Game On (Not the Overpriced Bar Outside Fenway)

The Red Sox begin a 3 game series with the Tampa Bay Rays tonight which is arguably their biggest series of the 2009 season. As each series comes and goes we'll probably say that another 4-5 times, but that doesn't make it any less true today.

The Sox have a 4 game lead in the Wild Card over the Rangers and they are up 5 on the Rays. This series gives them the opportunity to knock the Rays out, or let them right back in the race. Winning 2 out of 3 in Tampa, a place that has been very unkind to the Sox the last 2 years (1-5 this year), would leave the Rays 6 games back with a month of baseball left and all but out of the playoffs.

The Sox will start on the right foot with lefty stud Jon Lester on the mound tonight, the Rays counter with Andy Sonnanstine. Sonnanstine has had good success against the Sox in the past, same for tomorrow nights' starter Matt Garza. Ok Garza pretty much owns the Sox, but Beckett did beat him (not sure if Garza took the L in that game) earlier this season on Sunday night baseball.

Thursday night will feature what both teams hope is an aces of the future match up as Buchholz squares off against David Price. Neither of these guys have lived up to the expectations as the next big thing, but they are still young. Buchholz looked great against the Blue Jays, and I am very curious to see how he deals with the noise at the Trop if he gets into some trouble. Buchholz seems like he either cruises through a game with very little trouble, or the wheels shoot off in 4 different directions and he lights the bullpen on fire before leaving in the 5th inning after getting rocked.

In the beginning of the season I picked the Sox to win the division and the Rays to win the Wild Card, today it doesn't look like either of those outcomes are likely. The Ray's never really seem to hit their stride this year. We asked RaysAllDay blogger Devon Rogers about this years Rays and he offered the following:

"As for the fire, IMO, the Rays do not have the same fire. They lost some key guys in the clubhouse like Cliff Floyd, Jonny Gomes, and Eric Hinske, who didn't necessarily provide much on the field, but were great for the clubhouse. The Rays did not bring in anyone that has lit that fire from last year. They thought Pat Burrell would be that guy in the clubhouse and produce big numbers, but it hasn't worked out that way."

The Rays always have the fire when they play the Sox, but it's interesting that they haven't been able to replicate last year’s success. Sox fans can attest to this, no team will ever be like the 2004 team championship team (see the 2005 edition of the Sox).

After trading long time ace Scott Kazmir to the Angels we'll see what kind of fire the Rays play with. Kazmir was a well liked teammate and apparently that deal was not a popular one in the clubhouse. Although the Rays received two young and highly valued prospects, the move was largely seen as a way to cut Salary; Carl Crawford and Akinori Iwamura are free agents after the season.

The dog days of August are behind us, it's now September. There is one month of baseball left to decide who plays this fall and who his the links. Game on!

Another Chapter in Beckett v. Garza

For the second time this young season, the Rays and Sox will face off with their flamethrowing righties. This is a primetime matchup that goes back to last season, and so far the results have been onesided. Some of their numbers look pretty similar, but there's no denying who's on top of this matchup at the moment.

Garza and Beckett are both 3-2 on the season, but Garza's got a respectable 3.51 ERA and a lights out .170 batting average against. Beckett, on the other hand, has got a gnarly 6.75 ERA. Hitters are a whopping .315 against him. You read that right: .315. The average hitter is right amongst the league leaders in average when facing Josh Beckett. Perhaps an even more telling number: Beckett has thrown only 34.2 innings in his 6 starts. Garza has thrown 41, giving him an average of right around 7 innings per start. Beckett is getting hit harder and earlier.

All that played out precisely in their most recent head to head start on April 30th. (Garza's earlier start against the Sox was a 4-3 win over Daisuke. Remember him?) Garza went 7.2, giving up only 1 hit and striking out 10. Beckett went 4.2, giving up 10 hits and 7 ER.

So if Josh Beckett wants to prove that he's still among the league leading righties, it needs to start tonight. If the trend continues, then the Rays just might have the dominating ace they've been looking for.

Game Three, Much of the Same

(When does this guy hit the free agent market again???)


Stop me if you've heard any of this before......Evan Longoria has a fantastic game against the Red Sox, Dice-K struggles through 5 1/3rd innings, Matt Garza throws a gem in Fenway, and the Sox claw back into the game just enough to keep you focused on ESPN Gamecast instead of real work during an afternoon game.



Don't get me wrong, it's game three of 162, I'm not freaking out, I swear. I'm just saying it feels like we've been here before. The Sox fell to the Rays this afternoon 4-3 at Fenway Park, losing the rubber game of the series. Garza looked to be in the same form as last year's ALCS, going seven strong innings against a lineup that appeared to be a timely hit away from rattling the young pitcher.



One thing is for sure, Evan Longoria is a stud. He's officially gone from star to superstar. Doesn't it just feel like he's going to hit 25 taters against the Red Sox this year? Not sure about you guys, but I'm more concerned with Longoria at the plate than anyone down in pinstripes.



Outside of that, what did we learn today? Not much, like I said, it's game three of 162. One thing is for sure, the WBC MVP continues to frustrate all of Red Sox Nation, let's just hope this frustration translates into an 18-3 season like last year.