may be.

Carl Crawford hit his second homer of the season, a solo shot in the 5th, that gave the Red Sox the 2-1 lead. But Clutch wasn't so clutch last night as he hit into a double play with a man on 1st and 3rd.

Box Score

Red Sox @ Indians Preview

The Indians went from being the laughing stock of the MLB last year to so far posting one of the best record in baseball (29-15). One top of that they have swept all three games they played the Sox this year, but the Sox are a much different team now.

The Sox have gone a major league-best 23-11 since April 16. Adrian Gonzalez looks like an MVP, Ellsbury looks like a leadoff hitter, and Ortiz is swinging like it's 2007. Still, there are some problems with this team. Dice-K/Lackey are both on the DL, and the bullpen hasn't been all that stable. That shouldn't hurt them too much tonight though with Buchholz on the hill.

Buchholz is 4-3 with a 3.42 ERA, which is decent, but is 3-0 with a 1.40 ERA in his four starts, so he is really starting to look more like the guy we saw last year. Going against him is our old friend Masterson, who has been stellar (5-2 2.52 ERA). On top of that Masterson is 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA against the Sox in his career. He is going to be tough against a lineup that can have trouble against lefties.

I am putting my trust in Buchholz tonight, and Gonzalez is so hot right now I think they squeak by in this game.

Shin Soo Choo Busted For DUI

"Shin-Soo Choo spent Tuesday afternoon talking to each of his teammates, one by one, to express how sorry he is for his off-field arrest on suspicion of drunken driving and the embarrassment it caused. The Indians outfielder was arrested Monday after a breathalyzer test showed he had a blood-alcohol level of .201 -- more than double Ohio's legal limit of .08.

According to police, a patrolman first spoke to Choo at 2:25 a.m. He told the officer he was lost and needed directions to Avon Lake. Choo was allowed to continue driving, but was later pulled over when he twice crossed the double-yellow lines and drifted into a bike path. He told the officer his GPS had broken and he was unable to get directions home. Choo's eyes were bloodshot and he smelled of "an alcoholic beverage," police said, and he was ordered out of the SUV.

Choo was unable to complete a heel-to-toe walking test, losing his balance and he failed two other sobriety tests, the report said. He was taken to the police station and was given the breathalyzer test. Choo was charged with operating a vehicle under the influence, having an excessive blood-alcohol level and a traffic violation (ESPN)."

Doesn't sound like it's going to be a big deal, as the MLB doesn't suspended players for DUIs, but this is starting to get out of control. It is only the beginning of May and already 6 MLB players have been arrested for DUIs. I don't know what the deal is, but these dudes really need to start hiring drivers or something.

Choo seemed really sorry about the whole thing, and I doubt this will be an on going problem.

What's the odds it happened after leaving a karaoke bar?

Indians 1, Red Sox 0

The Sox finally got a Quality Start. Jon Lester was superb, throwing 7 shutout innings, working his way out of what little trouble he found himself in. He just didn't get any support. And now the Red Sox are off to their worst start since 1945. And I'm starting to worry.

The bullpen once again failed the Sox. Give Cleveland credit for manufacturing a run, but Bard's inability to throw strikes helped Manny Acta do things like call for a squeeze play.

The only hitter in the lineup doing their job is Adrian Gonzalez. The Sox are getting baserunners here and there, but can't get hits to knock them in. They're now 7/44 (.159) with runners in scoring position this season. They're only hitting .181 as a team, so it's not like they're only struggling in clutch situations. They're struggling to hit in every situation.

Youkilis is pressing too hard. Maybe the thumb is still bothering him, but I think a combination of rust and pent up frustration is why he's swinging so freely, and why he's dropping balls in the field. Remember, he hadn't played a competitive game since August 2nd. He's not exactly mild mannered, either. I think he's trying too hard to force the hits.

The Sox are failing at even the little things. Darnell McDonald's moronically wide turn of 2nd base that ended this game is an excellent example. And Varitek can give all the excuses he wants, but he made a huge mistake last night in not tagging Buck.

The Red Sox need to turn things around at Fenway. It's Opening Day tomorrow, and time to start the season over again. Unfortunately, John Lackey is pitching. He faces Phil Hughes, who struggled in his first start.

-The Commodore

Red Sox vs Indians Preview

Today the Sox are taking on the lowly Indians and are trying not to be swept. Ugh. Luckily we have Jon Lester on the mound vs Fausto Carmona. If we use this logic the Red Sox should win this game because Lester sucked less than Carmona last time out. Lester gave up five runs and six hits, including three homers, in 5 1/3 innings and Carmona gave up 10 runs and 11 hits in three innings.

Some things I'm interested in:

Can Lester have a bounce back start even though it's April?

Will Carl Crawford build off yesterday?

Can our offense get of neutral and can Youk, Pedroia and Ellsbury get going?

Of course I will say yes blindly.

Let's not go 0-6 and hopefully we wont see any of this today:

Even though BMack loves that shit

Red Sox 7-5
WP: Dan Wheeler
Tommy Award: Crawford

Indians 8, Red Sox 4

I really thought Daisuke was going to turn the Sox' fortunes around last night. He's always done well against Cleveland. And they tend to be free swingers. I was wrong.

He wasn't awful. But in typical Daisuke fashion, even when he does well, he fails to do well for long enough. And while it was the bullpen that ultimately lost this game, Daisuke gave the bullpen a chance to lose it, by only going 5 innings.

And during those 5 innings, he nibbled. And he nibbled. He threw a joke of a 90 MPH fastball right down the middle to Choo, and it was crushed. He nibbled some more. He walked batters. He hit a batter. He allowed 10 baserunners in 5 innings.

But he didn't lose this game by himself. Not by a longshot. Ellsbury struck out 3 times and went 0 for 5. We're still waiting for him to hit. Youkilis went 0 for 4, continuing his struggles. And Varitek messed up a defensive play, turning what should have been an out into a Cleveland run. His mistake of not tagging Buck at the plate was inexcusable for a veteran and a "Captain."

Then the bullpen. That's worrying me more than anything else right now. The starting pitching is what it is. The offense will inevitably improve. Guys like Ellsbury and Youkilis are not sub-.200 hitters. They'll come around. The bullpen, however, has been nothing but a disaster so far. Dan Wheeler was supposed to be the 2nd set-up man alongside Bard. He's allowed 2 homeruns already. And Reyes was supposed to add depth. He's only added mass, and a heavy ERA.

A few bright notes from last night: Gonzalez hit his first homerun with the team. And Crawford got on base, then ran, stealing his first 2 bases of the season.

The rotoation starts all over again, and maybe that's what this club needs. Lester faces Fausto Carmona, who allowed 10 runs in 3 innings against Chicago. First pitch at 12:05 this afternoon.

-The Commodore

Red Sox vs Indians Preview (Sox Lineup Is In)

The Red Sox need to win, they are 0-4 for the first time in 15 years and there is only one man to pull them out of this funk. That man is Daisuke Matsuzaka. The once 18 game winner/ World Series Champion is taking on Mitch Talbot and the Indians. Dice is the man to turn to also because last year he was 5-1 when pitching after a Red Sox loss. More importantly, he allowed one run and nine hits over 16 innings to win both of his starts against the Indians, continuing his epic run of dominance in this series. For his career, Dice is 4-1 with a 2.34 lifetime ERA versus Cleveland. He's been nearly unhittable in two starts at Progressive Field, holding the Indians to four hits over 15 scoreless innings. Brilliant!

But enough about how great Dice K is, what has been the issue thus far in the season is our hitting. In the 4 games this season they are hitting .186 which is horrendous figuring all the hype surrounding it. It doesn't matter how well Dice pitches tonight, if the Sox can't score we will be in trouble. I don't like this moving Crawford all around every game that's going on and I don't like the changing of the batting order. I know we like the L/R way of hitting but fuck that, just stick to one line up Tito and let it ride. My patience with that assclown is already wearing thin this season.

Either way, I think the Sox can get to Mitch Talbot early and often.

Sox 10-0
WP: Dice K
Offensive MVP: Crawford
Tommy Award: Dice K


***LINEUP***

Ellsbury CF
Crawford LF
Pedroia 2B
Gonzalez 1B
Youkilis 3B
Ortiz DH
Drew RF
Varitek C
Scutaro SS

Same as last night. Hopefully they hit a lot better then they did last night.

Indians 3, Red Sox 1

So long as the Orioles are in first place, the season hasn't really, fully begun. It's still in that opening phase, in which averages and ERAs range from 0 to the high hundreds. It's not time to panic. It's not time to even worry. It is time to think, though.

And I think Josh Beckett is going to give us a very disappointing year. I know it's just one game, and 3 runs in 5 innings isn't atrocious. But he looked so inconsistent with his pitches. Sometimes the fastball had bite. Sometimes it just floated up there. And when Cleveland stopped swinging early, Beckett started to struggle.

I feel like giving the offense a pass in this one. The Sox tend to struggle against young, unknown, unfamiliar pitchers like Josh Tomlin. And last night's weather in Cleveland was hardly conducive to offense. And free passes are easy to give in April.

But the Red Sox will need to hit in order to win with the likes of Beckett and Lackey on the mound.

And now comes Daisuke, who faces the Indians' Mitch Talbot. I actually think Daiske is going to dazzle in this game.

-The Commodore

Red Sox @ Indians Preview (Sox Lineup Is In)

What a difference a year makes. A year ago the Red Sox signed signed Josh Beckett to a 4 year $68 million dollar extension. Most fans and experts liked the deal, I mean locking up you "ace" who is just now turning 30 years old usually seems like a good idea. Since then Beckett has been anything but an "ace", and now there are serious questions about where his career is heading. Not only was Beckett terrible last season (6-6 5.78 ERA), but was terrible all spring as well. The Red Sox have been making excuses like "he is just trying to throw strikes", and "spring doesn't matter", but now the games do matter and you'd be hard pressed to find a Red Sox fan that is confident in Beckett right now.

On top of all that negative Beckett stuff the Sox have looked terrible in their 3 games this year getting swept by the Rangers. There has not been one pitcher that has looked impressive over their first 3 games, and now you have arguably you biggest question mark taking the hill against a team that is hitting .318 right now.

With all that being said, this is the Red Sox and they are the Indians and I fully expect the Red Sox to crush Josh Tomlin and the Indians tonight. Tomlin was 6-4 last year with a 4.56 ERA, but with all the extra left handed bats the Red Sox added this offseason I don't see him making it out of the 4th inning.

As for Beckett, I want to see him pitch not just well, but really well. Do I think he will? No, but I do see him going 6 innings allowing 3-4 runs with 5-6 Ks. Right now, the Red Sox will take that in a heartbeat, as they are just looking to get in the win column.

Red Sox win 8-5
Player of the Game: Gonzalez
Game starts at 7:05pm

***UPDATE***

Sox Lineup:

Ellsbury CF
Crawford LF
Pedroia 2B
Gonzalez 1B
Youkilis 3B
David Ortiz DH
J.D. Drew RF
Saltalamacchia C
Marco Scutaro SS

Love the new lineup, esecpially against a right-hander, but I have to admit I am shocked that Varitek isn't behind the plate tonight.