Nice move guys. Way to try and suck me back in. Well I’m not biting. Sorry.
It’s still only the Orioles.
You still had your “ace” give up 5 runs over 6 innings.
And you still only won by 3 runs.
Win 5 more in a row and maybe I’ll think about taking you back. But for now, I’m more excited for tonight’s pre-season football game than I am about any Red Sox game, and I hate pre-season football.
The games…
- Red Sox 1, Indians 9 – Lester started off strong but tired quick. He has made every one of his starts up to this point in the season and it may be catching up with him. Normally, I would suggest a 15 day vacation but his next start is Sunday against the Yankees and we can’t really afford to be giving guys free days off. Justin Masterson dominated for the tribe picking up only his fourth win of the season. Two have come against the Sox. They also have been the best two pitched games of his career.
- Yankees 5, Blue Jays 1 – A Rod finally hit number 600, steroids or no steroids, that’s pretty impressive. He will become the all time leading home run hitter within the next five years, and half of the world will still consider Hank Aaron as holding that title. Phil Hughes picked up his 13th win in this one and Derek Jeter racked up four hits.
- Rays 1, Twins 2 – Luckily, the Rays lost last night so the day wasn’t a complete disaster. David Price was brilliant again, but Scott Baker was better. Unfortunately, new Twins closer, Matt Capps, blew his first save opportunity and sent the game into extra innings. After four extra frames the Twins strung together a walk and two singles to push a run across.
Recap…
The Sox are now only 15-14 against the four worst teams in the AL (Cleveland, Kansas City, Baltimore, and Seattle). If they could just take care of business against these stiffs it would be a completely different race. The Sox ended up losing a game in the wild card and remaining even in the division race. 6.5 is still an achievable number, but there is no excuse for losing games like they did last night. Daisuke Matsuzaka will face off against Josh Tomlin in a game that may be a must win. It would not be good to ride a two game losing streak into New York for the biggest series of the year.
Updated Standings
Rays 67 – 40, 0 GB
Yankees 67 – 40, 0 GB
Red Sox 61 – 47, 6.5 GB
____________________________________________
Estimated wins needed to make the playoffs – 37
Games remaining – 54
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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.
(Photo via Boston.com)
During my weekend away from the hustle and bustle of the Boston sports world I only heard rumors of the damage that the injury bug was doing to my beloved Red Sox. I caught wind Saturday morning that Pedroia fouled a ball off his foot, but thought nothing of it. I knew Sunday that Buchholz only pitched one inning the prior day after coming up lame running into second base but figured it was all precautionary. Finally, I read briefly Sunday night that V-Mart broke the tip of his finger, but it looked like a DL stint was unnecessary. Now, I sit here Tuesday morning baffled and dumbfounded as our two most important position players hop on the express train to the disabled list and arguably our best pitcher thus far could miss a start or two.
The fact that the Red Sox are only two games out of first place after what they have had to go through is amazing in itself. If they can make it these next two months and still are in a position to make the playoffs this will have to go down as one of the all time greatest seasons in Red Sox history. I don’t think people fully appreciate what it is this group of misfits have accomplished. Remember, your opening day pitcher has a 7.29 era and hasn’t pitched since May 18th; your starting center fielder has only 1 HR, 8 RBI, and 94 total at bats; your starting left fielder, also your backup center fielder, has played in only nine games; David Ortiz didn’t hit anything for the month of April; Jon Lackey is struggling to keep his era south of 5.00; Daisuke Matsuzaka has had multiple DL stints, and the bullpen has been suspect at best. The problem the Red Sox are going to run into now is that it was guys like Pedroia and V-Mart who carried this team during such a rough period.
Luckily for the Sox, the sudden rash on injuries couldn’t come at a better time (if such a thing is possible). To start, the Sox have six off days in July when you combine scheduled days off and the All Star festivities. And the opponents when they are forced to play a game don’t exactly make you quiver in your boots. Starting tonight there are five games with the faltering Rays, three against the pathetic Orioles, and three each against Toronto, Oakland, and Seattle. The only games against legitimate teams are four game series against the red hot Rangers (who I am still not sold on), and two against Detroit, both series at home. Then a three game series in LA against the Angels.
Now, more than ever, this team is going to need to win using the mantra they entered the season with, “pitching and defense.” I’m not too worried about Buchholz. With two off days this week the Red Sox should be able to give him the time off he needs without screwing up the rotation. Him, coupled with Lester, will need to continue leading this team. Even without Josh Beckett, the rotation has been strong despite a slow start. As long as they remain healthy they are perfectly capable of carrying this team. The fact that the Red Sox are among the league leaders in most of the offensive categories is a luxury. This team was built on pitching and defense and come the post season that is what they are going to need to rely on in order to win it all. If the Sox can play .500 baseball through the month of July then they will be setting themselves up perfectly for when the reinforcements start coming off the DL. That, however, is a big if when you have the heart and soul of your team injured and on the bench.
(Associated Press Photo / David Zalubowski)
How terrible was that game last night? Jon Lester pitches his balls off and we lose 2-1. So many things went wrong. So many things could have happened differently that would have won the game for the Sox. But more than anything else, the fact that Tito was forced to lift Lester in the top of the seventh for a pinch hitter really sucked. He has only thrown 90 pitches to that point, but with the bases loaded, and Lester due up at the plate, there is no way you can let him hit when you have someone like David Ortiz on the bench ready to pinch hit. Had this been a regular game Lester would have pitched the seventh, and maybe the eighth, and the bullpen would have had less of a chance to screw it up. I guess they were due for a game that pissed me off after winning six in a row, but still, how many ways can you screw up a winnable game? Lets count.
1 – Victor Martinez grounds out with the bases loaded and two outs. The Red Sox fail to score despite two walks and two singles in the inning as Mike Cameron got thrown out trying to steal second. Either him or Reddick missed a sign because Cameron was looking back as if it was a hit and run. Regardless, V Mart needs to get a hit there, that’s what number three hitters do.
2 – In the eighth inning, an easy double play ball hits something in the dirt and inexplicably takes an ugly bounce over Marco Scutaro’s head. Without that, the winning run wouldn’t score in the eighth and the game would have gone to extra innings. No telling who would have won at that point, but at least there would have been a chance.
3 – Again in the eighth inning, that stupid bloop pop up hit should have been caught. Both Marco Scutaro and Mike Cameron need to make that play. I don’t know what it is with Scutaro, but he is just bad at short fly balls to the outfield. He gets bad jumps and takes bad angles. That’s fine though, it’s really the center fielders ball anyways. A healthy Mike Cameron makes that catch easy. While it is admirable playing through an injury the way he has been, it really has hurt this team of late. There were a few balls against the Dodgers (Sunday maybe?) where I noted he used to make the play easily. Time for him to start thinking about surgery and hanging it up until August/September.
4 – In the ninth when Mike Lowell comes to pinch hit, he actually makes good contact and rips a ground ball in the hole. However, Barmes makes a good diving play and has the time to stand up, set himself, and throw Lowell out. Felt like the longest run to first base I have ever seen. I don’t know if he was hurt, uninterested, or just old, but holy shit dude you got to get down the line quicker than that.
Lester does a pretty good job summing up the outing:
“I really had a lot going. I was able to locate on both sides of the plate. Gave up six singles, probably one of them was hit hard. It was just their night.’
What can you do.
Newsflash, Jon Lester is really really good at baseball. On a night where the Red Sox trotted out a depleted lineup against one of the toughest left handed pitchers in the game in Francisco Liriano Lester stepped up and took care of business all by himself. The line: Complete game, 6 hits, 1 earned run, 9 strikeouts, 0 walks, and the win.
Facing one of the toughest lineups in the league, the AL Central leading Twins, Lester had his best stuff from the get go. Lester seemed to always be ahead in the count throwing first pitch strikes to 28 of the 32 batters he faced and only got into a three ball count three times. It took him only 103 pitches to complete the game, the first complete game by a Red Sox pitcher since Josh Beckett last July against the Royals. What’s more amazing is last night was the first time a Red Sox pitcher has won a game with at least 9 strikeouts and 0 walks since Pedro Martinez struck out 10 and walked 0 on August 12, 2004 against the ten lowly Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
Lester was awesome, I think you get the picture, so lets move on to my Likes/Dislikes.
What I Liked
More love for Lester – Along with his powerful fastball, which averaged 94 mph, Lester’s off speed offerings were equally effective. 42% of his off speed pitches that were thrown outside of the strike zone were swung at and missed. The league average is 31%. The Twins lineup is pretty disciplined so I can say pretty confidently that this number is more a testament to Lester being filthy rather than the Twins being impatient at the plate.
Youklis goes 2-4 but his OBP falls for the month – During the month of May Youk is batting an absurd .411/.585/.786. He continued his offensive surge last night going 2-4 with a long home run over the camera area in center field. You know you are doing something right when you go 2-4 and your OBP actually drops, a credit to how well he has been seeing the ball. Youk has always been known as the Greek God of Walks, but this month he is taking that to a whole new level seeing the ball better than he ever has before. He currently has 22 walks to only 8 strikeouts in 18 games compared to only 11 walks and 18 strikeouts in March/April. If the pitcher throws it outside of the strike zone he probably isn’t swinging and if he throws it in then he will likely smash it.
V-Mart seems to be putting things together – When you break it down it really comes as no surprise that Victor Martinez went 3-4 with three doubles last night. Despite his struggles, he has still managed a .395/.435/.744 line against left handed pitchers. What he has struggled with is his swing from the left side of the plate. Still, I’m sure it is a big confidence boost whenever you come off a three hit night. Facing another lefty in Cole Hamels tonight we should continue to see the best of Victor Martinez. Hopefully, all this success against left handers will finally translate to the left side of the plate as well. We saw him hit a dinger the other day against the Yankees batting lefty and he hit a ground rule double last night batting lefty as well. Could this be the start of one of his patented month long tears? .
What I Didn’t Like
No support for V-Mart, Youk, and Beltre – Combined, the three had seven hits and five RBI. The rest of the order had only one total hit. Lefties have always given the Red Sox problems in the past so we are going to need more guys to step up Friday night against Hamels as the Phillies have one of the top offenses in the league.
Lowell talks the talk, but couldn’t walk the walk – I know, he hasn’t played in a long time and it can’t be easy coming off the bench to face one of the best left handed pitchers in the game. Still, if you are going to run your mouth you better be damn sure you can back it up. Now batting only .242 on the year, Mike Lowell is losing what very little sympathy I had left for him. If he was batting .350 or even .280 I could deal with him complaining, but not when your batting .242 and go 0-4 when you do get a start against a lefty. If it wasn’t for the fact that Tampa and the Yankees would likely pick him up I bet he would have been cut by now.
For all you pessimists out there counting at home the Red Sox have only scored four runs in the last two games. Couple that with the fact that they have now gone four straight games without hitting a home run and you may have a foundation for the argument that this whole run prevention idea isn’t going quite as planned. Add this to the shit show that is the Boston media and one would think the Boston Red Sox have already been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention.
But what is that you say? The Red Sox have won three in a row on the road and 7 of their last 9 overall? That can’t be right, can it?
If you don’t believe me just look for yourself. After a sluggish start to the regular season your Boston Red Sox now find themselves at 11-11, back at .500 for the first time since April 14th when they were 4-4. You may look at the last nine games and only bring up the negatives that surrounded each game, and believe me, there was plenty of negatives. But the fact of the matter is they have been winning, and more recently (the last two games), they have been winning exactly how Theo and the boys drew it up in the front office.
Jon Lester was masterful last night striking out 11 batters while on his way to a line of 7 IP with only one hit and no runs scored. Who needs an offense when the opposing team struggles just to get men on base? While these weren’t Theo’s exact words, you get the picture. The Sox have now thrown 17 consecutive innings without allowing a run after Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon closed the game out following Lester’s departure.
It is a well documented fact that the Red Sox pitching overall has been terrible. But does anyone really believe it would stay that way? If you do, you are dumb. NESN had a terrific graphic up two nights ago comparing Josh Beckett’s first five starts in 2010 and in 2009 and the numbers were almost identical. For those of you who don’t remember what happened next he went on one of the most dominant runs of his career. Is this reason enough to believe that Beckett will bounce back? No, but it is reassuring.
Last season on my fantasy baseball team I dropped both Troy Tulowitzki and Mark Reynolds after the first month of the season. They were both playing terribly and I thought I needed a change before I fell too far behind in the standings. Tulo finished the year as the second ranked shortstop in baseball and Reynolds was the fourth or fifth best third basemen. The point I’m trying to make here is that it is too early to jump ship on your players. It is still early, and good players usually get their act together and produce in the end. I am damn certain that this will be the case with most of the players on the Red Sox, it is just a matter of time.
I have been saying this for over three years now since the day I saw him pitch up in Portland during the summer of 2007; Clay Buchholz is a special pitcher. Sure, the road to big league glory has been up and down but I’m telling you, this kid is a future ace and currently is far and away the best starting pitcher on the team. On a night where Jonathan Papelbon, Daniel Bard, and Hideki Okajima were all unavailable the Red Sox needed a big start from Buch. Clay responded by throwing 8 innings allowing only one run while striking out four. The strong effort brought his record to 2-2 on the young season and lowered his era to 2.19. He also has 22 strikeouts in 24.2 innings to only 9 walks. His era is now less than half of John Lackey’s 5.09, the second best on the staff.
When Beckett, Lester, and Lackey finally get their shit together the Red Sox are going to be able to trot out by far the best rotation in the game. I honestly believe that the Red Sox can be 15 games out of first place come June 1st and still be in good position, that is how good this pitching staff is going to be. Yes, it blows watching Lester and Beckett pitch like they are little leaguers getting their tips wet for the first time on a regulation sized field but the reality is that they were both just as bad last year to start the season. Soon they will both go on a run where they are practically unhittable and the Sox will win 25 out of 30 games in a month. Call me a homer, but I am not even close to panicking. Especially after watching Buchholz come into his own to start the season.
What I Liked:
John Lackey Impresses – It took three games but the vaunted Red Sox starting rotation finally lived up to all the off season expectations. Lackey was everything we expected and more last night going six innings allowing only three hits, two walks, no runs, while striking out three. He worked quick and pounded the zone throwing a perfect mix of fastballs and curve balls. After seeing Beckett and Lester struggle it was nice to finally see one of our aces step up.
New Guys Can Hit Too – All winter we talked about pitching and defense and how the additions of Marco Scutaro, Adrian Beltre, and Mike Cameron would improve the defense enough to make up for their lack of offense. It is still early, but I said from the beginning that these guys are going to bring more offense to the table than expected. That being said, Beltre is batting .364 with 2 RBI while Cameron and Scutaro are both batting .300 with a .417 OBP.
Beltre Is The Real Deal At Third – Again, it has been a small sample size but you got to like what you have seen out of Beltre defensively. The most recent example being a double play he turned in the sixth inning last night ranging to his left on a hard grounder making a quick throw to second on the move allowing plenty of time for Pedroia to turn the double play at first.
I Love The Middle Of Our Lineup – I don’t care that there is a possibility that none of them hit 30 home runs, I’ll take Dustin Pedroia, Victor Martinez, and Kevin Youklis batting 2, 3, and 4 any day of the week. All three of them in a row like that will wear down opposing pitchers working deep into the count waiting for the right pitch to hit. Just because we don’t have Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz in the middle of our order doesn’t mean it isn’t just as dangerous. Just wait and see.
Dan Bard Is A Bad Man – Three and a third innings pitched, one hit, two strikeouts, no runs. Right now the only bright spot in a questionable bullpen Bard is easily the most reliable arm they have out there. He looks like the Dan Bard of early 2009 when he threw 20+ scoreless innings in a row. He is locating his fastball, throwing his slider for strikes, and straight out blowing away batters. Plus, you know you are dirty when your change up is 89 mph and guys are still way out in front of it.
What I Didn’t Like:
This Bullpen Is Wack – Beyond Danny Bard I have no faith in anyone right now. Talk to me tomorrow and I’ll add Papelbon to that list, but right now I am still too pissed. But other than these two, there are question marks with everyone:
Slow Starts For Beckett and Lester – Jon Lester has a losing record in April-May for his career and Josh Beckett sucked for the first five weeks in 2009 before turning it on going into the summer. Maybe it has something to do with the way the Red Sox prepare their pitchers for the season, but both were not sharp this week. Lester was hitting 98 in the first inning and threw a couple of nasty curves and cutters. But after that he was down in the 93-95 range and couldn’t locate to save his life. Beckett, like Lester, couldn’t locate and had no feel for his curve ball allowing hitters to sit on his fastball. I’m hoping we don’t have to wait until June to see both of these guys at the top of their game, but this was not a good star.
What’s Next:
A three game series at Kansas City
Friday: Tim Wakefield vs Kyle Davies @ 8:10pm
Saturday: Josh Beckett vs Zack Greinke @ 7:10pm
Sunday: Clay Buchholz vs Gil Meche @ 2:10pm
Just wanted to say that Jon Lester has broken Bruce Husrt’s record for strikeouts by a Red Sox left-hander in a season when he struck out B.J. Upton in tonight’s game. It was Lester’s 191st strikeout this season, currently 3rd in the American League. Hurst’s record was set in 1987.
-Greg
