ITM - Going Around The Horn

(I'm not quite hitting it yet, but I'm damn close)


I was talking to my brother earlier today and we both agreed that the plethora of injuries, non-identifiable names on the current Red Sox team, and recent All Star break has caused many of us in the Nation to lose focus.....we need to snap out of it, and so do the Sox.

While the Sox may be getting Beckett, Buchholz and Hermy back this week, the upcoming West coast trip could very well shape the rest of the season for Boston. That said, seeing how it's a Sunday night and I'm still on European time, let's quickly go around the horn:

-VMart played catch today, which is a good sign, but his timetable is not yet defined....I'm not sure how much longer I can stand watching the combination of Brown (who?), one of the seven Molina brothers, and Rube Baker behind the plate for the Sox.

-Boston has won only 3 of their last 11 games, meanwhile the Yanks continue to chug along, extending their lead over the Sox to 6.5 games ( and 3 over the Rays). If the Sox pull a 3-7 road trip, they'll likely be in big trouble upon returning home right before the trade deadline (ITM note: while the Sox are away, the Yanks and Rays have pretty cake schedules, not a good combination)

-With the return of Beckett and Buchholz this week, it means Just for Men Wakefield will probably be headed back to the pen. Let's hope he has one last solid outing in him on Tuesday.

-Mike Cameron is starting to put up the numbers we had hoped for. We'll need a lot more if it while on the West Coast.

-Good for Michael Bowden. After throwing up all over himself against Toronto last year, he's seemingly worked hard to fix his delivery issues and now looks stronger than ever. His slider was absolutely nasty in his perfect 9th inning today. Good sign for the Sox since that's by far their weakest area (once healthy).

-Mike Lowell is getting an injection and starting a rehab start with Pawtucket soon. To be honest, I had completely forgotten he existed or a while. That said, he's had to deal with so much this season, you gotta be pulling for the man.

-Beltre may be over-achieving at the plate this year, but his 15 errors is about 14 more than I expected at this point given all the ball washing we heard about his glove (ITM included).

-Fenway celebrated its 600th straight sellout today. There have been some questionable sell outs along the way, but regardless, it's a testament to a great (and affluent) fan base.


10 days, 10 games on the West Coast, once it's over we'll know a whole lot more about the Sox, their overall health, and their chances of playing baseball in October when they return.

Hermy and Cameron to Platoon in Left?

Joe Murph continues to pick through SI.com and emailed me an interesting topic from John Heyman, who wrote today that:

The unstated reason why Jacoby Ellsbury is reclaiming his center field job once his ribs heal is that he will be an everyday player while free-agent pickup Mike Cameron might be sharing time with Jeremy Hermida in left field.

With our boy Hermy in the middle of a 2 for 21 slump at the plate (now batting .208), this might be a tough sell, but I certainly don't dismiss Heyman here. It's a well-known fact that Theo loves the potential upside of the 26 year old Hermida. Hermy has seen more playing time than expected throughout the early part of the season, but that was expected to change if and when Jacoby returns from his prolonged rib injury.

Hermy's production numbers help the cause, especially as it seems to the viewing eye that the vast majority of his 25 RBI have come in close and late situations. With Cameron coming off an injury and fighting father time, this move may make sense....so long as Hermy can figure out how to play the wall in left (ITM note: if Manny can figure it out, anyone can).

To my knowledge, this is the first I've heard of possibly platooning Cameron and Hermy. The idea may have legs, it may not, either way, I think it's worth some consideration.

"Ahhhhh, Hermida?"

PS: If this were to happen, would it be the first time a team had a major press conference to announce the signing of a part time player? I always thought the media event of Mike Cameron signing with Boston was a bit much.

Hermy Powers Lackey to First Boston Win

We figured in honor of Lackey's first Boston win we'd include a picture of his wife........what? She's from Maine and got his first win in a Red Sox uniform.... why else we would use the picture?

Tim may have called it yesterday, don't be surprised if Jeremy Hermida is your everyday DH by May or June.

The 26 year old former first round pick is starting to make Tito's job a little more difficult.

Dustin Pedroia (who is acting like a cleanup hitter on my fantasy team right now) may be continuing to prove that he can "hit that pitch"....but it's Hermida who is stealing the media's print of late. (ITM note: from here on Hermida will be referred to as, "Hermy"...because it just feels right...and possibly because I spell his last name differently everytime.....and absolutely because we also somehow manage to tie it back to the "Herbie Hancock" joke from Tommy Boy....don't ask qustions.)

Hermy has started the past four games (partially as a result of Jacoby's injury) and through an admittedly small sample of 14 at bats, has five hits (3 doubles), one tater, and six rbi. Hey Ortiz...see how much he poured?

I'm pretty sure I recently read that Ortiz has more strikeouts than plate apparences...certainly believable, but I'll double check my sources.

You've read it on this blog before, we're not believers in Big Papi at this point, at least, not anywhere close to the 2007 levels of belief. We hope he proves us wrong, but did nothing to convince us today. We need realistic expectations (something, as Bostonians, we struggle with in nearly every facet of life).

Sure, Ortiz apparently had a double in the 9th inning today....but I didn't see it with my own eyes....which leads me to believe the story that he actually struck out, but the umpire felt bad for him and let Ortiz take a free swing off a tee. Rumor has it that he was somehow jammed and late on the ball despite it being on the tee....resulting in a blooper over the shifted third basemen's head.

The top of the lineup helped keep the game in the Sox favor early on, but it was Hermy's three run double in the 8th inning that broke the game open.

Turns out it was needed.....Bard continues to make ITM look bad (giving up a tater to Cudyer), and Pap was shaky at best. At least Ramon Ramirez and Manny Delcarmen have looked solid....

It's amazing how we can take a nice win and turn it into a negative post so easily right? Welcome to the real Red Sox Nation.

Regardless, Lackey once again stymied his opponent and gutted it out over 6 and 2/3rds. Hopefully Beckett and Lester were taking notes rather than seeing who can drop more F bombs in 30 seconds.