When You're 0-5, and an Ocean Away, You Resort to Superstitions

The frustration and downright anger of a 0-5 start to the season crosses the Atlantic ocean amazingly fast. You have no idea how terrible it is to wake up in the morning, rush to grab your phone and check the Sox score...only to have 4 texts waiting for you saying ("Dice-K is a pig"....."Tek is a bum"....."hope you didn't stay up for this"....."Heidi still looks great though"..etc).


It's a very difficult way to start your day.

Anyways, it has come down to this. We simply can't open up at Fenway tomorrow, against the Yankees, at 0-6. Can't. We can't lose another game to perhaps the worst team in the AL, a team that has all of 7 fans in their stands, with our ace on the mound this afternoon. Can't.

So, feeling the need to do my part, I've resorted to something I usually reserve for August and September: superstitions.

This morning, I went to a different coffee shop on my way to the Tube. I took a different Tube line to work (requiring a longer commute, but it's worth it). I've been carrying or wearing my Red Sox hat everywhere today (hence the picture above). I will go somewhere new for lunch beak, walk backwards home from work, whatever it takes.

Growing up, my father would make us switch seats in the living room if things weren't going Boston's way. Or, if I was watching the game upstairs in my bedroom, and the Sox put together a good inning, I would have to "just stay up there". For game four of the 2004 world series, I came home from college and my entire family got together to watch the Sox take it.....save for my oldest brother who couldn't leave "his chair" because he didn't want to blow it for them.

Tell yourself whatever you want, do whatever you have to do to provide peace of mind, but the bottom line is the Red Sox need a win in the worst way....but it won't be my fault if they go into Fenway at 0-6.

Go Sox, just give us one.

ITM note: While were down in Ft Myers for spring training, the Sox went 0-5. We joked about how insane we would go if this team stumbled badly out of the gate. Yikes.

Wait Till Next Year: 2011 Sox Schedule Released

The Sox are playing meaningless ball on the West Coast while the Yanks and Rays battle it out for the division over the next two weeks. Everything sucks.

The 2006 version of "wait till next year" seems like forever ago, but that theory panned out well. One can only hope for the same for 2011.

With that in mind, it's time to look forward to next year and that may have officially started today with the release of the 2011 Red Sox schedule.

Check out the Full Count Blog for more details.


PS: Lester remains studly, even if no one actually watched. Instead most of us were giggling at the Jets last minute loss to the Ravens last night. Gems all around.

Lucky to Split, But We'll Take It

In the bottom of the 8th, I ran up to my office's cafe to watch the last inning or so..... in an instant I had lost all professionalism and started screaming at the screen. From Bard being kept in for too long, to pitching to Big Teix in the bottom of the 9th, I was a pacing mess.

While I may have lost the respect around the office, the Red Sox managed to come out with a 2-1 nail biter victory in the Bronx. The win gives them a split of the important series, and under normal circumstances, that simply wouldn't have been enough to truly keep them in the playoff conversation.

Luckily for them, the Rays have been puking on themselves of late, essentially allowing us just a little more wiggle room before sending me into complete freak out mode.

Lester stepped up today and did what neither Lackey nor Beckett could. He quieted the Yankees just long enough to get to Bard and Pap in order to pump fastballs and secure the win. If there were question marks about Lester and his "ace" status going into the series, he once again answered them. Studly performance.

The difference in this series was not necessarily the Red Sox injuries, but the lack of stepping up by Lackey and Beckett....if it had gone as planned, I'd be sinking beers in excitement and lighting fireworks off in a back bay parking lot with T Murph right now. It happens.

So the Sox head North to play a surprisingly resilient Blue Jays club while the Yanks face the first place Rangers and the Rays take on a Baltimore team that is waking up under their new skipper....

The Sox remain squarely on the edge of in the mix and being on the outside looking in, it's not good for my health, but for now, I'll take it.

Tuesday Night Takeaways

Typed up on the blackberry while delayed on the subway this morning.....

As a sad and irrational Red Sox fan, I guess it comes as no surprise that I'm actually excited about this team right now. The pitching is starting to come around and the bats are about as lively as they can get given the lineup limitations. Do I think they'll win 96 games and make the playoffs? Not in this division. But I'm still convinced they'll make some noise, and if they can make the right trade deadline move, who knows. I've yet to decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing for my health...


On to some takeaways....


-Pretty safe to say I can call Lester "Big Jon Stud" again....with the approval of Soxin10' of course


-2-0 since the return of Heidi. Just sayin.


-Lowell is doing everything right, even managing not to freak out given the circumstances. Ortiz seems to be doing everything wrong, seems like an equation that's really easy to solve to me.


-Just in case you missed another priceless post game Pedey quote in the comment section yesterday: talking about Ortiz and his struggles: "He's only had 60 at bats, a couple of years ago, I was hitting 170 after 60 at bats, and then what happened?.....THE LASER SHOW!"


-Pedey talks the talk (see below post) and walks the walk. I love Tek and all, but it's pretty clear who has stepped into the captain role


-Lester's splitter was filthy. 120 pitches is nothing. He's the definition of a horse (that's what she said?)


-Hoy es cinco de Mayo...5/5/2010...it's also Nomar night at Fenway.I can hear Ozzie Guillen saying "that's as close to being Mexican as he'll ever get"


-We know the Angels are struggling (I can't type that word without thinking of Joe Namath anymore). They're a team with comparable issues to the Red Sox.....we assume we'll be there at the end of the year....but are they too flawed? (Keep in mind the same can be said for the Sox)


-With the above said, I still don't know if the Red Sox won that game or if the Angels just finally found a way to lose it. Juan Rivera looked like a 7 year old tee ball player trying to run down Hermy's 3 run double to put the game away.


-Ahhhhhhh Hermida?


Lackey against his old ball club tonight in the Fens, let's keep it rolling....

I Was Starting to Get Worried

They only way the Sox are going to dig out of this hole (and they're back to .500) is with great pitching. Last night it started with Clay Buchholz and tonight it continued with Jon Lester, just the way Theo drew it up, kind of.

I wasn't sure which Lester was going to show up tonight, but he was dominate striking out 11 in 7 very strong innings. Bard continues to bring the heat, and Pap was confidence inspiring as Sox pitching combined to strike out 15 Blue Jays tonight. Coupled with Buchholz start last night, Red Sox fans finally have something to feel good about in this very young 2010 season.

With back to back great starts from starting pitching, pretty good defense, and solid relief pitching things appear to be back on track in the Nation. It will be interesting to see what the tone is tomorrow as a lot of people were ready to give up on the season, it's a long season people, they still have 140 games to play.

Day off tomorrow and the weekend rotation lines up with Lackey on Friday, Dice K making his debut on Saturday and JB taking the mound to close out the weekend in Baltimore.

I have no idea what to expect from Dice K, but JB has to turn it around and what better team to do it against then the Orioles. When (because I assume he will) Beckett figures it out it looks like the Sox will be running 4 quality starters out there, and 1 Kamikaze Pilot on the 5th day. I'm still not sure this team is good enough to make the playoffs, but as I said, there's a lot of baseball left to play.

Cheers to Darnell McDonald who continues to do everything right. McDonald scored the 1st run tonight and drove in the second with an RBI single. I personally thought his 15 minutes were going to last that one night, however he's been huge with Cameron and Ellsbury out. Seriously Cameron, take your time coming back.

Jeers to the Red Sox line up. Obviously they just swept the Jays and things are going well, but as the top of an inning ended I saw the "due up for the Sox...Varitek, Beltre, Hall", and I died a little inside. You just have to hope the guys in the bullpen don't have a tv on.

I'm all for the playoff hockey beard, I myself can not grow consistent facial hair yet, but Tom Caron needs to give it up, it's not helping, it's actually hurting. Bruins have home ice against the Flyers in the semi-finals, we'll see if Jacks' snowball continues to grow in round 2.

Lastly, and this has nothing to do with the Sox, Jake Peavy is killing my fantasy team. 5 runs in the first inning tonight, come on guy. I traded Mark Texieria for him last year (who's slow starts are becoming legendary), 5 minutes later he was on the DL for the season and this is how he starts 2010. Absolute junk, now I'm not sleeping nights, my 2008 championship feels like 86 years ago.

Lester Dominates, Excitement Builds

Jon Lester is no sally, a little line drive off his leg isn't going to stop this man from dominating lineups for as long as he wants. I mean, the guy beat cancer, did we honestly think he wouldn't spin a great game against a defeated Cleveland team? Last night, he put to bed any injury concerns by providing another ho-hum gem.

Sadly, we've become so spoiled by Lester that anything other than dominance is questioned. A few buddies and I went to the game last night with expectations of a great pitching performance, we certainly got it, but we expected nothing less. He would get two strikes on a batter and we would already be getting up to get in the beer line since we knew Lester would ruin the hitter for strike three (ITM note, we definitely had a few too many trips to the beer line).

He's turned into one of, if not the best left-handed arms in the league right in front of our eyes. He's leapfrogged over perhaps the best post season pitcher of our generation to start game one of the upcoming ALDS, and none of us blinked an eye.

Maybe it was the beer consumption, maybe it was the October bite of cold in the air, but last night's game sent me to another level of excitement for baseball's playoffs. If Beckett is able to throw up goose eggs and strike out 9, I might not sleep until game one of the ALDS next week.

Go Sox.

Should I Pump the Breaks on my Excitement?

Just a quick post here on something I'll be struggling with all day...am I too excited about the current state of the Red Sox?

Sure a 4 game wild card lead coupled with the return of Tom Brady and the Patriots has my tail wagging, but for some reason, I'm feeling the kind of confidence in this Red Sox team that gets me nervous.

This weekend, the entire league saw what they may have to deal with once the playoffs come around. Beckett, Lester, and Buchholz....Judging from Beckett's 5 inning performance Saturday night, we know he's not hurt. We're also well aware of his post season resume.

Sure the Rays are sinking faster than any team in history, save for the Mets (pick a year), and I'm still not 100 percent sold on Beckett being "back", but I gotta believe no team wants to face Boston in October right now.

If Beckett's previous struggles are any kind of question mark, then Jon Lester is the answer. 17 innings straight without allowing a run, on the absolute top of his game. I don't care what fat boy CC's record is in NY, Lester is the top lefty in the game right now. Write that down.

As if the idea of a healthy and on point Beckett/Lester 1-2 combination doesn't get you pumped for a playoff series, enter Clay Buchholz. Yes, there are a lot of unknowns here, but the fact of the matter is he's looked as good as anyone (save for Jonny on the Spot) over his past 4 starts. Consistent confidence and command is something we've been waiting for from Buchholz in the majors, and he appears to have it at the right time. The talent is there, if his confidence continues to snowball, lookout.

So the Dice-K start tomorrow night will likely come with a lot of hype, I'm sure excited. However, this team will be carried to and through the post season on the back of its starting pitching. Right now, you have to be excited about their chances.

A Few Post Game Thoughts....

(AP photo)

Fortunately for me, because of a weekend wedding I missed the previous two Sox games, text messages from the other ITM writers assured me it was bad, real bad, so I guess I shouldn't complain. It felt like I hadn't watched a Sox game in a month, so today was a great afternoon of baseball. Here are some general takeaways:

-Jon Lester: The most consistent pitcher on the staff this year tossed another gem. After going 7 solid innings, not allowing a run and striking out 8, he admitted he didn't have his best stuff. "Today was a battle, not only with their good-hitting lineup, but with myself," he said. "I was trying to do maybe a little bit too much at times and not staying within myself. I got myself into some trouble, but made some pitches when I had to." Man, if I put my dirty clothes in the laundry basket my wife considers the day a success...talk about hard on himself.


-The Ace: I know calling Lester the "co-ace" or even the "current ace" is disrespectful to Beckett, but if he keeps giving up 8 taters a game, and the big lefty continues his domination, how much longer can that really be offensive? (My general conclusion is until Lester outperforms Beckett in the playoffs, but who knows).


-Pedroia and Papi: Unfortunately for me, I have both of these players on my fantasy team....and considering I was fighting for a playoff spot this week, they officially sank my battleship. Pedey made an unbelievable play in the field early on today, but neither the big lefty, or the tiny righty have been able to get anything going at the plate. Good thing for them, Jacoby and V-Mart have picked up the slack.


-Speaking of V-Mart.....Are any of his hits ever of the insignificant variety? Joe Murph and I were talking about it the other day, every time the Sox are in need of a timely hit, V-Mart seems to be walking up to the plate, and he gets it done. Man love.


-Alex Rios: It's been tough to figure out the Whitesox and their recent moves...but a real disappointment has to be Alex Rios. Granted, he has been having a down season all year, but there were a lot of people out there who expected a change of scenery would jump start Rios and his quiet bat. That certainly hasn't been the case however as he has gone 4-for-46 over his last 12 games and continues to bat in the 8th spot with an average below .250. (ITM note: again, unfortunately for me, he is on my fantasy team, not a starter, but on the team nonetheless...it's bad for the "Roger Dorn's Revenge" clubhouse).


-The Wildcard: The Rangers can't seem to solve the Orioles, losing again today and sliding 3 games behind the Sox in the wildcard standings. There is something mentally comforting about being 3 games up on a team instead of 2, I'm not sure what it is, but it's a big number for me. And you can forget about the Rays, they're out the picture, especially with their difficult upcoming schedule. Joe Maddan can die his hair fluorescent green if he wants, I'm calling it, they're donski.



And oh yeah, the Yanks lost today too. Good day all around. Go Sox.

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!

Jon Lester: See How Much He Poured?

Quick lunchtime post just to say Jon Lester is on fire. I mean, the guy friggin beat cancer, like shutting down the Orioles is going to be that tough for him? Last night's performance was a dominate one, but you can't help feeling that it was a routine outting for the 25 year old. Just another day at the office for Lester, you know, punch in, go 7 strong innings without surrendering a run, then punch out. Done.

Teams are lookign at their schedules against the Sox and praying they don't get both Beckett and Lester right now, because if they do, they're going to lose that series (ITM note, no matter what, the Sox apparently don't like to sweep anymore, they give away the final game of the series in pitty).

The early season struggles for Lester seem to be long gone and hard to find.....Consider Lester's last six starts...... 4-1 with a 1.80 ERA. Add that in with his money wife and his recent sweet long term contract with the Sox...and Lester on a roll for sure.

Round 2 for Smoltz tonight. It seems like there is something "big" to look forward to every night as a Sox fan. Something my fiance` is quickly starting to hate. God forbid I help with the weddign planning, "this is Smoltz' second start, it's a huge game".

Go Sox.

Say Hello to Your Future Closer....and Lester Was Good Too...

ITM called it months ago, Daniel Bard is the real deal, and tonight Red Sox fans got a good glimpse of their future. With CincoOcho off limits after two stressful saves against the Yanks, Tito turned to the 23 year old flame thrower to close out a marathon of a game in Philadelphia. A walk, a hit batter, and three nasty strike outs later, it was over. The Red Sox win. (ITM note, all third strikes were via change ups after first blowing hitters away with 99 mph gas).

We all know Papelbon is looking for a record-breaking deal to keep him closing games for the Sox after 2011. Given the Boston's reluctance to provide long term deals for any pitcher, especially for ones they may expect to have shoulder issues in the future, you may have just watched your future closer in action tonight Is it VERY early in Bard's career, yes. Is just one chance to close down a game, yes. Am I sincerely over-tired and probably suffering from irrational man love for this guy.....probably. But one thing is for sure, the guy is a stud, has electric stuff, and could serve as a major player for this organization in the future in a number of ways.

And let's not forget about Lester. It feels like three days ago, but buried somewhere in tonight's 13 inning 5-2 win was Jon Lester's gem of a start. 7 innings, 2 hits, 1 earned run, and 11 K's, away from Fenway and against a good lineup....GEM. Lester is truly molding into his expected "vice ace" status. To put his piss poor start of the season int0 perspective, we all know how well he's pitched of late, but his ERA still stands at 4.76. One thing is for sure, Lester has made opponents look silly in the batters box. His K's per 9 innings has gone from 6.5 in 2008, to among the league leaders at 10.29 in 2009.

The recent, multiple shut down performances of Josh Beckett and Jon Lester serves as a reminder to all of us all how stupid the thought of a potential 6 man rotation really is. Why would you want to take starts away from Beckett or Lester in favor or a 5th or 6th starter. When these guys are throwing this well, it's going to be very hard for Boston to go into an extended losing streak or funk.

The Red Sox are rounding into form, and you have to be happy with what you've seen of late. I mean Christ, even Julio Lugo was a value-added contributor tonight. Good stuff.

The Return of Jon Lester

Around this time last year Jon Lester was 2-2, he finished 2008 on a 14-4 tear with an era of 2.97.

This year Lester has been unable to replicate last years overall success. Before yesterday's start Lester's' era was above 6 and he'd given up 10 home runs. Lester hasn't been terrible by any means, he does seem to be plagued by 1 bad inning each start, highlighted by a fastball Justin Morneau destroyed last week.

Despite giving up a home run to Alex Rios yesterday, Lester scattered 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 12 in 6 innings of work. One criticism of yesterday's start is that Lester was only able to go 6 innings as his pitch count climbed to 115 pitches.

The pitch count not withstanding, Lester looked great yesterday. His fastball was consistently 95-96 and he was hitting every spot, seemingly putting the ball where ever he wanted. Marco Scutaro struck out looking on a curve ball on the outside corner his first time up, his second time up he waived at it going down on strikes again knowing it was going to be a strike regardless of his pathetic swing.

Has Lester turned the corner? Sox fans sure better hope so. I'm not going to rip the guy if he finishes 11-12 on the year with an era around 5 (I'll save that for Dice K), but if the Sox want to get into the playoffs and do some damage, Lester has to pitch like he did yesterday against Toronto.

That goes for the entire starting rotation. We are at about the 1/3 mark of the season and the Sox starting 5 hasn't lived up to expectations. Certainly the early struggles of everyone except for Tim Wakefield has made it difficult to climb back, however there are signs of improvement.

Beckett has shaken off some rough starts and strung together 3 good outings improving his record to 5-2 and his era to 4.60. That's not great but it serves as a microcosm for the rest of the starting rotation. As Tony Mazz wrote today the starters era is 3.57 in the last 15 games; if the offense could time things up with the pitching the Sox might have won a few more of those games.

Somehow Brad Penny is 5-1 with an era of 5.63, and even Dice K didn't look as bad in his first start coming off the DL, although it was still tough to watch those 5 innings.

What's ahead for the Sox pitching, Clay Buchholz and John Smotlz. You have to believe that Theo Epstein is devising a plan to get Buchholz up with the big club sometime this summer. Smoltz is scheduled to come off the DL and start come the middle of June, the 16th I believe.

Brad Penny can't be traded until after June 15th, the day before Smotlz is eligible to return. Might Theo try and deal him to another contender in the National League looking for some depth in their starting rotation? It wouldn't surprise. I'm not expecting the world back for Penny either, making room for Buchholz or Smoltz might be good enough.

I'll certainly be watching Lester's next start very closely, Saturday night against the Rangers, to see if he can string together back to back good outings. Lester has been saying that he feels good in each start and that he's close to where he wants to be, maybe he got their Sunday.

Starting Pitching Problems

The Red Sox are 14-7 and have won 12 of their last 13 so there is very little to complain about, however one item of concern might be the starting pitching. I'm not sounding the alarm and suggesting we trade the farm for a top line starter, but if you want to point to the weak link thus far it's been the starting pitching.

As I wrote about on Tuesday the bullpen has been great with the best era in the American League. The line up has been killing the ball, even with a power outage in the 3 hole. Pedoria, Youk, Bay and Lowell are all off to good starts, and even Ellsbury is swinging a better bat as of late and making things happen on the base paths. He stole home Sunday night against the Yanks if you missed it.

On the flip side our 1 & 2 pitchers have not been pitching very "ace" like lately, and that does worry me. Lester pitched 6 innings last night, allowing 5 hits and 3 earned runs, not terrible by any means, but he walked 7 guys! 7 walks is the Jon Lester we were seeing when he first came up, great potential but an inability to throw strikes consistently.

For the year Lester is sporting an era of 5.40, not what Sox fans were thinking things would look like after 5 games. In Lester's defense, he says he feels good and his fastball is still popping, he does have 33 K's in 30 innings pitched.

Josh Becket, the other ace, has an era of 6. Beckett looked almost un-hittable on opening day against the Rays (who he faces tonight), but the Angels and Yankees knocked him around. I've had the debate with my friend Chris about how "good" Beckett actually is and how much of his resume is boosted by his post season numbers, the jury is still out, but Beckett isn't helping the "ace" argument.

Dice K is on the DL with a tired arm, not much else can be said for him. Masterson has looked great in his place and if he keeps it up he could find his way into the number 5 spot in the rotation, as Brad Penny continues to struggle. Personally I think Masterson is most valuable in the bullpen, as he can go a few innings or be a setup man in the 8th, but the situation right now is what it is.

I don't want to say Brad Penny is pitching with a short leash, but if he continues to throw a lot of pitches early and not give the Sox a quality start, I think the John Smotlz whispers will get a lot louder. Currently, the Sox are shutting down Smotlz for a week, no need to rush anything, we're in the first month of the season. Needless to say I'm excited to see what Smoltz can give the team when he's ready to take the hill, he's a warrior.

Tim Wakefield has been the best pitcher in Boston thus far, throwing another gem against Cliff Lee in Cleveland the other night. Wake's track record is that he goes from hot to cold, and with the unpredictability of the knuckle ball it tends to the change tends to happen pretty fast. Wake is 40+ years old and it's not realistic to think he pitches this well all season, in fact a stint on the DL is probably likely. For now let's enjoy Wake's hot streak because when it craters, the calls for him to retire and be benched for a younger arm will be there.

Despite an era of 5.20 for the Red Sox starting pitching, I still believe that after a few bumps in the road here in April the Sox rotation will get better, they're too good not too. On top of that, there are options down on the farm with Bowdin and Buchholz in triple A.

The Sox know how to handle their pitching and won't rush or force any pitcher into an uncomfortable situation. I really like the way Theo Epstein built the pitching staff this year, in Theo I (we) trust.

The Flying Dutchman

The story last night was, quite simply, Jonathan Van Every. The former Indians farmhand went 2 for 4, drove in 2, the more important of which was himself, in the 10th, with a game-winning homerun. Must have been a pretty sweet feeling to do it off the team that didn't think they had any room for him with the big club. A few more games like that and Van Every might become a significant cog in the Sox right field (where leg muscles go to die), with Baldelli and JD Drew fighting something-or-others. Another good sign for the Sox---Jacoby Ellsbury contines to heat up, going 3 for 5 last night and improving his average on the season to .289.

The starting pitching was a less optimistic story. Jon Lester, though settling in nicely and mowing down the Indians through the 4th, 5th, and 6th, continues an uneven season, with a pattern starting to emerge: balls left over the plate early (generally a bit high). Sound familiar? Is it possible he's reverting to 2007 Jon Lester? Let's hope I'm just seeing things, and just pray, pray, that we never hear the term "arm fatigue" in the same sentence as "Lester" this season. (Rereading this paragraph, I understand that last night's performance was all right and not nearly cause for such concern, but what can I say? I'm a worrier.)

On the other side, Carmona wasn't much more stable. Though he only gave up two runs, control problems put him in a number of tight situations. But when his sinker is on, he has the makings of a hell of an efficient pitcher. That, and, let's be honest, when Fausto is on the mound and Asdrubal is at second base, that's the highest concentration of 'names I wish my son could get away with' you're going to find on a diamond.

Ultimately, this game came down, once again (how many times already this season?) to the strength of the Sox bullpen. Lester settled in and went six, but the Sox needed scoreless relief from Lopez, Delcarmen, Okajima (with the W), and Papelbon in order to get this game won. You just can't say enough about the job the pen has done so far this season. (Though has anyone else notice much less percussion out there? Is there a correlation between the absence of rhythm and the success on the field?)

So the Sox move on today to Tampa Bay, who's been suffering from an early season hangover after last year's success. Don't be surprised, though, if the Sox visit is just the thing to stir the Rays. With Beckett and Garza tonight, it'll be a telling start to the series.

So enjoy. It should be a hell of a night, with the Sox and the C's both in the crosshairs.

Groovin', on a Sunday afternoon

Jon Lester finally regained his 2008 form this afternoon, throwing 7 scoreless innings, giving up only 4 hits and striking out 9. The Sox bats weren't exactly up to the challenge, but they manufactured 2, with a couple of singles scoring runners in the 2nd and 5th. It turned out to be enough, though just barely, after Takashi Saito (Papelbon resting after 2 days straight working) let a run across in the 9th and had the tying run in scoring position when he finally closed the game on a strikeout. Ramon Ramirez pitched a clean 8th, maintaining his thus far perfect season - 6 appearances, 8.1 innings pitched, 3 hits, and 0 runs allowed.

The win brings the Sox to an even 6 and 6, and full of high hopes for a Patriot's Day extravaganza in Boston. The Boston Marathon begins at 9:22 with the wheelchair competitors, moving on to the Elite Women, then the Elite Men at 10:00 am ET. The Sox will throw the first pitch (with Masterson on the mound, a starter for the first time this season) at 11:05 am. And in the evening, the Celtics and the Bruins are both in playoff action at 7pm. (Tell me this lead paragraph to an espn article today doesn't make you question the sanity / mortality of hockey players: "Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Hunwick had his spleen removed Saturday but has not been ruled out of the NHL playoffs." I read this outloud to my quebecoise girlfriend, who explained rather nonchalantly that "you gotta suck it up if you're gonna beat les habs." Holy crap, does this happen a lot in hockey? Why aren't I following?)

So it should be a hell of a Marathon Monday. Happy Patriot's Day everyone. And screw the Brits! Tell them to get the hell out of America.

(ed. note - The only non-New England state to celebrate Patriot's Day is Wisconsin. So while the Brewers are not in action tomorrow, let's all give them a hand on Tuesday.)

Let Down, that's a wrap

After the buzz of opening night, Fenway got a lot quieter tonight.

Lester started out strong, with five strikeouts in his first two innings, but from there seemed to lose control and intensity. He fell behind hitters, walked leadoff men, and eventually got pulled after five, having given up five.

On the bright side, the bullpen finally got a work out. Delcarmen pitched a clean inning, as did Ramon Ramirez (who looked very strong). Takashi Saito gave up a homerun to Evan Longoria, the first hitter he faced as a Red Sox, then retired the next three. Even Javey Lopez got into the act, giving up a run in the ninth. All in all, not a great performance from the Sox staff we were all feeling so infinitely rosy about this morning.

Kazmir, on the other hand, was on point, going six innings, giving up only one run. (Yes, I'm biting my tongue about that strike zone, as I'm assuming that Lester had some gimmes, too, but every fiber of my being wants to say that damn was Kazmir getting the benefit.) And the Rays offense bounced back nicely after a lackluster opening.

But what's to be expected? The Rays are here to stay. It's all just part of the rhythm of the baseball season. Settle in for at least 160 more up-and-down nights.

Lester Leads List of At-Risk Pitchers

Over at Sports Illustrated, Tom Verducci posted today his annual list of at-risk young pitchers, and right there at #1 is tonight's Sox starter, Jon Lester.

For those of you unfamiliar Verducci's "at-risk" list, it's based on a pretty basic theory: pitchers who are 25 and under are highly susceptible to injury the year after they see a workload increase of 30 innings or more. Obviously, many clubs have been operating under the same assumption for years now, keeping young arms on tight innings restrictions.

But Verducci's particular equation on this has been scarily accurate: he went 6 for 7 with injury predictions in 2008 (think Ian Kennedy, Dustin McGowan, and Fausto Carmona). In today's column, Verducci summarizes his track record: "Over the previous three years I red-flagged a total of 24 young pitchers at the start of those seasons. Of those 24 at-risk pitchers, 16 were hurt in that same season. Only one of the 24 pitchers managed to stay healthy and lower his ERA: Ubaldo Jimenez, of Colorado, a guy I said would be less at risk because of his powerful body type."

This year he red flags ten pitchers (listed in order of their workload increase): Jon Lester, Cole Hamels, Chad Billingsley, Tim Lincecum, Clayton Kershaw, Dana Eveland, Mike Pelfrey, John Danks, Jair Jurjjens, and Jon Niese.

Verducci does note of Lester that he "has age (he turned 25 in January) and size (6-2, 200) on his side," and expresses greater concerns over slighter, younger guys like Lincecum. He also notes that John Farrell appears to be on top of the situation and does not seem particularly concerned about Lester's injury-risk this year.

Still, Lester's workload increase in 2008 was dramatic - up 83.1 innings over the previous year. The Sox already seem to see Lester as their long-term workhorse, but this could be the year where they find out whether that goal is realistic.

Lester makes his first start of the season tonight against the Rays. There are nerves enough surrounding this start without Verducci's pesky historical analysis, but it's one more plotline to keep in mind. It could be one of the most important of the season.

ITM Ft Myers Update

Unfortunately it's ITM's last day down here in Ft. Myers. We're cleaning up the disaster that is our hotel room and checking out....we'll be going to today's game and then stomping our feet as we head off to the airport for a night flight back to Boston.

We'll have our first look at Mikey Lowell this afternoon, here is today's lineup:

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF

2. Julio Lugo, SS

3. J.D. Drew, RF

4. Rocco Baldelli, LF

5. Mikey Lowell, DH

6. Jason Varitek, C

7. Brad Wilkerson, 1B

8. Jed Lowrie, 3B

9. Ivan Ochoa, 2B

Clay Buchholz, SP

With yesterday's game being a few hours north of Ft Myers in Bradenton, we decided to take a day off from baseball and hit the beaches. After screaming at the navigator system for about an hour, we made our way to Ft Myers beach...not much baseball talk there, but we can verify that it's a great place to visit. The night brought with it our attempt at finding the best Red Sox bars in town, we had a small pub crawl of sorts downtown...but being a Monday night we can't say there was anything crazy to report. The Hideaway Sports Cafe showed the most potential. We had a few awkward experiences with drunk locals but were told a free trolley runs to and from City of Palms Park before and after the game, and that it's the best Red Sox bar in town....something to remember when return.

Yesterday's Sox game against the Pirates started with Jon Lester struggling a little through2 1/3 innings, and ended with a football score of 15-14 in Boston's favor. Jeff Bailey and Nick Green continue to make ultimate roster decisions difficult, Green has played extremely well, but the 30 year old faces an unlikely chance of making the big league team with Jed Lowrie likely to assume the utility role (even though he made two errors in one inning yesterday...no big deal). Bailey on the other hand, is proving to be a legitimate choice for the coveted 5th outfielder role.

Even though we're be headed back up north to the cold tonight, keep checking in with ITM for our additional thoughts on our trip down Ft Myers. Tim has a few soap box items he'll be posting on for sure.

Lester Is Changing Things Up

It was great to see (and by see, I mean read about) Jonny Lester on the mound for the Sox today. He threw two solid innings against the Pirates (I know, it's hard not to look good against the always "rebuilding" Pirate teams), but it's got me thinking about Lester's ultimate ceiling. As a big young lefty, he has a natural advantage, but just how good can he become as he continues to mature? Are we talking Derek Lowe or real ace material here?

The 25 year-old spent the off season adding a few pounds of muscle in an intense fitness routine and also increased his confidence in a very important pitch for any hurler; a change up. Lester relies manly on a mid 90's fastball and his cutter as his out pitches, but developing a change up has been at the top of his to do list since last season ended. When asked about the development of his change up, Lester responded:“It’s going. it’s still a work in progress. Like I said, I threw some today and we’re just trying to pick counts and situations where it’s hopefully not going to hurt us to get some work in and get some feel and some reaction from hitters on it. that’s what Spring Training is for. You use it as a building block for the season but you also take your weaknesses and you try to focus on them and that’s one that this spring we’re really trying to focus on.”

Having command of a change up could be what puts Lester alongside a handful of the best pitchers in the game right now. It adds another dimension to his make up, one that hitters will have to respect while at the plate. Keeping hitters off-balance and uncomfortable in the box is something Pedro did better than anyone in his prime (especially when behind in the count). Discomfort in the batters box translates into greater confidence on the mound....and while I'm not ready to put Lester up there with Pedey, if he's able to garner command of an effective change up, it would go a long way in helping to establish him as the best lefty in the game for years to come (yes, I see you CC...how could I possibly miss you).

How can you not love, cheer, and wish the best for Jon Lester?....I mean the guy tooled on cancer for christ's sake. Anyways, just thinking about how much potential this pitching staff has, I can't help but wish to fast forward to April 6th at Fenway against the Rays....but I guess all good things come in due time....

Clay Buchholz, Now or Never?

Talking with a buddy of mine last week about the Red Sox catching situation we wondered if the Sox are going to attempt to trade for a young catcher, Jarrod Saltalamacchia of Texas was our focus. After signing Brad Penny and John Smoltz for this year the Sox have pitching depth, however all we ever hear is that Theo Epstein is hesitant to deal his young starting pitchers. That prompted my buddy Chris to pose the question; "Is Bucholz more Jon Lester (be patient and he'll become what we expect) or more Craig Hansen (young, looks great but just not gonna get there)?"

Jon Lester was drafted in the second round by the Red Sox in 2002. Lester quickly moved threw the minor league system, being called up in June of 2006. Lester pitched well in his rookie year starting 15 games, winning 7 and losing 2 with an ERA of 4.76. Lester's biggest problem was throwing strikes, I distinctly remember a lot of full counts and early exits for him. In 2007 Lester averaged 5.25 innings/start and in 2006 it was 5.4.

In 2008 Lester started 33 games, with a 16-6 record and a 3.21 ERA. Lester pitched 210 innings, averaging 6.4 innings/start with 2 complete games. He figured it out.

Craig Hansen was drafted by the Red Sox in 2005 with the 26th pick overall, first round. He made his major league debut later that season, going on to make 4 appearances. In June of 2006 Hanson was called up to help a struggling bullpen; Hansen did little to add any 'relief' to the situation, ending the season with a 6.63 ERA . In 2007 Hansen spent the entire year in Pawtucket with an ERA of 3.86, however he was never called up to pitch for the big club.

Hanson was traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates along with Brandon Moss as part of the deal that sent Manny Ramirez out of town at the 2008 trade deadline. Hansen never figured it out.

Clay Buchholz is staring his Red Sox future in the face as he enters spring training this season. Buchholz is a highly revered prospect and his name swirls with any trade discussion, however to this point Theo has yet to deal him.

Everyone remembers Buchholz's no hitter against the Baltimore Orioles in September of 2007, the game was a look at the future ace of Boston's pitching staff. However 2008 was not a good year for Clay, he started 15 games with a 2-9 record and an ERA of 6.75. The Sox were 3-12 in games Buchholz started, and the synopsis of his season was a late August start against the same Baltimore team he no hit; Buchholz only lasted 2 1/3 innings and was sent down to double A Portland after the game.

Like Lester and Hanson, Buchholz was drafted early by the Red Sox. (Buchholz was the 42nd pick overall, a sandwich pick the Sox received for losing Pedro Martinez to free agency.) Is this the year when Buchholz figures out what he's doing wrong on the mound and adjusts to the hitters in the major leagues?

Francona admitted that perhaps the Sox rushed Craig Hansen in the big leagues, Lester was given time to work through his control problems and turned into one of the best pitchers in baseball. Will Buchholz recover from the change in his release point and remember how to throw his lights out change up again?

It's been rumored the Texas Rangers want Buchholz for catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Does Theo sell high on Buchholz and hope Saltalamacchia develops into one of the best catchers in the game to replace Jason Varitek; or does he wait to see how Buchholz performs to start the season and move him at the trading deadline? Option 3 would to keep Buchholz, continue to develop him and hope he finds his no hitter form again.

I don't know what's going to happen with Buchholz, but from everything I've heard about Saltalamacchia, he's got the potential to be the real deal. I suspect if Theo hasn't pulled the trigger on a deal for him yet involving Clay, Theo and his boys must still be really high on Buchholz coming into this year.

Regardless of what happens Buchholz is looking at a fork in the road. Is he going to follow Craig Hanson down the road of pitching mediocrity or take the road traveled by Jon Lester and become one of the aces of the Red Sox?