The Streaks Continue

Well, with tonight's win against the Halos, the Sox' latest pair of streaks continue. They now have won three in a row (and six of seven) overall and this is also their third consecutive road win. What started out as an apparently easy lead, the Hose up four zip after six, soon became an exercise in tension, a real schwitzbath as it were. Albers, newly returned to the Show, took over in the 7th for Lester, who'd done very well--four hits allowed, a pair of passes and eight K's over six, along with a game WHIP of 1.0 and a 4-1 K to walks ratio. Unsure why Terry felt the need to pull him at that point, but that's why he gets paid the big money and I just comment on it. Immediately, in just 20 pitches, he's given up a pair of hits and a run to the Angels--four two Sox. After adding nothing on offense in their half of the 8th, the Hose change hurlers and Jenks is left to face the Halos. He sees six batters, half of which get on and, along with a wild pitch of his own and a passed ball by Salty, two thirds of those come around to score before Jenks manages to pitch himself out of the trouble he's thrown himself into. Sox again try for some insurance in the top of the 9th, but the premium was too steep for them and it came down to the bottom of the 9th with The Laser facing the potent Halo lineup As it turned out, he wasn't perfect, but, other than a weak single, he closed things out masterfully, finishing with a K, and reducing his ERA once again. This, if I'm not off base (pun definitely intended) completely, is the Laser's fifth consecutive good outing--looking more and more as though the real Pap has finally taken his turn at the center of things.

Add in the Celtics rout of the Knicks in NYC tonight and tomorrow's sports header in the Herald is: Sox, C's win.

New Streak

Well, just as quickly as the first Sox win streak of the year ended, a new one (actually two) has begun and the Sox are also five of their last six. The Hose split the A's series with yesterday's 5-3 win over the A's. I had hoped to get to the game, but work wouldn't let go its tight grip on me.Anyway, more important, Bucky got the win in a decent, not overpowering start. He lasted into the 6th but as his WHIP was over two by then with a total of ten hits and walks, it clearly was time for the pen. The Sox led 4-1 at that time and when JD added the 3d Sox HR of the game, it was 5-1. The Hose held through the rest of the game, although Pap allowed a pair of 9th inning runs that made it interesting, though none of the hits were solid. When he had to, he pitched his way to the finish of the game and looked pretty good doing it.
Which brings us down the coast and to tonight's game. JB had the ball and was the JB of old once again. This is three straight great starts. In fact, he carried a No-No into the 6th before giving up a bloop infield single that he gloved but couldn't get to first before Aybar had crossed the bag. He tossed a strong eight innings, allowed just three hits and got five K's, against just a pair of free passes. Unfortunately, one of those three hits was a mistake: Torii Hunter rode it out of the yard to tie the game. Nevertheless, the game WHIP was 0.625, which isn't even close to shabby and JB's season ERA is still sub-2. The pen again had a great rest of the game. First Bard threw a perfect inning, followed by the same performance by Jenks. Then, The Laser came on and tossed a shutout inning with one K. That notches his fourth save of the young season.
As for offense, Dusty was 3-4, Jake drove in a pair, and Papi and Gonzo each had a double, the latter driving in the winning run in the 11th inning.
As already noted, the Sox began either one or two new win streaks: two wins in a row and two consecutive road wins. They stay in SoCal over the weekend.

The Streak Continues--and Ends

Well, yesterday at the Fens things kept going right for Bosox. With the Diceman pitching, and doing it quite well, the Hose opened up a nine zip lead over the course of the game. Included were three 'taters (Thanks, George), including one by the Sox sudden new team leader in long balls--Jake. Definitely a team effort, the Hose not only peppered the ball around the ball yard, they also saw some of the offense come from normally hot hitters who've been having problems so far this year. A good example: Yoooookk, who caught up to normalcy with a homer and double.Crawford still hasn't found his bat. Well, actually, he's found it; he's just not doing anything with it beyond failing to use it for its intended use. In addition to Jake & Yooooukkkk, JD also got a pair of hits. Lowrie added to his incandescent run of the past week, getting three more hits. Now hitting over .500. Then, we come to Dice. An abysmal performance hanging on in everyone's memory bank, there was real concern as to if Dice-K still had whatever it was that peaked in '07. Well, he answered the best way possible. Like JB against the Stripes just over a week ago, Dice was masterful. Gave up a single hit over seven and allowed few balls out of the infield. Even though Wake allowed a single meaningless run in the Jays' 9th, the game was a good way to run the streak to three.

Then, off to the left coast, where yours truly resides. I'm not the only one either. Every time the Sox come to Oakland, the number of true fans make it seem more like a Sox home game than an A's game. Tonight, however, wasn't a good one, and the win streak ended hard. The A's pitcher was sparkling, limiting the Sox to very little at bat. Lackey, for his part, was very good, allowing just a scratch run in the A's 1st and then niothing for the rest of his outing. So, going into the 9th, the Hose had a chance. Yes, they still trailed 1-0, but all it would take to convert the win would have been a few timely hits. Well, that's what did it. Unfortunately, the timelies were by the A's. In the 9th, they added four runs to basically salt away the W. Our guys went quietly. Well, tomorrow's a day game, and, though I'm not sure how I'll manage it, I'm hoping to get to the game early, maybe meet Remdog et al to push this blog (I can dream, can't I; I mean, after all, I'm a Sox Fan) and see the Sox split the short series.All depends on the work load at the office.

The Streak Continues--and Ends

Toronto Turning Point?

Well, after the Rays got done sacking the Sox, I was back in panic mode. Then Toronto came to town and it continued. But, suddenly in that 1st Jays matchup, a sign appeared! Although way behind, the Hose fought back gamely to close within a run. Although a loss is a loss, it showed some of that Sox guts that have come to characterize the team of recent years. The next two games were even better. First, JB came out and followed his Stripes win with one almost as good--three hits allowed and 9 K's in seven innings as the Sox won 4-1. Just as good, The Laser produced his third consecutive solid outing--the Pap of old. Both he & JB now boast ERA's at 1.80! Next Jays match had our heroes jumping all over the guys from north of the border from the get-go. Starting with Jake's third HR of the year, a 3-run shot, the Hose, pitched by Lester, made sure that they'd have the year's first winning streak. Finally closing out an 8-1 win with good help from the pen, the Fenmen finally are looking like what we wanted and were led to expect for the 2011 season. Yes, we're still mired in last and have the worst record in MLB, but the signs are definitely there. Now, a little production from Crawford and Dice and things may really begin to hum. Getaway game this morning--the traditional Patriots Day contest, scheduled so fans can watch the Sox win, hopefully, and then get to the Marathon finish a few blocks away just as the winner breaks the tape. Then, out here to the A's and I'm trying to juggle my schedule to go to the second of those contests.

This May Take Longer Than I Thought!

Well, here we were after taking a series from Mr. Hankie's Yankees, looking good doing it, and I thought we had finally started the season for real. In come the Rays, freshly shorn of Manny and with one of our former tormentors, Crawford, now on our side of the field. Before we're out of the 2d inning, it's seven zip--Rays, and going downhill from there. The Diceman rolled and got craps--for his two plus innings. Wake came on and held on for a while. Then he too got lit up. By the time the Hose got around to scoring, the score was the aforementioned 7-0, eventually ballooning to 12-2 by the end of six. It wasn't getting any better, even with Papi and Gonzo getting trips and Crawford and Youk getting two-baggers, the former as part of a two for five afternoon. Jake got a solo shot so late in the game it was meaningless.
True, an old friend, Damon, went 3-5, including a homer, but, as can't be anything but obvious by this date, was for the wrong side from our point of view. So much for old friends. At least he's no longer wearing pinstripes.Small consolation.Tomorrow Lester is scheduled to take the ball, and, if his last start is indicative, we should have a pretty good outing. Even though he was one of the first six losses, it was one zip and he was the real Lester. So let's keep our fingers crossed.
Gonzo's appearance in the lineup today was a relief. When he took a pitch on the hand yesterday and was in quite a bit of pain, all I could think of was, "Don't tell me 2010 is still here!" After last year's injuries, I can't believe that we could still be potential victims of that bug, but you never know.

He's (They're) Back!!

Well, after the Sox took the opener in the Stripes series, I was understandably overjoyed. I had visions of a sweep as the perfect medicine for what had been ailing the Hose. As it turned out, they lost game 2, but then came last nite! Beckett pitching against CC. Right from the first pitch of the game, you knew that the JB on the hill was the JB of a couple of years past--the one we've all been wishing and hoping for.EVERYTHING he threw was devastating! His heater was cranking along at 94-95, and with all kinds of movement; his cutter was surgical; and the curve--forgettaboutit! The 12-6 action was at least three feet in movement, top to bottom. No way you're going to hit that! When it was over, the man had allowed only two hits in 8 innings, gotten 10 K's against a single walk, and allowed just two balls out of the infield! Along the way, even though they had 16 LOB, the Sox picked up four runs, 3 coming late, and put the Stripes to sleep. Dusty got his third consecutive three hit game, and is now batting a nice round .400. Papi drove a ball as far as can be done without leaving the park, but it was a solid double & plated the last run.Then, though it wasn't needed, The Laser showed up. Second consecutive outing for a perfect inning with two K's. Great night!