YUCKKKKK!!--Peter

Maybe we should go back to interleague after all, Jenn. How you can lose to the O's is hard to figure/ How you can be up 10-1 after six and a half innings and lose is beyond me! But that's exactly what happened. Everybody was hitting, many of them getting multi-hit games. Yooouuukk and Jake got homers to go with other hits. Papi continued his renaissance, going 2-4 with a double and ribbie. Smoltz was exactly what we'd hoped for when he was signed. After four he was up 4-1 and cruising. Then the rain came and he had to come out due to the length of the rain delay because he'd cooled off. No problemo! Masterson came in for the 5th and gave up nothing--nada. Ditto, the 6th. In fact, he picked up four K's along the way. So, here we are in the O's half of the 7th and the wheels fall off. In fact, just about everything falls off or apart. By the time TOM and Oki had rescued the club, it was 10-6. Unfortunately, Oki's help lasted just long enough to get into the O's 8th, when he is 'credited' with giving up four more runs on five hits without getting a single out. I say 'credited' because the runners he left on base that later crossed the plate were his responsibility even though he had help with this conflagration. Saito, our other closer (after Papelbon, and I'll get to him in a moment)continued the parade by allowing a hit while only getting one out. It's now 10-9, Hose and time to bring on Laser.

Unfortunately, he wasn't up to the task tonight. He did close out the inning, but not before getting his second BS of the season. After King the second out, he allowed a hit that plated the tying and winning runs. Then, he got the final out. Saito takes the loss. So, our vaunted bullpen tonight was just bullshit.

Just to rub sodium chloride in the wounds, in our half of the 9th, we get a couple of runners on base, only to have our guys strand them there, two by K, including Bay. Boy, is he in a slump! Couple of weeks ago, he was over .300. Now, he's under .270. You know my old 'what if' trick, Jenn. If all of the runners LOB on both sides had scored, who would have won? Tonight, it's our heroes. The Hose stranded an even dozen runners, compared to the O's six. Add all those in and it's Bosox 22, O's 17. Really frustrating.

I guess Steemah's record is still half his for at least another day. Last night's save for Pap put him in a tie for most saves in Sox history with Bob Stanley, better know to all Sox fans as "Steemah", as in, you guessed it, a Boston accented Stanley Steamer.

Back In the AL--Peter

Well, Jenn, it's nice to get back to traditional baseball--non e of this inter-league stuff. I know we've done well at it, but somehow, it just ain't baseball the way it was meant to be played. Supposed to see the guys in the othr league only twice: All-Star Game and Series. Period. Anyway, the return worked fine tonight. Lester continued to look like Lester; had seven shutout innings without a free pass and got eight K's. Pap slammed the door for another Save after things got a bit tense with two gone in the 9th for Ramirez, Jake swiped a pair and JD just missed a cycle. Youk got a two-bagger,but was robbed of a homer with an amazing over-the-fence grab by the O's outfielder. Sox picked up another half game on the Stripes, who were idle.

Atlanta Left in His Wake--Peter

Tim Wakefield hit another career milestone today. In all of Bosox history, the record for most starts, 382, by a Sox pitcher had been held by two guys, one in the Hall and with a trophy named for him, and the other possibly a future member of the Hall (depending on how voters react to 'roids). The pitchers: Denton T. Young, better known to you as Cy, and the Rocket, Roger Clemens. Well, Jenn, today Wake joined the ranks with his 382d start as a Sox player. Even better, he got the win in a well pitched one zip game against the former Boston, via Milwaukee, now Atlanta Braves. I know I did that historical hegira yesterday, but I don't often get the chance, so cut me some slack. The last time the Sox won 1-0 in a game Wake started was his second start in a Hose uniform, back in 1994. Great day. Papi continued his climb back, going 1-2 and Youk tripled and scored the game's only run. Laser shut the door, although the catch on a long fly off one of his flamers was a hold your breath special. Didn't make the track, but both Sox fielders were locked on and it looked like someone was going to end up carried off if they weren't called off first. Fortunately, the collision was averted and the game ended.

Smoltzie & Papi--Popsie (better known as Peter)

Couldn't resist with the "ie's". Anyway, Jenn, I'm disappointed in Smoltzie's 1st inning, but, overall, he looked like Smoltz. If you look at the rest of his five innings and then at the way he pitched for the last twenty years--that's right--20 yrs--he was right on the beam.

Tonight against his old team, the other Boston team, Papi continued his return from God only knows where he was. Definitely encouraging. In his last 17 games, including tonight's he's hitting .333 with seven of his season's total of eight homers. Here's hoping. I was a bit concerned about Papelbon's showing though. He's seemingly missing something. I mean when he absolutely has to get it done, he still appears to be able to kick it up a notch or two, but before that, oy, it's getting a bit nerve racking. Tonight, he came on and gave up a HR as well as another hit--afterward, fortunately--before closing out the Braves. Don't like it.

Disappointing Outing

Hi Dad -

Well, unfortunately Smoltz's first outing wasn't as great as we thought it would be. He only lasted five innings and gave up four runs in the first. While he settled down over the next four innings, giving up only 7 hits, the damage was already done.

It was his first outing with the Sox so maybe he was nervous. It was also his first start since undergoing shoulder surgery. So maybe that has something to do with it. I don't have a definitive answer, and right now those are the only reasons I can come up with for his poor showing. I hope I'm right. Guess, we'll just have to wait a few days to find out.

But this is just my opinion. According to an article in the Providence Journal Smoltz walked off the mound with a smile on his face and said "This is bigger than one start. I can't be disappointed."

So I guess if Smoltz isn't disappointed, I shouldn't be either. Dad, what do you think?

Jenn

Two for Two

Hi Dad --

Sorry I've been away the past week or so, finding time to sit down and write, even just the blog, is tough with a 7 week-old. That's right, Aidan's now 7 weeks, but you know that since you got to celebrate father's day with him last weekend.

Anyway, yes, I was thrilled that the losing pitcher Tuesday night was Tavarez. As you said, at least he was able to help the Sox somehow. And he helped again last night. While the Sox had already put the Nats away by the time Mr. Hyde took the mound, he did give up another run to our men in red... sox. It was wonderful to watch.

So we've taken the first two games of the series and like you, I'm very excited to see how Smoltz does in his first game as a Red Sock. With all the lead up and how amazing he's been at Pawtucket, he better be good. And now with Dice-K on the DL, he really needs to prove himself. Of course with how awesome(ly bad) Dice-K's been this season, that won't be too hard.

In other news, Nick Green is finally coming into his own. I think part of the reason he was making so many errors in the beginning was that shortstop wasn't his position. Did you know that, Dad? I figured since the Sox picked him up in the off season, he was used to playing that position. I just found out that's not the case. He's been learning by wildfire. And after, what, 70-something games he's finally making some amazing plays.

He had the walk-off homer against Atlanta on Father's Day and Tuesday he made a spectacular catch for a double play to get Penny out of a jam and end the third inning. I'll describe it for you since I know you didn't see it. Green caught the ball, tagged the runner going to 2nd, did a somersault and managed to throw out the guy at first... from his knees. It was so impressive, he was the number one play on Sports Center's top 10 that night.

Dad, I know you don't watch all the games because you don't have the MLB package on DirecTV. But Nick Green's play is one of many reasons to get it. My description just doesn't do it justice. You had to see it to believe it.

Well, that's all I've got for now. Just two hours 'til Smoltz takes the hill and the TIVO's all set. Can't wait for the Sox to go three for three.

Luv ya,
Jenn

Five Up!--Peter

No, we're NOT talking dominoes. One of my favorite games while sitting at a table is Five Up, played with dominoes. Great for the concentration and mental analysis. It's in its own way a bit like chess, but usually doesn't take quite as long. However, the five I'm talking about is the margin we're up over the Stripes. As most of you who have followed the Sox are likely already aware, our Hub heroes expanded their lead in the AL East to four games while taking the series from the former Boston, now Atlanta, by way of Milwaukee, Braves. Well, Jenn, tonight was something you'll appreciate even more than the normal Hose win. The losing pitcher for the Nationals was--none other than the former Dr. Jekyll - Mr. Hyde of the Sox, Julian Tavarez. I can hardly wait for your reaction after viewing the Tivo of tonight's game. For once Mr. Hyde definitely helped us--and that was before the Hub Hose put the game away with six in the 8th, followed by another run in their half of the 9th. There used to be an expression about the Washington ball club, not this one, but the various iterations of its predecessors, Jenn. It was always, "Washington--first in war, first in peace and last in the American League. Well, Jenn, as you can see not much has changed except for the league. Hell, the Nats are not only last in the NL, they've got by far the worst record in all of MLB. But, at least they beat the Yanks two of three last week. How much sweeter than that can things be, I ask you.

Tonight, the Fenmen collected seventeen hits, including an assortment of doubles spread around the order, and two trips by Jake--along with his 30th swipe. Guy went 4-4 tonight, complemented by the Sox' answer to Gary, Bay, picking up a 4-6 evening that included his 19th homer.

I'm waiting for day after tomorrow when Smoltz starts for the Sox. A definite future Hall of Famer, possibly first ballot even, he could be a good pickup for the Sox. If he's even close to what he's been showing in his rehab, he's definitely going to help out with the team, as well as further polish his HOF credentials, not that they need any polishing. I mean he's the only guy in the history of MLB with at least 200 wins AND 150 saves. This is a guy who can definitely help in many ways. If his comeback works out, he could even be pitching by the time Aidan goes to his first Sox game--not beyond conception by any means.

Rain On Our Parade--Peter

Short comment tonight. Since when does a guy with a 7plus ERA limit the Sox to a single hit, albeit a homer by Yooouk? As for the Fish, they got enough hits for the night, but there were really only two worth mentioning--the pair of HR's in the 2d that beat the Sox. Uggla I can understand, Jenn, but this other guy? Who the hell is he? Papi's recovery actually continued, even though he was 0 fer. He got under a ball and drove it deep into the outfield, but just not deep enough.
As for the rain, the umps apparently got tired of waiting after nearly two and a half hours. Too bad, because I gotta' believe that at some point, the Sox bats would have caught up with the Marlins starter or his relief--just a matter of time. Ah, well--tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you guys--bet Aidan's almost big enough to hold a bat, well maybe not yet. At least we'll be able to blog this weekend over lamb on the grill.

Papi's BACK!--Peter

Well, Jenn, I've already said it was looking more and more as if Papi might be back the way he's been hitting, and with power, the last week or two. I think I can strike the "might". After tonight's game against the Fish, I think it's definite--Papi's definitely back. Over the past couple of weeks, his average has slowly crept back above the Mendoza line and the ball has started leaving the yard with some frequency. Tonight in one inning he parked another in the cheaps (too bad the bases were empty) and then finished ff the Sox scoring for the evening with a bases loaded single into right center for another pair of runs. Just as good, his first at bat he drove along ball to the track in front of the bullpen in right center that was caught. It was about two or three feet shy of the pen. But, taken with the next two at bats, previously mentioned above, it's a good indication of where the big man is. Does he have a bit further to go? Maybe. But, only in the sense that he is now going to be fine tuning his swing. Even Tito's taken note as Papi's moved up the order to fifth--back in the heart of things.
Some folks are saying it was the eye drops he received from the optometrist visit last week. Maybe so, but whatever it was/is I'm all for it.

Aside from Papi, the Hose's answer to your hub picked up another two ribbies, Dusty got a pair of hits, hopefully ending his brief slump, and Jake got a pair of hits and a pair of steals to bookend them with. Wake grabbed the W, his ninth of the year.

Phillip Got His Money's Worth--Peter

Well, Jenn, the latest streak continued and we're still two up on the Stripes. Your uncle, Phillip, attended tonight's game in Philly. Not only did he get to see another Sox victory, he got to spend an extra four innings doing it. Talk about getting good value for your money. Once again, Lester gave an excellent performance, limiting the Phillies to a single run and just two hits in seven innings while getting another eleven K's. Add in just two free passes and a game WHIP of just over 0.5 and no-one can deny the quality of the effort. My brother also got to see the resurgent Papi go 1-3, and move up one spot in the order.Add to this a couple of four baggers, one each by Yooouk and JD, and it's safe to say everyone, well, everyone but Phils fans and their team, had a good time.

EIGHT and Counting!--Peter

Boy, talk about a page from '67's Cardiac Kids!You weren't born when they took the AL pennant, Jenn--back before league and division playoffs--only the league champs played post-season ball--the Series, and the Sox, who'd finished ninth the year before, went to the Series, finally losing in seven. It seemed every game down the stretch that year was a last inning or last at bat come from behind victory. I'll tell you, Jenn, quite a season, capped by Yaz winning the Triple Crown and Lonborg the Cy. Here we have Penny give what may be his best performance in a Sox uni, shutout six innings, leaving with a one zip lead, complements of the apparently resurgent Papi's HR (part of a 2-3 evening), followed by the fabulous Hose pen. Not so fast...TOM only lasts 2/3 of an inning, the 7th, and when he takes a shower, it's Yanks 3, Sox 1. Sabathia's doing a pretty good imitation of himself and we get nothing in our half of the inning. Saito, who'd come in to stop the bleeding in the Yanks' 7th keeps them from any more damage, and suddenly, the Fenmen erupt. Nine men come to the plate in the home 8th and when the dust clears, the Sox are back on top, 4-3. Among the keys, Bay's major league leading ribbie (I say MLB leading not knowing how the Rays' Longoria did tonight in their laugher over the Halos). Yooouk and JD singled and Lowell sac flied home another run. Definitely a team inning.
What next? What else? The Laserman enters. Nine pitches, three up, three down, GAME OVER! This start of the season streak is the second longest for the Sox against the Yankees, and the third longest of any team against the Yankees. The A's (nearly two decades ago) are in second. I saw Jeter in a brief post-game interview on ESPN. As always, he's at least a gentleman about it. He clearly was upset, but classily gave full credit to the Hose for their good play--no complaints or claims of bad luck--just "they're playing well." How did someone as classy as him end up a Stripe?
Away from the Fens, Smoltzie continues his rehab and is looking better and better every day--a perfect example of his future HOF self. Can't wait. By the way, the last time the Sox had a start like this against the Yankees was in 1912. They also won the Series that year! What does Aidan think of this streak?

When seven is Halfway to Twelve--Peter

Well, Jenn, I was going to comment last night when our heroes tied NY for first, but thought I'd wait at least one more night--that and the book deadline took precedence. Anyway, the Hose are in rarified territory now. Aside from being back in sole possession of first, and on a new win streak, they have continued the start of season win streak against the Yanks. Now up to seven, it's the second longest season opening win streak against NY since 1912. Now my math in the headline I'm sure has already gotten any math student or teacher up in arms. I can already hear my high school math teacher, Mr. Williams, saying this just proves he was right about my inability to figure out how 3x+1=7. But what I mean about seven being halfway to 12 is that in 1912 the Hose won their first 14 games against the Stripes. We're now halfway there. Adding in last year's final win against the Stripes, the streak overall is eight, just shy of the halfway point of the combined two season streak at the start of '12--17 games.
True, it got a bit antsy in the late innings tonight, but Oki and Laser came in and saved our bacon. With NY knocking on the door, not to mention the cheap seats, they each took over and gave up no hits. Pap was particularly noteworthy as he faced two of the five guys in MLB who have hit at least 30 HR's and 100 ribbies for each of the last three years and gave up just a free pass to A-Rod after eliminating Texeira. He then closed things out without so much as a look back.
Other items of note, in case you hadn't noticed: even though his BA dropped a couple of points, the Sox twin brother to your hub, Bay, took over the MLB lead in ribbies with his early RBI single. Also, with his eighth win, Wake and JB make up the only pair of seven plus winners for one team in MLB this year so far. At least I can't think of any other team that can claim that.
Hopefully, we can finish the sweep against CC tomorrow. Historically, the Sox have a decent record against him, including in 2007 in the ALCS against the Tribe.
Hello to Aidan.

Texas Take Two

Dad --

The reason the Rangers took two games out of three was because of one thing and one thing only - Red Sox pitching.

The first game, our pitcher on the mound was Penny. He was great for the first four innings. Unfortunately in the 5th he gave up four runs. Then a fifth run came in the sixth. And that's when Francona pulled him. But of course by then the damage had been done and the Sox lost.

In the third and final game of the series Dice-K was on the mound. And unfortunately he was the Dice-K we've seen this season - constantly putting men on base and giving up home runs. As a matter of fact, he's been so "good" at putting guys on, the NESN commentators joked that the odds of you ever seeing a 1,2,3 inning when Dice-K was on the mound were pretty slim. Sad statement, but true. Dice-K gave up a run in four of the six innings he pitched. And of course by the time Francona pulled him, it was too late for the Sox. They lost.

But while pitching lost us the first and final game of the series, it's what helped us win the middle game. Lester was awesome. He's definitely returning to the Lester of last year. The young southpaw was perfect through 6 and a third. And the only reason he probably gave up his first of just two hits was because of the long wait he had in the sixth while the rest of his team tacked on another four runs to their 4-0 lead. It was awesome to watch.

Based on this series, it's too bad we can't have just Lester and Beckett pitch all the time. Dad, what do you think we should do about the Sox pitching staff and how do you feel about spending close to $100 million for Dice-K now?

Jenn

Another Sweep, but the Errors Abound

Dad --

Although Aidan's thoughts are pretty much focused on whether he'd like bottle or breast these days, he too is unhappy with Papi's progress this season. It seems every time there's a glimmer or hope like his double on Wednesday, he follows up with an 0-4 outing. Both Aidan and I hope that his new spot in the lineup eases the tension and gets him hitting again. Soon.

In other news it was great to see the Sox sweep the Tigers. Yes, all three starters were truly on their game and Beckett's bid at a no-no was pretty cool.

What was alarming though were the three errors the Sox committed during that same game. What was even more alarming was that they all happened in one inning. And it was by three guys in the infield. One more and we would have gone around the horn. It was those three errors that allowed the Tigers to score three of their five runs on Wednesday. I guess it was a good thing the Sox had already scored 10 times by that point.

Those three errors now put Boston second to last in the American League for most errors. It's sad. Now that the pitchers seems to be back on track, and the offense is definitely doing well, the Sox need to focus on their defense - namely the number of errors they're committing. If they can just get through a week without committing one error I think they'll be on the right track.

What about you?

Jenn

Hopefully, A Turning Point--Peter

Jenn:
Yes, I was aware that Lester's 12 K's were a career high. His performance was finally the stuff we've been waiting for since last season's excellent one. The K's seem to have been there all year, but his command or control or something always seemed to kick in after 3-5 innings and he'd be lit up instead of light's out. Maybe things have settled out.

Even better is the way the Sox' other two ace pitchers have started to perform at the same time. Yesterday it was Dice. OK, so he only went five, but he was hitting his spots, keeping the hitters off balance and led the Sox to the W, his first of the year. Add to this the continued resurgence by JB as the staff stopper and we may be back to where we want to be. Tonight J.B. was outstanding, as in beat the Yankees in the WS great. He had a no-no through 6 2/3 and got nine K's in that time. This on top of the fact that in his last 22 2/3 innings, he's only allowed one earned, and just three earned in his last four starts. The result? He's now 6-2 on the season.

Maybe we can rely on the rotation we thought we had. Add in Smoltz in the next week or two (don't know exactly where he'll be used, but should be good for the Hose if he's even half of what he was in his prime years. Buchholtz is also lurking in the wings.

On the offense, Jake is really starting to show some consistency with the stick, had a couple of hits tonight and is up to .312, while Dusty's Dusty--what else needs to be said? Even Papi got in on the act tonight with a solid two bagger to center after driving the Detroit fielder to the wall one AB earlier. Pre-game he was pumping them into the seats. We'll see. I hope he does come around because if the slump continues, he's gonna' get a lot of pine splinters and I'd hate to see someone who's meant so much to the team go through that. What's Aidan's thoughts on that?

Dad

At Least We Weren't Swept...

Dad --

While some people (Jays fans) may be thrilled that their nine game losing streak came to an end, for me (an avid Sox fan) it was a little less than thrilling... since the Red Sox were the team they beat in order to end that losing streak. Ah well.

But that was Friday and Sat. I want to talk about Sunday and the thrilling 8-2 win over the Jays to prevent them sweeping us. Lester was great. He had a touchy first inning when he gave up a solo shot to match Youkilis', but after that he was lights out.

Did you know Lester dished out a career high 12 strikeouts over his six innings pitched? It was pretty awesome to watch, especially considering Lester has been less than amazing this season. Unlike his previous outings, Lester managed to get through the fifth inning without giving up a run and then cruised through the sixth and his 115th pitch with no problem. It was great.

A couple other noteworthy moments of the evening were Youkilis' two home runs and Pedroia's three run shot in the fourth to really get the ball rolling. After the last two games at Roger's Centre, this game was definitely much more fun to watch.

Tomorrow it's off to Detroit to face the leaders of the AL Central. Think we can knock them down a peg or two?

Jenn