Pedey: "It's Not Early Anymore"

The Red Sox dropped their second straight game to Toronto yesterday, extending a recent trend of mediocre pitching and a struggling offense. With the loss, the Red Sox drop to 28-22, their worst start through 50 games since 2005 when they began the season 27-23. You can point to injuries and/or bad luck as reasons why a team many picked as world series bound has struggled through the first two months, but Dustin Pedroia doesn't want to hear it.

"We got four hits [on Saturday]," said Dusty "We've got to find a way to score runs. We're not winning many games right now, and we need to start. It's not early anymore. We've played 50 games. We need to start doing things, offensively."

Good for you Pedey, someone needs to tell this team to take their collective skirts off. All we've heard is "we're hitting the ball well, but right at people" or "I pitched well, but made one or two mistakes that they hit hard." Well guess what, that can suffice for a few games, but we're nearly a third of the way through the season, excuses like those won't cut it in this town. With Youk and Jay Bay coming back to reality at the plate (and I am by no means pointing any fingers at them), this offense relied on Rocco Balldelli for their production yesterday....Rocco Baldelli.....who then proceeded to run himself into a wall and nearly sever his leg from the knee down. That's just Rocco being Rocco.

We all know Papi has been hitting bombs in batting practice, that's great, but it's called BP for a reason, and players sure as hell don't get paid millions for hitting taters during practice. Sure he's put good wood on a few balls of late, but at this point it's going to take back to back months of him hitting .325, with 10 taters and 20 RBI to get him back to a respectable level.....and I don't think any of us see that happening.

Forgive me for my pessimistic rambling on this beautiful Sunday morning, but the aforementioned issues have been combined with the thought of being scared that Lester takes the mound today... and presto, I'm all worked up.

Maybe the Sox can salvage the weekend for me, perhaps Lester will bounce back and inject some optimism into my Red Sox blodline, because apparently, 75 and sunny doesn't cut it when the Sox are struggling.

Terrible 5th Inning Sinks the Sox Again

What is with the Red Sox pitching staff and their inability to get outs in the 5th inning of games? Tim Wakefield followed Jon Lester's lead and could not get through the 5th without turning what looked to be a quality start into a disaster.

It was classic Wakefield tonight, who just seemed to lose complete control of his knuckle ball in the 5th. When Wake is on, he's nearly unhittable, but when he's off, you might as well have a slow pitch softball hurler out there. Over his last four starts, Wake has a 2-2 record, a 7.40 era, and 13 walks. In three out of his last four starts, he's given up five or more runs. The good thing about Wake, he can turn it on as quickly as he can turn it off, you just don't know what you're going to get when he returns to the mound.

For the third game in a row, the Red Sox lineup couldn't muster much in the way of offense. David Ortiz put together a few good swings tonight, but only showcased warning track power with the bases chucked in the 1st. Hit the weights Papi, but at least you didn't strike out tonight. Perhaps the timing is coming back.

I look at the Toronto's lineup and say to myself....how the hell are they the best hitting team in baseball? How is Marco Scutaro lacing the ball all over the park? With a name like that, shouldn't he be doing bicycle kicks somewhere in Europe? It must be something in the Canadian water, because the names and numbers just don't line up to me. I still believe their bats will come back to reality, much like their pitching has over the past two weeks.

The lone bright spot of the Sox....my boy, Daniel Bard. Bard threw 2 1/3 innings, walking one, but striking out the final 5 batters he faced. He dominated on a night when the radar gun indicated he may have been holding back at times. He was consistently around 96 mph, but did touch 99 at one point. Scary to figure those high speeds may not be his best stuff.

That's The Ace I Know

Josh Beckett is doing something that Lester and Dice-K seemingly can't this season, pitch at a level he is capable of, which is an Ace.

The term ace is probably used too loosely in the game today, as true aces are tough to find. Josh Beckett has the competitive fire, physical makeup, and work ethic to put him in that unique category, and of late, he is certainly pitching like one.

JB allowed one run on three hits and struck out eight in seven innings today in a 3-1 win against the Twins. The W gave Boston a split in the series with the Twins and allows us Red Sox fans to breath a temporary sigh of relief.

I purposely took a late lunch for today's game, running to a local restaurant to catch an inning or two of the game. From what I saw (and subsequently saw again on NESN's replay tonight), Beckett looked like he did in 07'. He was painting the corners and challenging hitters all day. You couldn't help but feel he was in complete control of the game, and if the Red Sox were to lose, it certainly wouldn't be his fault.

While he has a ways to go before getting to ace-like numbers for the year, his recent totals indicate he could be on his way. For the month of May, JB has a 2-0 record in 4 starts (remember that he should be 3-0 if it wasn't for Pap against the Mets), with a 2.67 ERA, while holding opponents to a .240 batting average. His average start this month is close to 7 innings, more than an entire inning better than his April average.

So in a night where all the highlights will surround a young umpire who got ejection happy and Tek's two "go f yourself" taters (that phrase applying to all those in the media who continue throw him under the bus, ITM included), we should remember the most important takeaway. Josh Beckett appears to be back, and thank god, because this staff is in dire need of a stopper/leader under the age of 42.

Eye of the Storm

The Yankees have been on an unfortunate tear of late. They've got 11 wins in their last 14 games, burning up through the AL East standings like Sherman on his way to Atlanta (with the same sense of inevitability, if you ask the fans here). They've got one more to play tonight with the surprising AL leaders, the Texas Rangers, but after that will move on to a weekend series with the floundering Cleveland Indians. The Sox are going to have their hands full, that is, trying to defend their first place position.

At the season's beginning, ITM predicted that the Yankees upside would depend in large part on the ability of two players to bounce back. It was and has been our theory here that A-Rod and Texeira will produce, and Jeter and Damon will be workmanlike, and that those four alone will ensure that the Yankees have a competitive team. ITM's prediction was that the fate of the club would depend in large part on the success or failure of Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada. They are, the thinking goes, the real variable for the Yankees. And the club's success at any given moment can be loosely predicted based on a look at the trajectory of these two cogs.

If our general theory still holds, then things are not looking very good for the Sox on the month ahead. We didn't want to do it, but we began today with a periodic check-in with these two question marks. If you're looking for an optimistic note after a morning of sweating over Jon Lester's left arm, don't read on.

Cano is, so far, looking like his old potential-star self. He's hitting .317 on the season, driving in 27 and scoring 31 himself. He's had his troubles in the field, but all in all has been fairly solid and looks like he's covering a greater range than he did last year. The Yankees have him batting fifth, and the better he is, the more pitches A-Rod will have a chance to smack. He has not let them down. Increased patience, increased production, great balance for the lineup. All in all, he's looking scary.

Jorge Posada had a nice April himself, then pulled a groin the series against the Red Sox. But he caught a simulated game last night and is expected back with the club some time next week. With Molina also on the DL, the Yankees are down in their depth chart. Before he left, Posada was hitting .312 and slugging .584. Plop that back into the lineup in place of Kevin Cash and Francisco Cervelli, and it's unclear how pitchers are going to make their way 1-9.

Other factors will even out over the year: Mark Texeira will eventually hit a ball that stays in the park, Nick Swisher will come back to earth, Johnny Damon will stop hitting bloop homers, CC will pick things up a bit, and Matsui will start to give them something. But will Posada and Cano continue this hot streak? We'll check back at the end of June to see where they stand. But for now, ITM is predicting a tough fight at the top of the AL East in June.

This is Why LA Fans Are Dumb....

Manny Ramirez is selfish, a liar, and a cheat. Apparently all of that doesn't matter to people in LA and to the other Manny "fans" out there. How can someone who has been suspended for 50 games in the first half of the season for steroid use become an all-star starter? Because there are a lot of stupid fans out there, especially in LA, and this continues to confirm it.

Manny currently sits in fourth place among outfielders in the NL, well within reach of a starting spot which is determined by fan voting. It amazes me how popular this guy remains out there. Granted, we here in Boston put up with a lot of his antics, but I'd like to think people here are intelligent enough to know that voting for him after what transpired earlier this season would be a disservice to not only another deserving player, but to the overall game of baseball. You don't see Bostonian's lining up to vote for Ortiz do you?...and that's a totally different story.

Manny's MLB suspension is up on July 3rd (barring rain outs), about a week prior to the All-Star break, so there is a good chance he'll be stumbling around left field in the mid summer classic. If this nightmare comes true, not only would the fans be voting in a known cheater, but also someone who hasn't even had the chance to put up the numbers to warrant him being there.

It's tough to blame MLB here, given the rules of selection process, but perhaps a change is needed. The NFL changed their rules when Shawn Merriman was caught bench pressing cars and shooting himself up in San Diego, no suspended player is allowed to partake in the NFL's Probowl game.

If I was the commish, I would have forced the removal of Manny's name off of the ballet. Then again, I may have also assumed fans couldn't possibly be this dumb.

The David Ortiz Dilemma

Let me first say that I am glad I am not Terry Francona or Theo Epstein. Telling David Ortiz he's batting 7th in the lineup, or worse, riding the pine, won't be easy; especially after all he's done during his time with the Sox. That said, loyalty for the sake loyalty is insanity and the Sox have to do something with their DH spot.

I'm not certain Ortiz is finished, but there's very little to suggest that he's going to figure it out anytime soon. He has 1 home run, and it was a grooved fastball over the plate, 18 RBI, his OBP is .301 and his slugging is an anemic .299.

The Ortiz who would turn on inside fastballs or feast on the low and inside pitch is long gone, he probably couldn't catch up to Josh Beckett's change up right now, which clocks in around 88 mph. It's sad to say in Ortiz's case but I subscribe to the "what have you done for me lately" doctrine, and lately David Ortiz hasn't done anything.

Yesterday the Sox batted Pedroia, Youk, Bay and Lowell 2-5 in the lineup and they went a collective 11-20 at the dish with 11 runs scored and 5 RBI. That is what the Sox need out of the heart of their order, not every game because that's unrealistic, but the threat has to be there.

I understand the argument that Francona wants his line up to have balance between left and right handed hitters to make other managers use their bullpens differently. However, at some point you are sacrificing the first 6 innings of a game and possibly losing ball games because Ortiz is as close to an automatic out as it gets.

As far as a deal down the line to get another bat goes we'll have to see. For everyone clamoring for Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers I'd point out two truths; the Tigers are in first place and Theo has always been hesitant to deal his young pitchers (certainly he'll have to give 1 or 2 of them up at the very least).

The other side of the coin is the rumored Nick Johnson deal. He's off to a great start in Washington batting .338 with an OBP of .471 in 158 at bats this season, but one wonders if he can keep it up. Johnson can DH or play first and if he can bat .280 with a .380 OBP out of the 7 or 8 hole that is a significant upgrade from Ortiz right now.

Another option is to put Lowell at DH, move Youk back to third and let Bailey play every day at first base. I'm not sold on that as the answer but I'd be interested to give it a test run.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if Ortiz goes on the 60 day DL or something similar here with a "knee injury" that has been nagging at him all year. Whatever the Sox want to come up with, Ortiz can't be batting third in his current state.

The perfect ending here is Ortiz gets his stride back and rebounds for a strong second half defying his critics, sadly that looks like it's not going to happen.

Lastly I'll say that there is a reason Epstein let Pedro Martinez walk away when he wanted a 4th year on his contract; players don't get better when they get older. To watch Pedro pitch mediocre in Boston as opposed to New York following the 2004 season would have been tough for Sox fans. As tough as it is on the fans, I can't begin to imagine how David Ortiz feels. If I had to guess, he feels like he's going to the plate with an oak tree and not his usual baseball bat.

In Case You Missed It...

It's been a busy and crazy memorial day weekend. We here at ITM know that those in Red Sox Nation live well beyond the reach of NESN, so we thought we'd cap off the weekend by providing the link to the now infamous "Eckism" from the Red Sox/Mets series. I must say, as much as I miss Remy, I've thoroughly enjoyed Eck's colorful commentary. Never a dull moment.

Eck doesn't hold back, there is no filter, and he'll tell you how it is....kind reminds me of one of my favorite movie characters of all time....

We've certainly got a big week of baseball in front of us. Three series on the road, Big Papigate, and the surging Yanks on Boston's heels in the AL East......let's go Sox.