1 Sox, 0 Rays

Thank God for Dustin Pedroia because I did not want to stay up any longer to be honest. It was 16 innings, 5 hours long and once Papelbon closed the door in the 16th, I could finally go to sleep.

This game shouldn't have gone this long to begin with, 1st the Tampa Bay relievers walked 10 batters, and in the 9th A Gon popped out in a clutch situation and in 10th he grounded out to the shift.

Josh Reddick made a stellar catch in the 10th robbing Justin Ruggiano that certainly would have been an extra base hit.

Josh Beckett and Jeff Niemann both looked great, giving up a combined 3 hits over 8 innings apiece. It's good to see Beckett is over that devastating "knee injury".

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

Is Beckett Hurt?

"A red flag went up in Red Sox Nation Sunday when manager Terry Francona decided to push back Josh Beckett's next start to Wednesday in order to give the right-hander an extra day of rest.

While the Red Sox are not saying if Beckett has a specific injury, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe asks if the 125 pitches Beckett threw against the Angels on April 21 have taken a toll on him. Beckett was lifted after 92 pitches Wednesday in Baltimore (ESPN)."

I really hope he isn't hurt, and maybe Francona just wanted to get some extra rest. I guess we will find out on Weds, if he pitches I guess he's fine and Francona just wanted to get him some extra time off, if he doesn't then we will have to think there is something physically wrong with him. If Beckett goes down it would be a huge blow to this team as he has been one of their best starters, and the Red Sox can't afford to dig a deeper hole then their already in.

5 Baltimore, 4 Red Sox

Well that was a little bit of a kick in the nuts. After the Bruins won in OT, you thought that the magic would work with the Sox, especially since they were able to tie a 4-0 deficit thanks to a Gonzalez RBI and a Youk 3 run homerun in the 8th.

But then Nick Markakis opened the Baltimore eighth with a single off Daniel Bard, and Derrek Lee followed with a single to left. Both moved up on a passed ball by Jason Queeratek, and with Guerrero at the plate, Markakis was thrown out trying to score on a pitch that passed the Captain again. Vlad then bounced the ball passed the pitcher, the Orioles took the 5-4 lead and that was all the Orioles needed.

Beckett regressed a little from his stellar starts by letting up 4 runs, 7 hits, in 6 innings. I wouldn't look too much into it, shit happens. Also, I hate losing to the Rex Ryan of baseball Buck Showalter, I hope he goes to the hell.

Box Score

Red Sox 4, Angels 2 (11)

It took 11 innings, and countless missed opportunities, but Adrian Gonzalez finally got the big hit that propelled the Sox to victory last night/early this morning. Angels pitchers issued 11 walks and gave up 8 hits, but Sox' hitters were useless with runners in scoring position, finishing 2 for 18. Gonzalez's 11th inning double, and a 2 run single from Ellsbury in the 6th were the only hits with RISP for the Sox.

Beckett continued to master the strike zone. His only significant miscue came in the 8th, surrendering a 2 run homer to Torii Hunter. In his last three starts, Beckett's pitched 22 innings and allowed only 3 runs (1.23 ERA). At the moment, he's the Ace of the staff. Which is good because Buchholz looks shaky.

Will it last? I don't know. But right now, Beckett is my first choice for a must-win game.

This is the first time the Sox have strung two road wins together. Better late than never.

Jon Lester faces Dan Haren tonight. Haren is 4-0, but he's another righty. So that's nice.

-The Commodore

Sox Starting to Click

Winning becomes so easy when the starting pitcher does well. The pressure eases off the offense. The bullpen has less responsibility. All the hitters have to do is compile a few consecutive hits. It's really simple.

Josh Beckett looks pretty good. I'm still not sold on him yet, as he had brilliant starts in '09 and still finished with a decent but disappointing 3.86 ERA. So far, though, he's been excellent. His fastball is up to 95, and he's challenging hitters with it. The changeup is fooling batters, and the curveball is biting. He's getting strikeouts, and when hitters make contact, they get under or over the ball. That leads to pop ups and ground outs. It's once again fun to watch him pitch.

Lester had another Quality Start on Sunday. He was aided by some double plays, as he scattered 3 walks and 6 hits. He didn't give up the big hit though. It was his first win of the season, but his third straight Quality Start.

Buchholz has me worried. We all assumed that this 26 year old with 25 good starts under his belt was going to be a sure thing for 17-20 wins and an ERA under 3.00. We forgot who he was in '09 and '08. His confidence rises and falls with each start, and right now he's on a downswing.

The offense is still gradually getting better. I'm sick of seeing Crawford leading off games though. Lowrie is red hot and should be at leadoff until either he cools, or Crawford gets his average over .150.

It's funny/sad that taking 2 games from Toronto has become worthy of celebration.

Another tough lefty (how much do we miss Victor Martinez?) faces the Sox as Ricky Romero opposes Daisuke Matsuzaka at 11 AM today.

-The Commodore

Just Joshing Ya

Ah, Nothing like a trip from your most heated rival to get things back on track. To be fair, Beckett was straight dealing last night, there wasn't anything the Yanks could do about it. After pitching terribly against the Yanks the past couple years, Beckett turned back the clock and shoved it like it was Game 6 of the 2003 World Series.

Some alarming points in Yankeeland:

1.) Phil Hughes' Velo. 85 MPH BP fastballs aren't going to get it done in the AL East. Hopefully he gets his arm strength up as the season progresses but the fact that the Yankees needed to throw money at the corpse of Carlos Silva this weekend is not an encouraging sign.

2.) Derek Jeter. - I love the Captain, and he can play on this team for as long as he desires and I won't complain or boo. Ever. With that being said, he just isn't the same player anymore. I got caught up in the hype around his new batting stance this spring and how he was going to have a bounce back year. With every AB that is looking more and more like a pipe dream.

3.) Ivan Nova. Kinda. - Nova seems to be doing exactly what he did last year; rip through the lineup the first time through and then struggle the next time around. He needs to learn to make adjustments out on the mound or he will continue to just be a mediocre pitcher. Fenway is a tough place to pitch in, especially against the Sox ruthless lineup so I still am willing to give him some more time before officially passing some judgment.

Either way, this weekend went exactly how I thought it would. Nothing like a little Pinstripe to cure Boston's hitting woes. Welcome to the 2011 season Sox, lets get down for the thrown down.

Sox Take 2 from Yankees

Taking 2 of 3 from New York will make you forget about an 0-6 start. The Sox finally got some hitting, and finally got some pitching. It wasn't the prettiest series win, but I think we'll all take the W's.

John Lackey sucks. We have to come to terms with that. He's a #5 at best. Hopefully, he'll be the only #5 pitcher in this rotation. He's not going to recapture the form he had with the Angels 4 years ago.

I'm worried about Buchholz. He looked so much like his 2009 self on Saturday. He obsessively threw to 1st base. His body language wasn't confident. He's not throwing strikes. And he's struggling the second time through the lineup. It might just be a temporary thing. But he's allowed 5 homers and 8 earned runs already. In 2010, he didn't allow his 5th homerun until July.

The bullpen also looks ugly. I'm getting flashbacks of 2003, when Todd Jones, Brandon Lyon, and Ramiro Mendoza infested the Red Sox pen.

Josh Beckett was simply magical last night. 8 innings, 10 strikeouts, 1 walk, only 103 pitches needed. He retired the last 14 batters he faced. His fastball had bite, his curve was snapping, and he was confident in what he was doing.

The question with Beckett is consistency. We've seen sporadic brilliance like this before. We need to see a steady string of 7+ inning, 2-3 run starts, though. No more of the 5 inning, 4 run clunkers that we've seen him throw so many times. We'll learn a lot from the quality of his next start.

Offensively, it's still kind of ugly. The Sox scored 4 runs from 12 hits and 8 walks last night. That's not good. Pedroia's upped his average to .400, Gonzalez is hitting, and Ortiz is getting by. But there's still some serious slumping in this lineup. They'll snap out of it, though. Crawford hit a few balls hard, just not in the right place.

Sox host the 1-8 Rays starting tonight. Daisuke faces 24 year old Jeremy Hellickson.

-The Commodore

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.

MLB Preview: Boston Red Sox (Pitching)

100 wins. All I keep hearing about is 100 wins. It's something the Red Sox haven't done since 1946. But is that really the achievement to long for? The Sox lost the 1946 World Series. And there are some parallels to that 1946 team, which led the Majors in offense, scoring half a run per game more than anyone else, but were 9th of 16 teams in runs allowed. They lost the World Series to St. Louis, the team that allowed the fewest runs in baseball.

Then, as now, pitching wins. And that's where I'll start this preview. Because even though a great offense can win 100 regular season games, it's pitching that wins 11 postseason games.

The Sox rotation looks the same as last year. And it has just as many question marks. We can pretty much bank on Jon Lester to have an ERA below 3.50, and 16 to 20 wins. He's been the rock of the rotation, and one of the most consistent pitchers in baseball the last 3 seasons.

Then there's Buchholz. Call me negative, but him repeating his 2010 feats is not guaranteed. We've all sort of assumed he will once again register an ERA around 2.50 and win close to 20 games. Maybe he will. Even 17 wins and a 3.00 ERA would be excellent. But he's 26. He has one great season under his belt. He's still a question mark. Even though he's overshadowed by much larger question marks in the rotation.

15-10 record. 3.96 ERA. 23 homeruns. That's what Josh Beckett averages every 162 games in his career. Even I was a little stunned to see that. It's so below average. With the Red Sox, he's been 71-40 with a 4.29 ERA. And since 2008, he's been atrocious. It's gotten to the point that Beckett isn't much of a question mark anymore. He's a bad pitcher until proven otherwise.

Among qualifying pitchers, John Lackey had the 73rd lowest ERA in baseball last year. He did eat innings, but that's pretty much it. You can live with him as a #4 starter, but if Beckett doesn't have a good year, he's your #3. And if Buchholz falters, he's your #2. And that's an alarming thought.

Then there's Daisuke. If any other pitcher won 18 games their sophomore season, then was repeatedly injured, struggled when healthy, and averaged 96 walks per full season, we'd be talking about sending him to Pawtucket. So what makes Daisuke so special? I just don't have a good feeling about Daisuke in 2011. Even when healthy, even when at his best, he doesn't go deep into games. His 18 win season was coupled with 167.2 innings pitched. 90 pitchers managed to surpass that mark in 2010.

Sorry folks, but the rotation is too vulnerable, and too dependent on all the stars aligning. Actually, it's dependant on time travel. If Buchholz is the same as he was in 2010, if Beckett is the same as he was in 2007, if Daisuke is the same as 2008, if Lackey is the same as he was in 2007 and in another city....

But it's 2011.

Thankfully, the bullpen looks quite a bit better than last year. The Sox blew the 4th most saves in baseball last year. And with shaky starting pitching, the bullpen will be worked hard in 2011.

Papelbon is still the closer. And even though he's not as elite as he used to be, he's still good enough. It'd be tough to find an improvement over him, but it won't be hard to find a replacement.

Daniel Bard has impressed as a set-up man, with a 1.11 WHIP in 124 career relief innings. Bard and Papelbon represent a quality 8th and 9th inning tandem. But they can't be overworked. They need help.

Bobby Jenks is a possible option. That's what the Sox did to this bullpen: added options. They signed a number of guys, hoping that one or two would work out as reliable set-up men. In the dice game that is relief pitching, this is a viable strategy to build a quality bullpen.

But Jenks is coming off a bad year. And he's gotten progressively worse since 2007. You never know with relievers, but it's hard to imagine that trend changing.

I'm much more optimistic about Dan Wheeler, who's pitched with success in the AL East. He's 33, but has 530 appearances under his belt. He'll wind up as the secondary set-up guy alongside Bard.

Wakefield will be a mop up man and spot starter. Doubront will be used against lefties.

The rest of the bullpen will be a revolving door of arms. Maybe one will be reliable enough to be a 6th inning man, or the type of guy that's brought in when the Sox are down 2 runs in the 7th.

Overrall, the bullpen isn't great, but it's no longer a liability. The rotation, however, is very suspect. So much needs to happen for it to work. And so much can go wrong for it to fail. I don't see Beckett winning more than 15 games. I don't see Daisuke throwing more than 180 innings. I see Buchholz having a good-not-great year. I don't see Lackey doing much better than he did in 2010.

But the offense should be able to make up for these shortcomings. At least in the regular season.

-The Commodore

Beckett Leaves Practice After Getting Hit During BP (2 UPDATES)

"Red Sox SP Josh Beckett was hit in the head during team batting practice on Monday morning as he was standing in the outfield, according to the Boston Globe. Beckett walked off the field with trainers, rubbing his head where he was hit. It is not currently known how serious the injury is or if he will miss his next scheduled exhibition start on Thursday against the Phillies (CBS Sports)."

There is no word yet on how serious this injury will be, but he was all the way in the outfeild, so I doubt it is anything serious. If he does have to miss any time that could be a bad sign for the Red Sox. Beckett has struggled anytime he has had to miss time during Spring Training. After the terrible season that was last year, the Red Sox really need Beckett to be healthy and in-shape.

Beckett made his first start yesterday going 2 innings againsty the Twins allowing 1 run on two hits. We will keep you posted if this injury ends up being anything serious.


***UPDATE***

"Boston Red Sox pitcher Josh Beckett was OK after getting hit on the left side of the head with a ball before Monday's spring training game. Beckett is expected to make his next spring training start Thursday (ESPN)."

***UPDATE 2***

"The Red Sox have released a statement saying Josh Beckett suffered a mild concussion after being hit in the left side of the head with a baseball during the team's batting practice prior to its game against the Twins at City of Palms Park Monday. He was sent home from the park and will be reevaluated Tuesday (WEEI)."

The Red Sox' Pitchers

The Sox' owners heard the outcry from the masses, and acquired some serious, marquee talent last week. The finally went out and got guys you've heard of, guys that will appear on fantasy teams, true stars. They added a slugging first baseman, and a fleet-footed outfielder. These are likely the biggest off-season acquisitions since the Sox traded for Josh Beckett in November of '05.

Speaking of Beckett, I want to talk about pitching. The Red Sox offense has improved tremendously, and should be more consistent, more exciting, and will contend to lead the Majors in runs scored. And while I love the acquisitions, I can't quite jump on the bandwagon that's been fully loaded the last week.

What about pitching?

Well at the top, the Sox have Buchholz and Lester. Our most reliable pitchers are 25 and 26, respectively. Our rocks are 25 and 26. The hopes of the rotation rest on guys who are 25 and 26.

Buchholz was 2nd in the AL in ERA. He won 17 games, and emerged as an All-Star talent. But he also goes into 2011 with only one good year on his track record. I'm not predicting doom and gloom for Buchholz, but I don't think we can just assume he'll have a similarly outstanding year. We've all sort of taken for granted that he will.

Lester also esteemed himself, with 19 wins and a 3.25 ERA. His numbers don't pop as much as Buchholz's, but he's got a fuller history of success. In each of the last 3 seasons, his ERA has been below 3.50, he's won at least 15 games, and pitched at least 200 innings. He's as solid a #2 starter as you'll find.



Then there's John Lackey, whose numbers are more than respectable for a #5 guy. He led the Sox in innings. I'm fine with him in the #5 spot. So long as he's the ONLY #5 pitcher on this team. And that's the problem. We really have no idea what to expect from Beckett and Daisuke. They too might perform like #5 pitchers.

Apart from 2007, when he vied for the Cy Young, Beckett has been disastrous for the Sox. He outright sucked in 2006 and 2008. He was off-and-on in 2009, spinning gems one day, then dropping turds 4 days later. And in 2010, one could argue that he was the worst regular starting pitcher in baseball.

"He can't possibly be that bad again." That's the argument I keep hearing about Beckett. And that may be true. But his track record suggests that he won't be very good, either. And frankly, he CAN be that bad again.

Then there's Matsuzaka. Who is this guy? Is there anything about him that's predictable or regular? Will he be healthy? Does the team know if he'll be healthy? Does he even keep in touch with the team about his off-season training?



Since 2008, when he was brilliant, he's been a mess. When he is healthy, he walks the world, and needs 120 pitches to survive 6 innings of work. Perhaps he'll redeem himself in 2011. But I'm afraid the best I see him being is a middle of the road #3 guy. Even when he is on his game, his short outings tax the bullpen far too much.

Speaking of the bullpen, the Sox have one of the leakiest in the game. They blew 22 Saves last year, the 4th most in baseball. Think about that. 22 times, the Sox had a lead late in a game, and then lost it. And that starts with Papelbon, who set a career high in Blown Saves last year, with 8. He also set a career high in ERA (3.90) and WHIP (1.27). He's not a bad closer, but he's not Mariano Jr. And there are a number of closers that are on his level.



At least he and Bard are good. After that, there's nothing but torture.

Building a bullpen is hard to do. It can also be very easy. Most of it seems to be dumb luck. There are very few "premium" middle-relievers in this world. Those that excel become closers. Most have 2 or 3 very good years, then get figured out. In other words, Mike Timlin is not walking through that door.



The best thing to do is what the Sox used to try with their rotation: sign 3 to 5 has-beens/never-was-its, and hope that 1 or 2 don't suck.

In a rare bit of optimism, I think the offense will help the bullpen by putting it in fewer crucial situations. So there will be less opportunities for it to cost the Sox games.

I also don't want to come off as too negative. With the lineup the Sox have, and the few good pitchers they have, there's no reason for them to not make the playoffs. They should win 93 to 98 games, which is very good. And certainly an improvement over last year. They should whip teams like Baltimore, which they failed to do in 2010.

Unfortunately, pitching wins in the playoffs. The Giants and Rangers showed that. The Sox showed it in '07 and '04. And I don't think the Sox have the arms to get the job done in October and November. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe Beckett and Daisuke will return to '07 and '08 form, respectively. Maybe someone unexpected will emerge as a hero in the postseason, much like Derek Lowe did in 2004. But I've never been one to be hopeful for hope's sake. I'm Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh.



-The Commodore

5 White Sox, 2 Red Sox

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
BOS	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	2	4	1
CHW	0	0	0	1	0	0	3	1	-	5	13	0

W: F. Garcia (12-6)

L: J. Beckett (6-6)

S: M. Thornton (8)

Well josh Beckett ended the season on a winning note.... oh wait, nope he lost to even his record to 6-6. Like many Red Sox fans, I'm forced to assume this year is an off year and he will be fine next year, because he's with us for 900 more years.

Back to last nights game. Omar Vizquel hit a go-ahead single in Chicago's three-run seventh inning and the White Sox backed Garcia in a 5-2 win. After Vizquel's hit, the White Sox made it 4-1 on a throwing error by catcher Victor Martinez and a single by Alexei Ramirez.

I like the White Sox for next year a lot. They have good young players to be excited about with Tyler Flowers, Dayan Viciedo, Chris Sale and Ozzie Guillen's antics. The White Sox are in my top 5 of teams that I root for and I think with the young pitching staff and decent hitting, they can definitely push the Twins for next year. Let's face it, Carl Pavano will not repeat and their pitching staff is a mess right now.

Anyways, both Sox teams are out if it. There is always next year.

Scoring Summary

			BOS	CHW
	4th	D Ortiz singled to left, M Scutaro scored.	1	0
	4th	A Pierzynski homered to right (347 feet).	1	1
	7th	O Vizquel singled to center, A De Aza scored, J Pierre to second.	1	2
	7th	B Lillibridge reached on bunt single to catcher, J Pierre to third, O Vizquel to second, J Pierre scored, O Vizquel to third, B Lillibridge to second on throwing error by catcher V Martinez.	1	3
	7th	A Ramirez singled to left, O Vizquel scored, B Lillibridge to third, A Pierzynski to second.	1	4
	8th	M Lowell homered to left center (400 feet).	2	4
	8th	J Pierre grounded into double play, shortstop to first, B Morel scored, A De Aza out at second.	2	5