Figures, no more than six hours after I make a post that includes comments about how I am starting to feel good about this bullpen, Papelbon comes in a screws up what should have been an easy win. What makes it even worse is that he has been pitching great of late. It’s rare that the Red Sox are in a position to win a game that John Lackey starts these days so to let one slip away really is a kick in the balls. Now, instead of climbing to only 3 games back of the Rays we sit at 4 back and lose any momentum we had built during the three game win streak. It’s was likely a real long plane ride to Texas, but at least they can look forward to not having to face Cliff Lee this weekend. It could be worse though, Paps could have beat the shit out his father in law like Francisco Rodriguez of the Mets.

Notes…

- David Ortiz hit his 25th home run of the year yesterday marking the seventh time he has done it during his time with the Red Sox. Only Jim Rice (7) and Ted Williams (14) have as many 25 home run seasons for the Sox.

- Jarrod Saltalamacchia made his debut in the starting lineup and boy did he impress. Not only did he have no problems getting the ball back to the pitcher, but he gunned Aaron Hill down at second base, and went 2-4 at the plate with two doubles. Sure, it’s only one game, but it’s hard not to think we may have gotten a future all star in this deal.

- When Pedroia comes back, Lowrie needs to play first base. He is now batting .313/.441/.500 on the season and is hitting everything in sight. He doesn’t need to play every day, but he can’t simply go back to not playing at all, not when Mike “I have no lateral movement” Lowell is first on the depth chart. Maybe have him play once or twice a week at short and second and than two games at first. Marco has only had four days off this year so odds are he would welcome a few breaks here and there.

- Despite yesterday’s performance, I’m still not impressed with John Lackey. I don’t know what’s wrong with him, but this just isn’t his year. His velocity is down, his location is off, his strikeouts are down, and he is giving up way too many hits. I know it’s kind of stating the obvious, but I had still been holding out hope for him. Not anymore. Consider me officially off the John Lackey bandwagon. When we make the playoffs I want Lester for game 1, Buchholz 2, Beckett 3, and Daisuke 4 (wow, that was hard to write).

Beckett picked up only his 2nd win in 10 starts yesterday, hopefully he can build on this momentum

A week and a half ago, the night before this west coast swing started, I wrote a state of the nation address. The main thing to take out of it was that the Red Sox were starting to get players back and all they needed to do was stay within striking distance of the Rays over the next ten days. Although it seems like they went 2-8 over the past three series, the Sox actually fared pretty well and won six of ten. I just happen to have each of the losses firmly entrenched in my brain due to the ridiculousness of them. Regardless, the Sox entered the trip only 3.5 games back of Tampa and came out of it 4.5 games back. And that is fine by me.

What excites me most about the coming weeks is the way the starting pitching has performed of late. Other than Clay Buchholz struggling in his first game back from the disabled list, the starters have been lights out. Of the six wins, the starter accounted for four of them and only two of the four losses. Hell, there were even two legitimate no hit bids (although one of them turned into a loss and the other took 13 innings to finish off). What we now have is everyone on fire at the same time. There is not a single weakness on this staff. Ignore the bullpen issues if you may. The way the last ten days have gone you should be disappointed if the starter goes less than seven innings making it difficult for even this bullpen to screw up too much, especially with Bard and Paps ready to go on most nights. I’m telling you, the way this team is now positioned they have the ability to win games in bunches. Do not be surprised if they win 20+ games in August and September. Call me optimistic, but (starting) pitching wins championships, and I’ll take this starting rotation combined with Paps and Bard over any team in the league. Enough said.

(Big Papi helps take Sox into break on a high note)

I am really starting to believe that this town can’t survive without me. I don’t know what the deal is, but for whatever reason, whenever I leave, shit hits the fan. And it’s not only in Boston either, all around the sports world things go bonkers when I’m not paying attention. Here’s a recap of what happened since my last post.

Cliff Lee goes to the Rangers, not the Yankees – Not that I’m mad about this, but what were the Rangers doing here? I can understand the Yankees trading away one of the top 10-20 young hitters in the game, among other prospects for Lee because they can easily turn around and sign him for a huge contract. But the Rangers? They just gave up Justin Smoak for two and a half months of Cliff Lee. There is a 0% chance that he resigns there. Even if they get their ownership situation figured out, the Yankees will throw more money at Lee than any other team can, just like they did with A.J. Burnett and C.C. Sabathia. Now, it might be worth it if Lee leads them to a World Series win, but I would rather have Smoak under my control for six, cheap years than renting Cliff Lee.

Tony Allen agrees to deal with the Grizzlies – One of the unsung heroes of the season, and most definitely the playoffs, I thought Tony Allen would be one of the first players the Celtics took care of. Instead, he is leaving town for a multi-year in Memphis. With the amount of money that the Celtics have saved by re-signing Paul and Ray this offseason they must have a plan B, right? Furthermore, being over the salary cap, they cannot sign unrestricted free agents making it that much more important that they brought back their own players. Maybe there are more loopholes that I am missing, but I’ll tell you this, I’ll give 10-1 odds to anyone who thinks Nate Robinson isn’t coming back now. It’s going to be hard enough to fill out this roster as is, no way they let someone who they have Bird rights on leave again.

Adrian Beltre pulls up lame – Last time I went away it was the weekend Buchholz, V-Mart, and Pedroia all went down. This wasn’t nearly as bad as that, but Adrian Beltre did have to be taken out of the game Sunday afternoon with a tight hamstring. All signs are pointing to him being OK, but we were also told that Clay Buchholz wouldn’t miss a start either. Hamstrings are extremely hard to get a good handle on, especially right when they occur. The good news is that we would know by now if it was torn, but just because it isn’t doesn’t mean it can’t linger for a couple weeks.

Paul Konerko, not, Kevin Youklis added to All Star team – You would think Joe Girardi would have been smart enough to figure this out, but I guess I give him too much credit. Justin Morneau had to pullout from the All Star game due to injury and because he was voted in by the fans, Girardi got to choose his replacement. For whatever reason, he decided that Paul Konerko would be the best fit, fine, whatever, it’s all a matter of opinion anyways. But in this case, both were part of the Final Vote on MLB.com and Youklis beat him by a large margin. Keep in mind, this the fans vote. So it only makes sense to have Youklis, who got more votes from the fans, replace Morneau, who was originally vote in by the fans, right?

Jacoby Ellsbury bashes Sox again – The kid just won’t back down. It’s fine if this is what you really think, but what benefit do you get by coming out and continuing to say that the Red Sox fucked up and it’s all their fault that you are out for this long? I have made my feelings on Ellsbury clear already, but there are plenty of people around who still love the kid. Just shut up, get healthy, and get back on the field.

Dice-K pounded the zone and didn’t walk anyone – Dice needs to get a copy of this tape and watch it every night before he goes to bed. He threw 88 pitches over six innings, 62 of which were strikes. He abused the strike zone with his cutter and allowed only two runs, on six hits, and no walks, while striking out five. He worked quickly, and effectively, and the game only lasted 2 hours and 32 minutes. Without doing any research, I can all but guarantee you that is the quickest game he has ever pitched.

“Something could happen,’’ Lowell said after Wednesday night’s game. “I can’t say yes, and I can’t say no.’’

The Red Sox need to make a roster move in order to bring Daisuke Matsuzaka off the DL for tonight’s start and I don’t think they are ready to send Josh Reddick back down seeing as JD Drew’s status is still up in the air. Lowell has been pretty much useless on this team so all signs are pointing towards him being the odd man out. There has been very little trade interest in him so it wouldn’t surprise me in the least to see him on the DL with a phantom injury or to just get flat out released. The Sox really have no need for him now, but he could be useful should Ortiz go 0-100 or get hurt something. That is the only reason he is even with the team anymore in my opinion, as an insurance policy to Papi. But at this point in the season don’t you have to just let the man go? He has already said he is going to retire at the end of the season, so just let him sign somewhere else and play everyday. I understand baseball is a business and blah blah blah. But despite the fact that he has been a douche all year long, I still think Lowell deserves better. Just let the old man head off into the sunset in peace. No need to keep him around here.

Is there anything that can stop a hot streak faster than back to back nights of Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield on the mound? Sure, each of them were fantastic their last time out but that was more of an aberration rather than the norm. Wake gave up 9 earned runs on 12 hits 3 walks and only one strikeout while only making it two outs into the fourth inning. This just one day after Daisuke failed to make it out of the fifth allowing 8 total walks and three earned runs. Talk about bullpen killers.

The Red Sox now have a two game losing streak and have to face the great Zack Greinke tomorrow (Saturday). Buchholz is on the mound so we will probably win 1-0 but there is also a good possibility that we lose our third in a row. Fucking Kansas City. When you see a team come into town with a 19-28 record you are definitely not expecting them to step in front of a fast moving train and stop it in it’s tracks, but that’s pretty much what they have done.

It’s a good thing the Celtics have been on to distract people. Hopefully by the time they finish off the NBA Finals everything will be back to normal around here. Otherwise, it could get real ugly, real fast.

Notes…

* Wake now has a 1-3 record and a 5.28 era on the season. When are people finally going to wake up and realize this guy is no longer a quality major league pitcher. Sure, he still has his moments, but in the long run he will be exposed if left in the rotation.

* I have tickets to next Wednesday’s game. Earlier this week I looked ahead to see who was pitching and it ended up being Wakefield’s turn. As you can tell, I was severely disappointed. Well apparently I am an idiot because there is no game Monday night meaning Wake isn’t scheduled to pitch until Thursday leaving me Daisuke on Wednesday. Not the best, but better than Wake IMO. But again, my stupidity got the best of me because Josh Beckett is actually taking Wake’s spot the next time through. While Beckett is frustrating in his own right, he is still more fun than Daisuke. So to recap, Wake < Daisuke < Beckett and I am an idiot.

* Victor Martinez continues to rake going 2-4 with a home run, double, and four RBI. He is now batting .262 and for whatever reason is looking a lot more comfortable in the fifth spot in the order. This is strange because he was so good batting third for us last year. As long as Papi continues to produce I can see this becoming permanent, but if he struggles again, Martinez is going to need to step in like he did so well last year and help carry the load in the heart of the order.

* Dustin Pedroia is struggling, big time. He went 0-5 tonight and is now batting .259 on the season after getting off to a ridiculous start. On May 15th Pedroia twisted his knee against the Tigers. The injury has been downplayed the entire time but since that day he has been terrible.  ESPNBoston.com does a good job breaking down the numbers.

He has had a couple of games where he has hit the ball hard just right at people. I don’t think we need to make too much out of this injury, but it is telling. Especially after the whole Ellsbury debacle, one might question whether or not Pedroia is healthy enough to be out there playing.

* Speaking of Ellsbury, I may have been a little harsh on him yesterday, but the fact remains that he doesn’t have the best history with injuries.

* Are people finally starting to appreciate what Adrian Beltre is doing for this team. Theo Epstein deserves a lot of credit for this signing, and myself as well for saying how much I wanted him all winter. This is just one thing that I wrote:

The Red Sox are in love with this guys defense, and for good reason. The two time Gold Glove winner has gotten rave reviews from scouts and managers alike. Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon says he is the best defensive third basemen he has ever seen. Even if his bat continues to be slightly below average, bringing him in to play third, along with the addition of Marco Scutaro, will give you one of the best defensive infields in the game, if not the best.

Even I didn’t think he was going to come here and bat .340, but after a shaky start, his defense has been as good as advertised. He obviously isn’t going to continue at this pace but .290-.310 is not out of the question. He is certainly lining himself up for a big time contract next year and good for him. The dude plays the game right.

Alas, the MLB schedule makers have finally allowed the Red Sox and Yankees to cross paths again. It seems like forever since the Yankees left Fenway Park on June 11th after falling to the Red Sox for an unprecendented eigth time this season. Both teams have had their ups and downs since and conveniently they both seem to be playing good baseball heading into the series (ignoring the last two games). With only two and a half games seperating them in the standings, every game has a hightened importance. The two will finally meet up again for the first four of ten remaining games on the schedule tonight in the Bronx at 7:05. With that, lets take a look at the pitching matchups:

Thursday – John Smoltz (2-4, 7.12) vs. Joba Chamberlain (7-2, 3.58)

John Smoltz has been almost as bad as Dice K this season. He has show flashes of his old self and then had innings where the balls just fly. Don’t expect the new Yankee Stadium to be too forgiving on long fly balls. Not even Jacoby Ellsbury can leap high enough to catch what might be flying out of there tonight. On the flip side, Joba has been great recently. He is coming off his best start of the season last Wednesday where he went 8 innings and only allowed three hits and zero runs. Joba has a history with the Red Sox, but I don’t expect he is dumb enough to do anything this time around.

Advantage: Yankees by a lot

Friday – Josh Beckett (12-2, 3.27) vs. A.J. Burnett (10-5, 3.89)

Burnett got hammered in his last outing allowing 7 ER and 10 hits in 4.2 innings, but before that he had a sting of eight quality starts. Burnett has never lived up to the hype surrounding him all these years, but he is still a pretty good pitcher with great stuff. The Red Sox, however, have had some luck against him this season winning both times he has pitched. Going into the season, Burnett had a 5-0 record life time against the Sox. Beckett has been on fire since the end of April and there is no reason why he should slow down now. That being said, while he is 2-0 against the Yanks this season, his era is 5.82. We all know what he brings to the table, and though Burnett has had a decent season, I would take Beckett over him any day of the week.

Advantage: Red Sox

Saturday – Clay Buchholz (1-1, 6.05) vs. C.C. Sabathia (11-7, 3.95)

Both these pitchers, in my opinion, have been huge disappointments this season. For the amount of money spent on him, justified or not, Sabathia needs to have an era closer to 3 than it is to 4. Buchholz, for the amount of hype surrounding him, the talks of being off limits in trades, and the shit he was talking earlier in the year while in Pawtucket, he needs to be better than this. Buchholz seems to be suffering from a mixed strain of Dice K disease and John Smoltz disease. Whenever someone is getting on base his pace slows to a crawl and he starts freaking out (Dice K Disease). Every start there is also an inning where things just fall apart for him, like the third inning in Baltimore when he gave away a 7-0 lead (Smoltz Disease).

Advantage: Yankees by a lot

Sunday – Jon Lester (9-7, 3.79) vs. Andy Pettite (9-6, 4.35)

A battle of lefties on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. Many compare Lester to a young Pettite, quite the compliment for the youngster. Lester was dominant again in his last start striking out 10 in 6 innings allowing only one earned run. Lester has really settled into a groove this season after struggling to begin the year. This season, he is 1-0 against the Yankees with a 3.46 era. Pettite had been on a three game losing streak before allowing only one earned run in 6.2 innings against the Blue Jays last time out. He has struggled with his control at times this year but his last start he seemed to figure some things out. This should be a fun game to watch, but in the end, Lester is the better pitcher.

Advantage: Red Sox