Catching Up: Sellout Streak Ends; Sox Stay in 1st!

Well, the last couple of days the Sox had a streak end and another begin and end. The former is their all sports record number of consecutive sellouts. Including playoffs, the Hose ran their "sorry, no seats available" streak to 820 consecutive games, the finale being Opening Day at the Fens. It covered quite a few years, starting with a W by Pedro against the Tribe. At least the final game was also a W, this one vs the O's. The next two games are best forgotten, especially the first of them. After battling back and forth into the 9th, and having the front end of the pen produce some outstanding innings, the Hose entered the 9th up 5-3. On comes the nominal new closer for the Sox, Hanrahan, he late of the Pirates. Already holding a pair of saves so far, he immediately gives up a shot to the cheaps by Chris Davis, the AL's leading HR hitter so far--5-4. Hmmm. Next two batters end up on base complements of a couple of freebies, one a 4-pitch. Next guy gets on, but soon after there are only two on--because a wild pitch has tied the game. Next guy comes up and plants one in the Monster seats, O's 8-5, which quickly becomes the final. Following day, a close, well fought low scoring game ends up going to the O's as well, 3-2. Overall, however, the Sox staff is looking pretty good. Even in Hanrahan's meltdown, he could have been out of the inning but for a couple of close calls on Balls & strikes by the ump. Even the guys on ESPN were saying that the final pitch on one walk should have been the inning ending 3d strike.
Which brings us to today (last night was rained out and will be played as part of a doubleheader in June) against the Rays. Lester vs Shields. Starts out and goes through seven as a classic 1-1 pitcher's duel. Sox tied it at one on Ross' solo shot. The game then goes on and on, running through both teams' pens with no scoring through the end of the top of the 10th. Sox half, with one out, Jake singles and then steals 2d, after which he keeps on going to 3d when the throw to 2d not only doesn't get him,, but rolls into short right. Next man up, new Sox member Victorino gets an infield single. If it's anyone but Jake, the runner stays on 3d on an infield hit. Not Jake. He's gone on the crack of the bat and crosses home with room to spare. Sox win, 2-1, Tazawa getting the W. Once again, the Hose staff of moundsmen are terrific (except Hanrahan)! Bailey, Uehara and Tazawa all pitch scoreless ball, two of them being perfect. Only Hanrahan is non so hot. He faces a pair of batters, walks them both and is gone before things get too far out of hand. The only other baserunner from the Sox pen is a leadoff 10th inning double off of Tazawa. He rears up and simply leaves the guy standing there, closing down the next three O's hitters-zip, Zip, ZIP! Game over. Tomorrow's is live on ESPN.

Home Opener--Another W!

Well, after the disappointing five zip loss to the Jays day before yesterday, made even more so by Lackey's arm injury (more on that later), followed by yesterday's total explosion by the Sox against those same Jays with Lester's 7 SO innings and six Sox shots to the cheaps (including three by Middlebrooks), the Hose came home to the cozy confoines of the Fens to face the O's, last season's surprise East Division team. The O's arrived with Chris Davis leading their team, having home runs in his first four games from the season opener, tying a record, and accumulating RBI's like penny candy to lead the league in that stat.
Today's game was a pitcher's duel in the classic sense, with the O's starter holding the Sox to just a pair of hits through six. On the home side Bucky was just as good. Although giving up three hits and four walks through seven, he also showed he knew how to pitch, a term I've covered many times here before. He got 8 K's and allowed no Baltimore runner to come close to the plate, in spite of giving up leadoff runners in four innings. So, net, net, net Bucky had a game WHIP of 1.0, very good and a K-freebie ratio of 2-1, also very good. His season ERA so far is a minuscule 0.64, complementing his two zip record.
Everything was zip-zip after six and a half, and then the cream, rose to the top. Sox put on a pair of baserunners in the Dustman and Napoli and, after yesterday's hero, Middlebrooks, was erased, Nava stepped into a pitch and put it where no-one was going to throw anyone out. Matching his shot of yesterday vs the Jays, Nava's drive today gave the Hose all they'd need for another W. The pen closed things out, with Bailey going one perfect inning, including a pair of K's, and Hanrahan getting his third save, in spite of giving up a solo shot to the O's center fielder, Jones. Even after that, Hanrahan's ERA is 2.25.
Sox rookie phenom Jackie Bailey got to sit this one out to help his adjustment to the Bigs, and will likely be back in left tomorrow.
Back to Lackey's arm for a sec: he apparently injured his right bicep, not the replaced ligament, but there's no definite time set for his rotation return. Farrell only says it's day-to-day and they think it's minor enough to not want to put Lack on the DL for now.

Farrell's Return A Happy One!

Well, tonight was John Farrell's return to Toronto, where he managed for a year while waiting for his chance to run the Red Sox, for whom he'd spent a number of years as Terry's pitching coach and heir apparent. While it had some hairy moments, overall it was a success, as the Hose took the game, 6-4. Dubront as a starter was just good enough to keep the Sox in the game, actually leading when he finished, 4-3. Tazawa looked good again, although he did get a blown save on a HR he gave up, and got the win. The finishers were shutout--both of them, as had Uehara before Tazawa's appearance. Hanrahan got his 2d save in two tries in the young season.
Offensively, it was nicely spread across the lineup, led by three doubles and the first two Sox shots to the cheaps of the year, one each by Napoli and Middlebrooks. The two-baggers were from the Dustman, Middlebrooks and Ciriaco, the last coming in after Iglesias left in the 4th with soreness in the elbow that got clipped by a pitch earlier in the game. Sox also swiped their first three of the year, the thieves being Jake (who else), Jackie Bradley and Ciriaco. Bradley keeps showing why he's in the Show and not back in AA or AAA ball. He's not quite matching his spring, but everything he does shows why he had that spring and what's very possibly hanging within reach ready to erupt soon. Here's hoping the season continues as it has gone so far.

Close But No Cigar!

Well, the Sox were going for their first season start sweep against the Stripes since 1912, when the Evil Empire had yet to even contend for a championship, was called the Highlanders and played in a place called the Hilltop Stadium. Anyway, the Sox nemesis of all Stripes starters, Pettite, was on the mound, and even though he is 40, he showed he still has it. He barely cleared 90 pitches for 8 innings, leaving with a 4-1 lead. Big Mo relieved him, and although he did get his 609th save, gave up a hit, a freebie and a run to make it close at the end. Sox out hit the Stripes by one hit, getting a pair of two-baggers in the process. However, the Yanks matched those and added a pair of solo shots, which, in the end, were the difference.
Dempster made his first start for the Bosox, getting 8 K's. However, he also gave up five hits, one of them a HR, and four walks in 5 innings. The Sox relievers looked very good (Tazawa) to just OK (Mortenson: 2 hits in 2 innings, one of those the other HR by the Stripes). Offensively, Bradley got another hit, a double, and another RBI. Middlebrooks and Iglesias each had 2 hits and Gomes picked up a double while DH'ing tonight. A win would have been better, but, given the Hose' overall performance this week, we're at least better off than last year, and things look good from here.

Now It's Two In A Row Over Stripes!

Well, what a difference a year--and a much better manager--makes! Sox took the Stripes again today in Yankee Stadium, this time 7-4. Farrell's looking great as manager, as we always knew he would, and the blend of old and new players is looking just fine, thank you. With today's win, it's the first time in 14 years the Hose have opened a season by winning at least the first two. In 1999, the last time it happened, they opened 5-0. Hell, they didn't even open with wins in the first two games in either World Series Championship year! Bucky looked real good in his first start, going seven and gibing up a single run on a Hafner solo shot. He allowed 8 hits and kept them well scattered. On the few occasions he had multiple base runners, he pitched and got out of it unscathed. Farrell's apparently got him taking less time between pitches than he formerly did, and it's resulting in better results. He's looking (all spring and after one regular game) more like the guy who came up a few years ago. He also picked four K's and threw only 92 pitches. The first two relievers who succeeded looked a bit shaky and gave up a total of three runs between them, Aceves allowing a 3-run shot by long time Sox thorn, Vernon Wells (one of those runs was Youk, now wearing Stripes and getting a pair of singles tonight). But the new Sox closer, shut things down before they got out of hand, throwing an inning of shutout ball. Jake had two ribbies again tonight, while Nava, the Dustman, Victorino, Salty and Iglesias each picked up a pair of base hits. Jackie Bradley, Jr. also had another great catch in the field, got his first major league hit, scored two runs and added another ribbie. Tomorrow it's Ryan Dempster for the Sox against the old Yankee starter, Pettite. Should be a good one--even better if we get the same result as the first two games of the series.

Sox Start Season w/Win Over Yankees!

Well, it's now not only Spring; it's BASEBALL!! SOX BASEBALL!! The Hose opened the 2013 campaign today in Steinbrenner's replication of the House That Ruth Built, and won going away against the Stripes' ace, Sabathia! Final score was 8-2, although the Sox sent CC to an early shower after just five innings, having already gotten more than they needed to win. The win was crafted by a well oiled combination of Sox vets, new free agents and one very good rookie. The Hose had a total of 13 hits, of which five players each had multihit days, starting at the top of the order with Jake (3 hits including a ringing triple and a pair of ribbies), and continuing down the lineup. Free agent signee Shane Victorino had a pair of hits and three ribbies; the Dustman had a pair of hits, as did Gomer, while Iglesias had a trey. Finally, we get to the sensation of the Spring. Jackie Bradley, JR., who before today never played above Double A ball, didn't get a hit, but showed excellent plate discipline by working three walks and picking up what it is hoped will be just the first of a very many RBI's. He also made a great catch early in the game, going back on a well hit drive ball to rob the Stripes of at least one run, possibly more.
The Sox pitching also looked a lot different from a year ago's start with Lester pitching a sharp five innings, getting 7 K's, while only surrendering a pair of runs on 5 hits. The pen took over from there, shutting down the Evil Empire for just a lone hit and a pair of freebies over the final four innings.
Most experts are picking the Sox to finish in the lower reaches of the division, but, if today's effort indicates anything, it points to a possible solid season with who knows what results in September or, wouldn't it be nice, October?
Papi didn't play as his achilles is still sore, but he said he's feeling well enough to try running in the next few days, and, if that works out, possibly a rehab assignment in a week. Great start! GO SOX!!

It's Spring!
OK, maybe not for over a month on the calendar, but it IS spring where it counts--in BASEBALL!  Sox now at their spring training location and Opening Day is about six weeks away. Can hardly wait. Various pre-season rankings have the Sox anywhere from a contender in their division to last. If they avoid the injury bug, and play to capabilities and the free agents match hopes, I definitely can see a shot at the division. Go SOX!