Really Drew, Already?

"The Boston Globe reports that J.D. Drew has battled lingering hamstring issues over the winter and may not be ready when spring training starts for position players in less than two weeks (ESPN)."

There was a part of me going into this season that thought "Hey it's Drew's contract year maybe he'll actually want to play baseball". My apologies on that, I don't know what I was thinking.

This could end up being a good thing. Report indicate that Mike Cameron is 100% healthy, and that gives the Red Sox the fastest outfield in the major leagues. On top of that Cameron, when healthy, is just a better player then Drew. The Sox have plenty of guys in the minors (Daniel Nava, Darnell McDonald and Josh Reddick) that can easily slide into that 4th outfielder spot.

Still, JD Drew you are such a pain in the ass. Thank God this is the last year.

Bunch Of Red Sox Injury Updates

Ton of injury news coming out today from the Red Sox camp.

- Pedroia has been told by doctors to slow down his comeback a bit. He tired running yesterday and his foot is still sore. The Sox (and doctors) don't want him doing anything that causes him pain. If he was to reinjure his foot it would most likely knock him out for the year, and could cause long term problems. Still, Pedroia still thinks he can come back soon, just probably not by Aug 6th like originally planned.

- Mike Lowell hit three homers and drove in five in a rehab game for Triple-A Pawtucket. This was Lowell's 4th game in the minors. Lowell played third base yesterday and could be activated by the Red Sox as soon as this weekend, when the Sox return home. The 3 HRs will hopefully help his trade value, and the fact he was playing the field can't hurt.

- JD Drew will have an MRI on his hamstring at some point today. The Sox hope they can have him back by Friday, but I'm not holding my breathe. Drew says his hamstring has been bothering him for the past 3-4 weeks. The only good news is that if he does go on the DL we might be able to see Sox prospect Ryan Kalish (who is having a hell of a year) brought up to the majors.

- Holy shit, there has been an Ellsbury sighting... Ellsbury went 1-for-2 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored in his second rehab game. The plan is to have him make 2-3 more rehab starts at the lower levels before bringing him up to AAA.

Another Red Sox Hurt

Delcarmen (the pride of Hyde Park) actually had been one of the better Red Sox relievers so far this year, until roughly a week ago. Well, now we have a possible reason for it, as Manny Delcarmen just told reporters that he is having issues with his right elbow and will see the doctor tomorrow.

That could explain why in his last 3 outings, he has faced 14 batters and got only 3 of them out (1 IP, 9 H, 9 ER, 2 BB, 0 K). This is bad news for the Red Sox, as their bullpen has been far from great this season, but it is even worse news for Delcarmen, since he has already had Tommy John surgery once in his career.

The only good news is that he was still throwing 95, so hopefully it is something that just needs some rest.

In other Red Sox news DL Drew has a stiff neck and is day to day...shocking.

J.D. Drew Has Shoulder Surgery

"Boston right fielder J.D. Drew recently underwent minor shoulder surgery, reports the Boston Herald. With the Red Sox trying to retain free agent outfielder Jason Bay, it makes sense that the team would try to keep any injuries quiet, no matter how minor, since that could impact their leverage in negotiations (ESPN)."

The Red Sox can get out of Drew's contract if he has serious shoulder issues. Apparently this is not serious enough (which sucks!!!). It doesn't seems like this will keep him out, as the Globe is saying he will be ready for spring training. I also don't see this affecting the ongoing negotiations with Jason Bay.

Orioles 0 Red Sox 10

Everything you wanted to see from the Red Sox they did last night, as they rolled over the lowly Orioles 10-0. Clay Buchholz was just awesome last night throwing 7 scoreless innings allowing only 3 hits with 5 ks.

Boston wasted no time demolishing Orioles prospect David Hernandez, as Boston got it first 8 runs by the way of HRs. Pedroia (twice), Youkilis, Gonzalez, and Drew all went deep, and then in the 7th inning Big Papi capped it off with a solo HR of his own. The Sox are just so good when they are playing at home, but they are going to need to find a way to win on the road constantly before playoff time.

Texas won last night, so the Sox are just 2 1/2 games up on them for the Wild Card.

White Sox 8 Red Sox 12

Kind of a strange game. The White Sox were up 4-1 going into the bottom of the 3rd inning. There were two outs, and Ortiz hits a slow roller to 1st base. For no reason Contreras decides to charge after the ball. He bobbles it, a run scores, and Ortiz is safe. From that point on nothing went right for the White Sox. Boston ended up scoring 6 runs in that inning, and Contreras was pulled after only 2 2/3 innings.

Buchholz had a bad game. Mabe he just has to be going against an ace to pitch well. Honestly it is starting to feel like that is true. Buchholz was pulled with two outs in the fifth following Paul Konerko's three-run homer that made it 9-7. The good news is that Boston's bullpen was up for the challenge pitching 4 1/3 innings letting up only 1 run (it was off Bard).

With a solid outing from the bullpen the Sox offense continued to pour it on scoring 3 more runs in the 7th inning to put the game out of reach. 1 of those runs was a HR by J.D. Drew, who has been on fire lately.

Since Texas did not play last night Boston now has a 1 1/2 game lead in the Wild Card.

D.L. Drew Injury Update

"The Providence Journal reports that Red Sox OF J.D. Drew hurt his leg Thursday and is likely to miss Friday's game in Baltimore (Sportsline)."

This sucks because he actually had been playing well lately, which we haven't seen much of this season. He had a 7 game hitting streak going before the injury. Hopefully he will not be out too long, but with this guy you just never know...

Red Sox 2 Rangers 4

The Sox are no longer in 1st place. Their offense can't get runs against anyone, and the local papers are pressing the panic button. Just another typical year in Red Sox Nation...

Last night the Sox got a complete game from Josh Beckett (his 3rd in his last 6 starts). He let up 4 runs, but that isn't bad at all against one of the most dangerous lineups in all of baseball. The problem was the Sox not being able to get anything going against Tommy Hunter. Hunter went 6 innings allowing 1 run on 4 hits. With this win he is now 2-1 on the season and has lowered his ERA to 2.17. Boston's only run against Hunter came in the 6th when Pedroia hit a 2 out single and Youkilis followed with a double into right-center.

Boston once against got nothing from their leadoff hitter as Ellsbury went 0-4. Drew is doing nothing as he went 0-4 lowering his batting average to .236 on the season. With each passing game it is becoming more and more obvious that Boston needs to go out and add a bat to shake up this lineup, because I just don't see this lineup fixing itself the way it is setup.

A's 4 Red Sox 5

Who leads the AL in wins? Oh, that would be Mr. Tim Wakefield.

The All-Star pitcher let up a lot of hits, but found his way through 6 innings letting up 3 runs with 8 Ks. Wake collected his 11th win of the season, as the Sox took their 2nd straight game against the A's.

This was no easy game. Cahill was unreal through the first 5 innings, but in the 6th the Sox offense finally got it going when Drew hit a solo HR followed by a 3 run blast by Ortiz. Boston went into the 9th inning with a 2 run lead, but like so many times this season Papelbon made it interesting. I know you can't shit on a guy who just got his 22nd save, but he doesn't look like himself, and last night he almost blew it. After letting up a run there were 2 men on with Cust at the plate. The good news was that Cust just can't hit Papelbon, so that quickly ended all the drama.

Ortiz had 4 RBIs in the game, and has really turned around his season. It is really just in time with the Sox offense not doing so well. Youk is in a terrible slump, Bay is still struggling, and Lowell is on the DL. Once again it is Big Papi's offense.

The Yankees won again last night, so Boston is still just 1 game up on them for 1st place in the AL East.

Red Sox 4 Orioles 0

Lester vs. the Orioles is about the surest pick you can make in baseball. Lester is now 8-0 with a 2.18 ERA against Baltimore in 10 career starts. Last night he threw 7 scoreless innings while striking out 8. Papelbon got the final out with two on to earn his 132nd career save, tying Bob Stanley for the most in Red Sox history. Papelbon has 19 saves this season in 20 opportunities. Oh yea, and he 20 for 20 in save opportunities against Baltimore with a 0.39 ERA...WOW.

Pedroia started the scoring in the first inning with an RBI single, then in the 4th Tek made it 2-0 with his RBI single. J.D. Drew put the game out of reach in the same inning with a 2 run blast (his 10th of the season).

Once again Boston's bullpen was amazing throwing two scoreless innings while using 4 pitchers. With the win the Sox are now 3 1/2 games ahead of the Yankees for 1st place in the AL East.

Yankees 3 Red Sox 4

8-0

Yea that is the Red Sox record against the Yankees this year. The Sox have beat them in every conceivable way. They have blown them out, hung on, out pitched, out hit, and just play smarter baseball then the Yankees.

Last night the Sox 5th starter beat the Yankees #1, who was supposed to turn around this franchise. Penny gave the Sox 6 scoreless innings. It was the first time we really got to see what Penny can do. He left it all on the field, and threw everything but the kitchen sink at the Yankees. In prior games Penny was all about pounding the strike zone with his fast ball. Last night he threw everything he had and worked the counts to keep the Yankees off balance. If this is one of the last starts for Penny in a Red Sox uniform he gave one hell of an audition for the rest of the league. He was even touching 97 MPH on the radar gun. I really can't say enough about how well he pitched.

CC Sabathia also had a solid game. He gave the Yankees 7 innings, which was big for them since none of their starters had lasted more then 2 2/3 innings in the other 2 games against the Sox. Boston jumped out to a 1-0 lead after Ortiz hit a solo shot over the Green Monster. Big Papi really looked like the Ortiz from the glory days when he used to be able to hit whatever he wanted to opposite field. The Yankees took the lead in the 7th. It really looked the wheels were coming off for the Sox after Penny left the game. Delcarmen let up 3 runs on 3 hits in the 7th. After a Cervelli RBI doubled to left field, A-Rod followed with an double to center that scored Cervelli and Damon to make the score 3-1. It looked as if A-Rod was finally going to be a hero, but at this point we should all know better.

Boston came up in the 8th and ripped apart the Yankees. Drew, Bay, and Lowell each got an RBI in the inning and the Sox went back on top 4-3. All that was left was Papelbon to close out the 9th inning and the Sox had swept the series and made it 9 in a row (if you go back to September of last season). He got it done in only 9 pitches, and the Sox are now 2 games up on the Yankees for 1st place in the AL East.

There are so many great things about this game. Obviously the fact of winning all 8 games against the Yankees is awesome, but it gets better. Having the Sox 5th starter beat the Yankees star offseason pickup was amazing, then on top of that have their other big acquisition (Teixeira) go 0-5 just makes me want to pinch myself to see if I am dreaming. Anyways, this was probably the most exciting game of the year. Hope you all watched it....

Yankees 0 Red Sox 7

The Sox have now beaten the Yankees 6 times in a row. You have to love with all there high paid players that they brought in they still can't figure the Red Sox out. A.J. Burnett was on the mound for the Yankees. Up until this game he had never lost to the Red Sox, but that changed quickly as he was chased out of the game after only 2 2/3 innings.

Boston had everything clicking yesterday, as Ortiz hit a 2 run HR in the 2nd inning. That HR marked the second homer in three games for the struggling slugger, who looks to be turning things around a bit as he now is riding a 7 game hitting streak. Drew kept the runs coming as he added another 2 runs with a double that scored Green and Kotsay.

That is really all the Sox would need, as Beckett continued to be unhittable. He only went 6 innings, but he could have gone longer if needed. He finished with 6 innings letting up 0 runs on 1 hit with 8 Ks. After the Sox scored runs in the 3rd, 4th, and 7th inning the bullpen took care of the rest pitching 3 scoreless innings.

Boston looked great last night, and now are tied for 1st place in the AL East.

Red Sox 10 Tigers 5

Becket flirted with a no hitter till Curtis Granderson with 2 outs in the 7th hit a single. The Tigers broke up the shutout with five unearned runs in the eighth thanks to three Boston errors and a bases-loaded triple by Granderson. Even with the ugliness in the final couple of innings of the game, the Sox have to be pleased with how their "aces" have turned around their season. Beckett's final stat line was 7 2/3 innings allowing 0 ER on 2 hits with 9 Ks.

Boston's offense seemed to be struggling early in the game. They did get 2 runs in the first off J.D. Drew's 8th HR of the year. Boston put away the game in the 8th though when Ortiz, Youk, and Varitek all had RBI doubles as Boston scored 6 runs in the top of the 8th. Every player that was in the starting lineup, and it seems like Francona's move to shuffle the lineup is paying off.

The Red Sox got a scare when Kevin Youkilis had to leave the game after a freak injury in the 8th inning. Youkilis was stretching for a throw at first when Anderson kicked his right ankle, but Francona said after the game that it appeared to only be a bruise, so he should be fine.

With the win Boston is now tied for first place with the Yankees in the AL East.

Daily Red Sox Spring Training Update

- Everyone in the media is freaking out about J.D. Drew and Brady Penny's "injuries". Well news today seems to be positive. Penny was just stiff, and doesn't seem like he has any injury. Drew got the injection in his back, here is what he had to say about it...

"Well, you know early on this spring I'm talking about lower back stiffness. Been working with a chiropractor, started talking a little bit about some of the underlying issues and thinking that the facets might be a little bound up. So [I] talked with the training staff a little bit, decided to do an injection in that area to see if that would free up some of the old scar tissue, an old injury, and give me some freer motion in that area. Really a win-win situation. I mean if it doesn't go well, then it's not a big deal. If it goes well then we kind of get an idea of what's going on (Boston.com)."

I know kind of a long quote, but it backs up what Francona was saying yesterday. Hopefully this makes him feel less stiff, but it really doesn't matter. Either way i bet he plays about 100 games this year.

Reds 9 Sox 8

- Lester took the hill yesterday and was lights out pitching 2 scoreless innings, letting up no hits with 2 Ks.

- Ramon Ramirez did not fair as well letting up 4 runs (3 ER) in one inning of work. This was the first bad inning pitched by any meaningful Red Sox (other then Wake).

- Hideki Okajima, Manny Delcarmen, Junichi Tazawa combined to pitch 3 scoreless innings.

- Jed Lowrie had a good game going 2-3, but reports are starting to come in that Lugo will be the opening day starter...if healthy.

Boston has the next two days off (for games aways). Their next game is Friday at 1:05pm vs. the Marlins on NESN.

D.L. Drew Strikes Again

"Despite the protestations of both J.D. Drew and manager Terry Francona earlier in camp that the outfielder's back was not an issue, Drew was sent back to Boston to get an injection in his lower back. The injection, administered by Dr. Bill Palmer, was given yesterday (Boston Globe)."

Here we go again. Drew is such a pain in the ass. The good news is that Francona said he is not at risk for needing surgery, and that they are doing this to see what gets rid of the pain, so that if he runs into trouble during the season they will know how to treat it. I don't buy it. I think he is having serious trouble with his back, and in my eyes this should have been taken care of during the offseason. The Sox have enough question marks in their lineup. They really don't need this before the season even starts.

Daily Red Sox Spring Training Update

- Papelbon admitted that he got worn down last season. As good as Papelbon is the Sox really need their setup men to step up this year, because Paps can not be overused. The good news is that on paper the Sox have a very strong bullpen.

- Francona said that the first day of workouts went extremely well, and he was very happy with Lowell's first batting practice. Hopefully a good sign that Lowell will be ready to go for opening day.

- J.D. Drew has not be limited in workouts in any way with with the "discomfort" in his back. This really just shows that Drew is always complaining, and that the "discomfort" seems like something the Red Sox are very used to.

Not too much news coming out of the Sox camp, which is usually a good thing. Everyone seems to be healthy as their first spring training game approaches (Feb. 25th).

J.D. Drew Injury Update

"Boston Red Sox right fielder J.D. Drew is still bothered by back stiffness from a herniated disk that limited him in 2008. Drew said Sunday that he had an MRI after the season and the exam didn't show any serious damage. He said he fought the injury all offseason, but it continues to linger. "It's still pretty stiff," he said. "I've been able to hit and run and all of that stuff. I'm just in the maintenance stages (ESPN)."

The season hasn't even started and we're already hearing D.L. Drew bitching about his back bothering him. Drew has had the same injury over and over, so my guess would be that this is something the Red Sox are going to have to live with. Boston will be lucky if they get 110 games out of Drew each season, and this just makes the Rocco Baldelli signing even more important. I never know what to think of Drew. I hate him because he is always out, and really looks like he hates baseball, but at the same time he is just so clutch that you have to love him. Last season Drew played 109 games batting .280 with 19 home runs and 64 RBIs, which was a very solid season. You just have to hope that when the games really start counting in September/October that Nancy Drew is healthy.

Drew's Walkoff RBI Single

-BMack

Red Sox Stun Rays With 8-7 Comeback Win

One of the greatest games I have ever seen. You would never have thought so with the way it looked during the first 6 1/2 innings. Dice-K was getting lit up, B.J. Upton seemed unstoppable, and Fenway Park looked more like the waiting line at a wake, then the stadium of the defending champions. All seemed loss. I had already began planning out the team for next year. Already I had sat back and thought of all the reasons this wasn't the year; Beckett's "problems", no production out of CF, World Series MVP Mike Lowell hurt, D.L. Drew plays only when feels like it, and our starting SS is someone named Jed. I was about to call it a night after Papelbon came on with 2 men on and no outs, and let up a double to B.J. Upton to make it 7-0. It was there that sinking feeling I hadn't felt in awhile. I was giving up...then it happened...

Lowrie comes up and rips a double to right, but then Tek and Kotsay roll over quickly for the next two out. 7 outs left, down 7, and Coco at the plate, sounds like a good time to start popping those sleeping pills (which I did). Crisp singles, still the Fenway crowd just seems like it has nothing left, a good 20%-30% of the fans are gone, I can't blame them, it looked hopeless. Pedroia fights off some pitches,
"fucking guy never gives up, good old "Little Dusty"", well once again Dusty reports for duty, and hits an RBI double scoring Jed Lowrie.

"Well good for Little Dusty at least he get one last hurrah, he had a hell of a season".

Papi comes up, instantly I kind of am pissed,

"this guy hasn't done anything all playoffs. He actually has a lower BA then Ellsbury. Is it his wrist? He is actually pissed about Manny?"

It very well may be his wrist, but he can still pull an inside fastball. Balfour makes that mistake, and Papi crushes one past Pesky poll. "Wow! At least they will make this interesting, they won't go down without some kind of fight."

Rays 7 Sox 4. Youk flies out to right, and the inning ends.

My mind starts racing..."ummmm ok 6 outs 3 runs. They can do that."

Papelbon makes quick work out of the Rays in the top of the 8th. "Man he is pumped up, but I don't think he can go another inning, his pitch count is already like 40."

Dan Wheeler comes out for the Rays in the 9th.

"They can hit this guy, but don't get too excited still a long way to go".

Bay walks, the sudden doomed look comes over Wheelers face. J.D. Drew hits a shot to right, and the Sox have now climbed within one.

"Fucking Drew, guy is so fucking annoying, he doesn't play, blah, blah, blah...has anyone been more clutch lately? Did I just compliment D.L. Drew.... Wow this really is a strange game."

Lowrie, and Sean Casey go down quickly (Casey came in for Tek). Kotsay hits a double, and you can just tell the Rays know what's coming, but Coco is at the dish. I am now on my knees in front of my TV. First time since I was a little kid and watch Glen Wesley hit the crossbar in the Stanley Cup Finals.

"Oh man I want anyone other then Coco up, he never comes through. I take that back I wouldn't want Tek either, but shit Coco just doesn't come through in games like this."

Coco hits a singe to right, Kotsay's got wheels and comes around to score.

"OMG, Coco did it, finally he's a hero". Then he gets thrown out trying for 2nd. "Fucking Coco, can't he let me enjoy him for more then 5 secs".

Inning over 7-7, text messages are pouring in.

Masterson comes in for the Sox for the 9th.

"Man they have asked so much out of this kid. It's unfair, really unfair".

Barlett gets on with a single. My heart sinks,

"God I feel for this kid, he doesn't deserve this".

Iwamura pops out, but then the walking God Upton comes to the plate. Masterson walks him.

"Best thing that could have happened", I say to myself, trying to be positive.

Pena's up, announcers then inform me that Pena has it into something like only 3 double plays on the year. The trap is set...Pena hits into the double play. Masterson makes it out of the inning. Sox have the best players on the team coming up.

Pedroia comes up and hits a ground ball off Longoria's glove, but Barlett is able to get to it, and throw him out.

"Oh no, Pedroia might kill someone".

Ortiz is up.

"Can he do it again, but no way they will throw inside to him."

2 pitches go by count is 1-1 and Ortiz tries to bunt down the third base line.

"What the fuck, you just hit a HR, why are you bunting???" I starting thinking of every reason possible. "Maybe his wrist is really fucked up, maybe he can't hit pitches away".

Ortiz strikes out on the next pitch.

"Oh God they are going to have to bring Masterson out again, poor kid".

Youk comes up, fights off 10 pitches, then hits a ball weakly to Longoria, who makes a hell of a play to get to it, but seemed to get too relaxed after he got the ball in his glove. He throws too short, and Pena can't control it, the ball goes flying, and Youk trots to 2nd.

"Wow they are going to do this, WTF is with Boston's teams".

Bay is intentionally walked.

"HAHAHAHA why would you do that? Drew is hitting like .700 against Howell".

3 straight balls to Drew, 2 pitches later Drew puts one over the right fielders head. Youk comes home, and the place goes nuts. I am now running aimlessly around my room, yelling at the top of my lungs.

"THIS TEAM HAS TAKEN YEARS OFF MY LIFE!!!!!". Sox live on for another day, and the legacy that is the Sox, since the Boone homerun, lives on....

-BMack

Sox vs. Rays Game 2 Lineups

No J.D. Drew tonight, Coco will play instead. Francona says its not because of injury, but rather for his 1 for 7 with three strikeouts and a walk stat line vs. Tampa Bay starter Scott Kazmir. I don't know if I believe that, because I don't see them wanting to take out one of their best weapons out of the lineup. Anyways here is the rest of the lineups...

Red Sox
1. Jacoby Ellsbury, RF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
5. Jason Bay, LF
6. Jed Lowrie, SS
7. Jason Varitek, C
8. Mark Kotsay, 1B
9. Coco Crisp, CF

Josh Beckett, SP

Rays
1. Akinori Iwamura, 2B
2. B.J. Upton, CF
3. Carlos Pena, 1B
4. Evan Longoria, 3B
5. Carl Crawford, LF
6. Cliff Floyd, DH
7. Dioner Navarro, C
8. Gabe Gross, RF
9. Jason Bartlett, SS

Scott Kazmir, SP

-BMack