Really Red Sox? On Opening Day While I'm in London?.... Really?

The long and short of it is I went through too much trouble and hassle tonight to come home and watch a condensed MLBTV game of an opening day performance which saw Daniel Bard puke all over himself.

Blame Lester's lack of ace-like outing if you want, but it's not on him, not in the first start of the year during a month that is always bad for him....we all know Lester will be there.

While in Ft Myers, at the minor league complex (against a bunch of single A 19 year old kids) we saw Bard look shaky at best...which got to Joe Murph and I using lines like "imagine if Bard took a step back this year and couldn't be the bridge/future closer for the Sox?" 

It is absolutely way too early for that, but today's opening day performance does nothing to bury those random conversations in our mind.

Back tomorrow with more detail on my opening day....Go Sox...because if they don't show up tomorrow, I may go nuts sooner than later...

This Story Could Only Come From Pedroia....

From WEEI.com (aka, the station that is getting their ass handed to them by Felger, Mazz and the rest of the Hub)....


Traveling back from vacation with his family, along with the family of Dodgers' outfielder Andre Ethier, Pedroia was having a difficult time getting his entire group through customs, making it difficult to make its flight on time.

"They wanted me, who just got cleared to jog, to sprint to the gate, which is on the other side of the airport, to hold the plane up," Pedroia said. "So I'm sprinting, testing out my foot with my shoelaces untied, holding my 30-pound son -- by the way, my foot felt phenomenal -- sprinting through the airport, and I get to the gate, and I'm like, 'Ma'am, did the flight leave?' She said, 'I'm going to give you three minutes.' I'm like, 'There's no way.' Andre's kid is a little bigger than [Pedroia's son] Dylan and he's running everywhere. Two seconds later, the pilot comes off the plane and goes, 'We've got a situation.' I thought, 'Jeez, now we're definitely staying here.'

"She pulls off this couple. Some woman was beating the [expletive] out of her husband on the plane. They pull those two off. This guy has a bloody face. He must have smarted off or something. The flight was delayed 30 minutes, and we got to get on the flight. I almost high-fived everybody. It was awesome."


"It was out of control. We ended up getting on. I was more pumped my foot felt good from sprinting with a 30-pound kid on me. We got on the flight. I was pumped. It was a good day."
If this happened to anyone but Pedey I'd call BS....but this is the type of thing that could only happen to me, Pedey, and probably T Murph.

Also, Pedey should have used his celebrity status to have the plane stopped.  The TSA just put the Red Sox season in peril....He should have told them to go ask Jeff Francis who he was.

Reason number 9,987 to be excited for Spring Training: priceless Pedroia quotes.

Beckett's Back?

Full disclosure, my brother and I were watching the game last night at a bar, and after the first inning we were ready to leave....

"Beckett sucks, why did I start him on my fantasy team this week?"...

"He's not worth the money on his new contract"...

"His numbers since 08' are more comparable to Dice-K than an ace"...

"I bet he's not even from Texas, he's probably Canadian"

If you sat next to us, that went on for a bit...until Beckett pulled it together and went 5.2 more than solid innings to both shut us up and inject some hope into a nearly defeated Red Sox Nation.

While I'm not ready to give Beckett the ace title back...ever, I am ready to say I have more confidence in this rotation than I've hide all season. Sure it's mainly because of health, but with Dice-K and Lackey in a presumed grove, I haven't felt this good about the rotation since opening day.

I can't wait for the Sox to come home from the West Coast trip, I need some sleep.

ITM note, blogged this while standing in line at Comcast waiting to return my equipment. The move required a switch to Direct TV. The jury is still out on them, but thus far the sports packages and scoreboard features are money.

Big Jon Stud...Go.

Dedication From Across the Pond

Blogging via the blackberry at London's Heathrow airport? After the week I've had? That's some real dedication.

Contrary to popular belief, ITM is indeed alive, we're just a mess. I've been in London all week, missing out on one important Boston sporting game after another. Of course no one here cares, cricket is currently dominating the TV in the lounge right now. Europeans are odd.

Meanwhile, T Murph was called down to middle of no where Alabama to wipe oil off some baby seals for work. He'll be down there for nearly a month, likely getting ridiculously sun burnt while offending everyone in the state on a daily basis.

What have I heard/read about the Sox since crossing the pond?

-Since I didn't actually see Dice-K's recent gem, I don't believe it happened (think Carl Everett and the dinosaurs)

-Pap may, or may not have confidence in more than one pitch at this point

-Brookline is really trying to screw Sox fans with their plans to change parking requirements around the Fenway area. Metered parking, which shuts off at 6, will now only be 2 hour parking spots. There is actually a petition going around. Maybe I'll link to it when I land in Boston.

-Maybe Brookline should be more worried about who is minding their gas stations huh?

-Is Ellsbury really still out? Really? I'm hoping I missed something. Am I going to have to call him out?

-The Sox just might be turning a corner towards consistent play. Might be.

-I still haven't figured out if I'm concerned about Beckett. No wait, I just decided I am.


Alright, time to not do the Grad school work I need to do while fighting the volcanic ash cloud home. Instead I'll watch a chick flick or two and then deny I've ever seen them in conversation.

Go Sox, Go Bruins. Celtics?...oh snap.

ITM Ft Myers Update From the Minor League Complex

Another beautiful day down here in Ft Myers. We're currently watching Jose Iglesias play catch and Casey Kelly warm up for their upcoming minor league match up against the Rays.

We were lucky enough to meet and have a quick chat with Iglesias earlier this morning. Seems like a great guy who already speaks English well. He's been signing autographs, shaking hands and kissing babies. Safe to say my man love for the guy is at an all time high. We'll post a few pics of him as we can.

Alright, Casey Kelly is on the mound, Iglesias is at short, we're sitting with some other Sox minor leaguers in the stands and we're about to get underway. We'll report back with take aways...

ITM to Theo: Don't Give Ricciardi Any Real Responsibility

News broke yesterday that the Red Sox have a standing offer to former Blue Jays GM J.P. Ricciarddi. Sure, he's a Worcester boy, was a Sox fan growing up, and has a great last name (in my book), but I really hope the Sox don't give him much responsibility.

Riciarddi spent eight years in Toronto, trying like hell to make the Jays relevant in the best division in baseball. A division that also has two teams with some of the highest payrolls in baseball.

While in the Great White North, Ricciarddi struggled to expand payroll, sign the right players, and put together the right balance of pitching depth and quality hitting.

He is best known for two outrageous deals to Vernon Wells (still owed well over 100 million over the next 5 years), and Alex Rios, a player who they rushed to make their franchise cornerstone, only to have to ship him to the south side of Chicago after a horrible year. (ITM note, I wasted a high pick on Rios for my fantasy league, I was drinking the cool aid as well).

Wells and Rios aside, Ricciardi was highly criticized for his handling of the recent Roy Halladay discussions, with many GM's calling his demands completely unreasonable. After letting other great starters go, he had a chance to completely reshape his team for the future and provide some direction. Instead, he's left the team no better off.

And don't even get me started on the Frank Thomas deal. Talk about signing a real tool bag.

Over the years, he's been close to competing, but has managed to fumble it in the red zone with terrible financial decisions that ultimately handcuffed his flexibility.

In the end, I want to like this guy, and perhaps he was never given the right (or enough tools), but if Theo brings him to Boston, they better keep him clear of the payroll, or any significant responsibility.


PS: if my fantasy football team doesn't win today, I'm going to start a blog about how terrible the "Naked Bootleggers" are. Man up.

Tell Me Again How the Sox Lost to this Team?

Turns out, even in Canada baseball doesn't make sense. I'm currently watching the Angels fall apart like the Yanks did in September last year. The worst part? I'm in Toronto for the week where people are more concerned with hockey and the CFL than baseball.

I'll give the Yankees all the credit in the world, they can mash and have been getting great pitching. But the exciting Angels offense, great starting pitching (save for Lachey and a horrible call tonight that changed the game), and bullpen that shutdown the Sox isn't there. They're not the same team, which only upsets me more about the Red Sox ALDS loss. Which continues to highlight the fact that baseball is a fickle game that simply can't be explained sometimes.

Time for a comeback is still there. But I'm quickly becoming a short term Phillies fan.

PS: Soxin09', I'm currently out of the country, insanely tired, but still blogging from my B-Berry, see how much I poured???

Sox-Angels Preview

Okay, so that title's not entirely accurate. It's more of an ITM anxiety preview. I'm worried. I'm sitting here with a glass of whiskey neat - what should be a warm treat on a crisp October night. But undeniably, this is just medicine for my nerves. There's nothing pleasurable or autumnal or old-fashioned about this drink. It might as well be robitussin going down my throat.

Were you aware that the Angels hit 15 points better than the Red Sox, with a league-leading .285? Or that they had as many hits as the Yankees - over a hundred more than the Red Sox? That they actually were right around the league average in walks, something the old Angels never even approached? Or how about that they actually struck out fewer times than the Sox? I used to calm myself by noting that they were the free-swinging Angels, a strategy that never worked in the cool twilights of October. That was then. Now I'm looking at pregame clips of Bobby Abreu. The man travels between Venezuela and the U.S. on an ocean liner, that's how patient he is!

But we've got Jon Lester and Josh Beckett and a hell of a bullpen. I try to tell myself that a few times every minute. And we've got J.D. Drew. Don't ask me how, but I've convinced myself that he's gonna be the hero this series. It must be the whiskey writing.

I'm not sure how many more Octobers I can take. I profess to love all these chilly thrills, but really, I'm sort of a dog-days kind of guy. I like the slow pace of baseball. The oh-well-there's-always-tomorrow attitude. The statistical evening out. These games count. How am I supposed to handle that?

I looked to my ITM-comrades earlier today for the answer to that question, but instead we ended up sending this link back and forth:

I'd say that about sums it up. It's gonna be a long ALDS.

Grading Boston's Season

The postseason begins for the Sox Thursday night at 9:37pm EST...seems like it'll take forever to get here. Until then, it's interesting to look back at how the Sox got where they are right now. The members of the ITM staff sent some emails back and forth on this topic, and here are our high level season grades:

Starting Pitching: B

Boston's pitching was an absolute roller coaster ride this year. From having too much, to having too little, the one constant was either Beckett or Lester playing the role of the ace and helping the Sox through it. The front end of the rotation deserves an A-, while the back end (Smoltz, Penny, and Byrd) earned a C- at best.

Bullpen: A-

This would be an A if it weren't for Manny Delcarmen's inconsistency. The best bullpen in the has been predominately solid, and with Papelbon looking stronger than ever, he might not give up a hit in the postseason.

Lineup: B

Jason Bay, Vmart, Youk and Jacoby aced the course. However, the cold stretch which made me freak out during my honeymoon in August docks their grade, with Tek and Lowrie also dragging down the class mean.

Defense: B+

Jacoby and Gonzo have been going above and beyond. The grade has been increasing as the season bore on, however Youk has been the rock throughout. On the flip side, Lowell has been the damaged goods as his surgically-repaired hip has severely diminished his range.

Coaching: A

We were thinking about it, and couldn't come up with of many instances where we completely disagreed with Tito this season. Given the tough environment, turnover, etc, he's done a bang up job.

Theo: B

It's been a tale of two seasons for the boy wonder, the preseason moves, and the mid season moves. ITM deserves the right to change this to an A+ if the Sox take home the title. His mid season transactions have yet to fully show their value.

Overall, this team is hovering around an A-/B+ average, which is nothing to sneeze at....but there are still points on the table to be had. Here's hoping for an upward revision to a hundy spot come early November.

Go Sox.

A Cardinal Q&A with TMurph

He may not be posting as often...partly because we're scared of being sued, and partly because his work has banned him from reaching any websites (he reached the end of the Internet twice recently)....but TMurph is still very much in the background of ITM....providing us with stupid movie quotes and irrational banter on a daily basis. Recently, ITM was contacted by C70 At the Bat, a Cardinals blogger and fellow Baseball Blogger Alliance member to provide our perspective on the Sox, and the upcoming playoffs......TMurph chimed in with the following:


C70 At the Bat: What are the Sox Strengths going into the playoffs?

ITM: The strength of the Red Sox heading into the playoffs is its' starting pitching. Many across baseball, in especially here in Boston, believe we have two number 1 starters in Josh Beckett and Jon Lester. There has been questions about each players' health after Beckett was scratched from his last start and Lester took a line drive off his knee/quad in NY last weekend. Lester will start tonight and Beckett on Saturday, presumably meaning Lester will start game 1 of the ALDS. Couple that with Clay Buchholz and Daisuke Matsuzaka pitching well down the stretch and one would assume this team goes as far as their starting pitching takes them.

I would also consider the bullpen a strength of this team with 3 power arms in Bard, Wagner and Papelbon. Lastly the veterans on this team and playoff experience can't hurt. The majority of this team went to game 7 of the ALCS last year, and another high percentage of those players won the World Series in 2007. Players like Ortiz, Becket, Pedroia and Youk have been around the block in October before.



C70 At The Bat: A few things worry you about this Sox team?

ITM: First is their lineup's ability to hit good pitching. The addition of Victor Martinez in the middle of line up definitely makes them more formidable, however in game 7 of the ALCS in 2008 they scored 1 run and lost 3-1. Matt Garza shut them down in that game and Zack Greinke shut down the Sox last week in KC. The Angels pitching staff doesn't worry me as much, but pitchers like Sabathia and Verlander can definitely quiet the Sox bats.
Secondly, the health of some key players worries me. Mike Lowell got a cortisone shot in his hip yesterday and Josh Beckett had a back spasm which was reported as minor but still kept me up for a few nights.


C70 At the Bat: Any roster moves or surprises expected with October changes?

ITM: I'm not sure that there will be any surprises either way if someone is added or left off the Red Sox playoff roster. The veterans on this team and the stars will all be there. The way Manny Delcarmen has pitched lately it wouldn't be shocking if he's left off the roster in favor of Paul Byrd being the emergency long man out of the pen. Delcarmen has been able to get left handed batters out, but that is about it. The last positional spot would probably go to Joey Gathright or rookie Josh Reddick. Gathright offers more speed off the bench (the Dave Roberts comparisons have been unavoidable here in Boston) but Reddick is probably better overall and gives Terry Francona an extra outfielder. Jacoby Ellsbury was instrumental in the Sox winning the 2007 World Series as a rookie.




C70 At the Bat: Who is the one key player for the Red Sox, the player that if they don't go well, the Red Sox will be home quickly?

ITM: If Josh Beckett isn't healthy or continues to pitch more like he did in August then he did in June and July then the Red Sox will be lucky to beat the Angels. If he pitches like he did in 2003 or the 2007 playoffs the Sox could very well be celebrating their third championship this decade.


C70 At the Bat: What are the expectations for this team? Is anything less than the Series a disappointment?

ITM: The expectation every year in Spring Training is for the Red Sox to compete, if not win the World Series. I believe this team has the talent to win it all this year, but I'm not sure I would call it a disappointment if they didn't win the Series. If the Angels sweep them out of the first round that would be considered disappointment in my book, but any kind of success in October is something to hang your hat on. We've become very spoiled here in the New England area this decade and have come to expect championships year in and year out; but these things are as much luck as they are talent.

Dice-K: Coming to a Rotation Near You

In what was perhaps the most anticipated class A start in recent memory, Dice-K threw 89 pitches over 6 2/3 innings for the Salem Red Sox earlier tonight against Winston-Salem....essentially a good division three college team. He gave up one earned run and a walk while striking out seven. While the competition is surely questionable, the significant amount of swings and misses, while commanding his strike zone is a key takeaway.

After providing the details of his start, NESN went on to report that it was called his last rehab appearance....so expect Dice-K to start in what will likely be a very meaningful game for the Sox....most likely a home game against the Halos early next week.

Maybe it's the time away, or perhaps it's just the utter shambles that is the current stat of the back end of the Sox rotation, but I for one am really excited for Dice-K's return. Stay tuned for a version of ITM throwing Dice-K under the bus if he gets shelled.

ITM note: how is this Ranger team still winning? Don't they know how much they're overachieving, and that on paper, they're just not that good?

Looking Ahead, Joba foils Sox again

A few quick, premature thoughts on playoff possibilities. More specifically, the pitching concerns that are getting harder and harder not to address.

Word coming out of New York today is that the Yankees currently favor moving Joba into the bullpen. For the remainder of the season and, potentially, the playoffs. After last night's game, Girardi told reporters: "There's two different divisional series. In one, you need three starters and in one you need four. I'll leave it at that." Joba's last start came on September 4th, where he was pulled after giving up three runs on six hits in three innings. The new Joba rules appear to restrict him to three or four innings per start. Presumably, if he starts in the playoffs, the gloves will come off. But based on his performance since the re-implementation of the Joba rules, it's unclear whether the Yankees want to rely on him for anything quite so important.

That's particularly significant to Sox fans for this reason - the Yankees look more and more to be a lock for the best record in the AL (5 games up on the Angels for the moment). Given the choice, it looks like they're going with the three-man rotation ALDS. That means that if the Sox can get the Wild Card, they'll be in the four-man rotation series. So we can all congratulate Clay Buchholz on locking down that third spot, but it's just not going to be that easy. The Sox will need a 4th starter for the playoffs.

Paul Byrd goes against the Orioles tonight. It's a start to watch, for both short and long-term reasons. Is he going to earn that fourth spot? Are the Sox going to look to Daisuke? A weakened Wakefield? More questions than answers, but more and more, it looks like New York is going to require that the Sox come up with a solution.

This Just In, Buchholz is not Playoff Ready

Blogging from the third base line at Fenway with T Murph. The game has required a post saying that Buchholz must look better on TV than from the stands. His body language has been comparable to a 13 year old girl who just got dumped via text.

7 runs over 4 and 2 thirds is Brad Penny material. Way to sink our optimistic battleship Buchholz, now members of the ITM staff need to pay for a few more 9 dollar beers as a result.

Not ready for a spot in the playoff rotation quite yet...so does that mean our hopes rest on a Dice-K return?

Go Sox.

Youk Withdraws Appeal

Just a quick update before game time:

Earlier today, Kevin Youkilis and Rick Porcello were each suspended five games in light of their roles in last night's incident. (Edwin Jackson, too, was fined, but not suspended.)

After immediately filing an appeal, Youk and the Sox decided to withdraw that appeal and have Youkilis begin serving his five game suspension tonight. Francona stated, "We seem to be healthy right now. There's always the idea that you could get it reduced. There's also the idea that it could come at a worse time. So take our medicine, do the best we can, and move on."

Their reasoning is pretty understandable. As Francona pointed out, there's never a good time for your best player to be suspended, but the Sox are relatively healthy at the moment. There were, likely, a couple other factors at play.

First, the Sox have two more games at Fenway before going on the road, and they like the Mike Lowell option much better at Fenway than in any other park. You saw why last night when Lowell and that always-pull swing put two over the monster.

The second reason is related: Lowell is getting a bit grumpy. Last night he was quoted as saying, "I’m grateful that I’m at least swinging a good bat. I don’t know why you wouldn’t want a good bat in your lineup." When told later that his off-the-bench two-homer performance was the first for the club since 1967, Lowell responded, "Is that a sign that they can sit me more?" Although many in the Sox think these off-days are just what his body needs, Lowell clearly is not happy with the arrangement and is grumbling for the first time. It might not be a bad time to make sure he gets a few starts in a row.

So while two games against the AL Central leaders followed by three games in Texas against the wild card competition is not a good time to Youkilis, the Sox clearly think it would be worse to wait until the Yankees are back in town, the Sox are trying to climb back into contention with Texas or Tampa Bay, or when Jason Bay suddenly forgets how to hit again.

So they're rolling the dice tonight: no Youk, and no Victor Martinez. The Sox are without their 3-4. They must have a whole lotta confidence in their ace.

Let's Hope It's Physical and Not Mental

I didn't see every pitch, but I certainly saw enough of Dice-K last night to hope that there is something physically wrong with him. At 28, we're certainly not scared of him being on the decline, which leaves us to wonder if it's physical or mental. We should consider ourselves lucky if it's only a case of tired arm or a shoulder strain. However if Dice-K is pulling a Dontrelle Willis, where it's a mental case, the Sox will take heat for the huge investment they made in the Japanese god of full counts.


Was it me, or did he appear to be short-arming some pitches, resulting in a lack of velocity and many balls to dive low and away? (juuuust a bit outside...all night) Hopefully he's over-thinking his mechanics and a trip to Pawtucket will go a long way in bringing him back to form.


However, combine a potential mental issue with the whole Japanese thing and forget it, John Farrell would rank just behind the South Koreans in the last people I would want to trade places with poll.


One thing is for sure, Dice-k needs to be open to a full evaluation and a possible trip to either triple A, or the DL. At least he appears to know he's been terrible..."If I keep going like this, I have no right to be a part of this rotation"....Damn straight Dice-K...because in your most important start of the year you just made the decision to keep Penny and Smotlz in the rotation an easy one.

Morning Brew, NY House Blend

A good morning all around. I recommend putting in the headphones and reading these headlines and snippets to a playlist of old Beatles. Start with I Feel Fine and you won't be sorry. Enjoy the weekend.

NY Post, Oh No! '09 Feeling like '04. "In every way, the Red Sox have the mental and physical edge now over the Yankees. This was shades of the 2004 ALCS when everything started going Boston's way...Listen to manager Terry Francona talk about this win and the roll the Red Sox are on and the way his team battled: 'There were a lot of key things,' Francona said. 'CC pitched like we didn't want him to pitch. He was strong and he was on all of his pitches and really good. And things happen, like we've seen happen here before.' A clear reference to 2004."

NY Post, What a Joke! "The Yankees insisted the Red Sox didn't rip their hearts out last night at Fenway Park with a come-from behind capper to a three-game sweep. As they packed for the short flight home, CC Sabathia, Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon, Nick Swisher and manager Joe Girardi spoke of having a lot of schedule left. Yet, there was no ignoring that a gut-wrenching 4-3 loss to their blood rivals in front of 38,153 not only stretched their 2009 losing streak to the Red Sox to eight, but inserted a morsel of doubt."

NY Post, Subway Rivalry a Battle of No. 2's. (This has got to be my favorite angle of the day. Yes, it's my adopted home city, but we've got a love-hate thing going. I mean, I love Riverside Park and Tribeca after a good rain and the Film Forum and the taquerias and everything, but seriously, with 50% taxes and that smell in August, I'm gonna have to see you suffer a bit, New York.) "The three-game set be tween the Mets and Yankees that opens tonight in The Bronx will popularly be known as the Subway Series, but we've got a better name for it. The Consolation Round. We've got the Yankees, who cannot beat the Red Sox, going against the Mets, who cannot stay with the Phillies. This is baseball's Second Place City."

NY Post, Yankees in Denial About Big Picture. (If you feel like it's safe to enjoy this a bit since you won't have to reckon for the gloating until late summer, this is the one to read.) "Hey guys, I am here to tell you this: The Red Sox are the big picture. They have been for most of the last century and certainly for most of the last decade. CC Sabathia said, 'You don't like to get swept by a team in your division.' This is not just a team in the division. This is Boston. This is your main rival and now your measuring stick, and on this measuring stick the Yankees could not be any tinier. The Red Sox are embarrassing the Yankees. Ever since they became the first team ever to rally from 0-3 down to win a playoff series in the 2004 ALCS, Boston has seemingly been searching for new ways to humiliate the Yanks. And the Sox have come up with a doozy for this season. They are trying to go 18-0 against the Yanks. "

NY Daily News, Pitiful! (This one was the back cover. Nice morning subway ride that must have provided.) "If the Yankees and Red Sox are headed for a date with destiny in the ALCS as many believe, then Boston should start making World Series plans."

NY Daily News, Is Everyone Juiced Up for the Subpar Series? (All right, I can't get enough of this theme. I really enjoy the Strand, but I also have to walk through Times Square sometimes to get to the subway, so screw you, New York.)

NY Daily News, CC Comes Up Big, Yanks Don't. (This is the John Harper column for the morning. The best part of the Daily News's coverage? The fact that among the columnists, only Harper could bring himself to write about this series. Maybe Lupica normally takes Friday's off. Possible, but I'd like to think he just couldn't do it.)

NY Times, Yanks Will Have a While to Think about this One, After Red Sox Rally Late. "They have 55 days to let this settle, 55 days of killing time until they meet the Boston Red Sox again. For almost two months, the Yankees will live with the rancid aftertaste of another sweep by their rivals. No matter how the Yankees handle other teams, the notion that they cannot beat Boston will rattle around somewhere in their brains."

NY Daily News, Fenway Flop! Sox Sweep Yanks as 'Pen Collapses.

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.

Excitement on Both Coasts...

It's been a tough week to be in San Francisco on business already....the Boston sports scene is overflowing with emotions, news stories, and comeback victories.

Fortunately I was lucky enough to meet up with a few friends at a Boston bar out here, and the excitement for the current epicenter of sports can be felt all the way on the left coast.

A combination of catching up, jet lag, and long hours in the office made it difficult to stay focused on the Sox game tonight, but the overall excitement for all things Boston is here too. A few thoughts I had coming away from tonight's Boston-romp are:

-This may be the first time I've been excited the Sox were playing out on the west coast, but I would never be able to live out here and have to deal with 4pm start times. I'd probbly be fired for leaving the office early in the spring and summer months....and come playoff time, forget it, I wouldn't even show up.

-Oddly enough, I didn't care that Ortiz looked to be in serious pain after taking a pitch off his bad wrist late in the game.....it scored a run when I expected double play ball to second. There was an element of relief in my stomach that should never be there when Ortiz is at the plate. As much as I hate having you in my starting fantasy lineup right now, I hope the wrist is well Papi.

-Did Jacoby really get called out at home plate? I wasn't sure that could happen, ever....I'm still not convinced he was out...and will also stick to my assumption that he'll score on a "sac fly" to deep second base at some point this season.

-How money is Ramon Ramirez? All of us were pissing and moaning when we shipped Coco Covelli out of town for a guy from Kansas City no one had ever heard of.....and I'll say it again (with the exception of Lugo), In Theo We Trust.

-San Fran's hills are ridiculous, I could never stumble home from a bar and survive, especially after a great win, or tough loss.

-Every time I think the number of heartbreaking Angels losses to the Red Sox may be ready to go into a lull, the Sox pull off a game like tonight. If I'm one of those fake fans down there in LA, I would absolutely hate the Red Sox.


How great is it to be a Bostonian these days? Nearly every night there is an amazingly important game on....and I'm not even making up the significance of the games to ITMGal just so I can watch the Sox blow out the Orioles like I've done in the past. I can't wait to get back East...just praying all three teams are still doing as well.

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.)

Lowrie's Doctors, Lugo's Progress

A quick update on the shortstop situation:

Lowrie will head to Arizona tomorrow to visit Dr. Donald Sheridan. This is Lowrie's fourth opinion on the matter, and will likely be the final say. The options are the same: injections and short rehab; minor surgery, short rehab; complete surgery, season ending. At the moment, Lowrie is going with the injections, but seems resigned to the idea that surgery may very well be necessary. We should know in the coming days.

On a more optimistic note, Julio Lugo is up to playing three innings in extended spring training games. Lugo took five at bats yesterday, slapping a double and scoring subsequent, all without any apparent strain to the knee. No word on the official timetable for his return, but the club seems encouraged.

In the meantime, Mean Nick Green has proven himself able. We'll just hope that by the time scouts find his "Ellsbury pitch," Lugo or Lowrie will be ready to go.