The Boston Red Sox Day Off

In honor of the late, great John Hughes: "Billy Traber, you're my hero." As much as yesterday was bad piled on terrible piled on really effing craptastic, at least we don't have to go into tonight with a devastated bullpen.

Of course, that may not matter so much, because winning the game of baseball requires scoring runs, and right now, that does not seem to be Boston's specialty. They can get men on base - Chamberlain gave up seven walks, for crying out loud, and didn't have a 1-2-3 inning all night - but scoring them seems to be another matter. To put it another way, the telling numbers for the Boston offense last night were not the eight hits, twelve walks (twelve!), or six runs, but the fifteen men left on base and the .143 (3 for 21) batting average with runners in scoring position. In the end, I had to turn the game off before it was over, because as it turns out, the only thing more frustrating than watching your team get shut down by superior pitching is to watch them squander scoring opportunities like a compulsive gambler burning through his kid's college fund.

As for Smoltz, I'm sympathetic to the pleas for his removal from the rotation, but who, exactly, is going to pitch in his place? The only non-used starter on the 40 man roster who seems remotely qualified is Michael Bowden, who's pitching well in Pawtucket, but isn't exactly tearing things up in a way that suggests he'd be an instant hit in the majors. Paul Byrd seems a more likely successor, but 38-year-old pitchers who haven't thrown all year can't just dive right into professional competition. By trading away Masterson and relying on Smoltz to pull through, the Sox have made their bed - let's just hope that if that bed is as full of broken glass as it seems, it doesn't cut us too much.

A Closer Look at Kotchman, LaRoche and V-Mart

On the surface, the Kotchman for LaRoche deal is pretty puzzling.
But upon a little investigation, it appears that there are a few key factors at play.

One appears to be that defense is a larger piece of the puzzle. The second reason is that LaRoche and Chris Duncan (who the Sox got in the Lugo deal from St. Louis) in my estimation--were down-the-stretch, left-handed offensive insurance in case the Red Sox did not land Adrian Gonzalez or V-Mart. The third reason is contract related.

The defensive numbers are explained really well in the Around the Majors blog:

According to Total Fielding Runs, LaRoche cost his teams 2.6 runs more than an average fielder per 1,250 innings over his career. Kotchman saved his team 6 runs per 1,250 innings.

According to Ultimate Zone Rating, Kotchman has been 5.8 runs better than an average first baseman in 2009 (best in baseball). LaRoche is 3.4 runs worse than the average first baseman.

Ok, cool. For the rest of 2009, he's a bench player. He can pinch hit against righties, becomes a defensive replacement when Youk is at third and Lowell is removed or sits and on days when V-Mart catches. Sox have a ton of corner flexibility and, in my estimation, are better set up for next year without Mike Lowell.

We all know Youk is going to be the third baseman of the future, and with Lowell's hip problems, having an additional first-baseman and another lefty bat can't hurt the Red Sox. Victor Martinez did have some injuries in 2008, notably the arthroscopic surgery on his elbow, so you never know when one loose Joba fastball could send him back to the DL.

Kothcman, Duncan and down-the-road, Lars Anderson, can back up for any of these scenarios.

Contract
LaRoche is about to be a free agent at the end of this season, while Kotchman is arbitration-eligible through 2011. The nice part of that is that it gives the Red Sox brass more contract flexibility for a guy who is most likely a bench player for the remainder of this year.

He's not a free agent until 2012, so I would expect that Kotchman gives the Red Sox more trade package options in the off season with Lowell likely to be moved. Being able to throw in a 26 year old with some major league experience in a trade package is a nice to thing to have in your back pocket.

Until then, it's nice to have the defense in your pocket if something were to happen to Youk or Martinez.

More on Victor Martinez
Did I mention that this was the deal I wanted?

If his first-half offensive numbers are any indication, Martinez is a great get, especially when you factor in his ability to relieve Varitek behind the plate, and hit in the middle of the lineup from both sides of the plate.

He's an RBI guy--something the team needs right now with Bay struggling-- and the psychological distractions Big Papi now faces with the recently revealed roid debacle.

Contract-wise, the Red Sox can pick up V-Mart's option for 2010 for $7.5 million. Given his offensive history, that is relative bargain for a middle of the lineup hitter who can also catch. You have to imagine that Tek is not going to be able to catch as many games the remainder of the season, or next year, given his age, and the wear and tear.

While Adrian Gonzalez is younger with a great opposite field lefty bat, I am very content with Victor Martinez who has a strong history in the AL and has seen a whole lot more AL pitching and AL East teams than Gonzo (though don't count out the Sox going for Gonzo in the off season as the Padres are in major rebuilding mode after letting Peavy go).

And ultimately, the Red Sox have shown that they can make the deals they want to make without giving up too much. While Masterson was a good long reliver and showed signs of being a solid starter, the three B's (Bard, Bowden and Bucholz) are well-protected future stars of the game.

Smoltz Gets Win; Masterson Losing Steam

John Smoltz got his first win with the Red Sox last night against the Kansas City Royals, and did so by only giving up one run over 5 innings. He left in the fifth inning with an 8 run lead.

Though Smoltz was given generous calls on the outside corner at times, he did have his sick slider and split finger fastball working. As Eckersley loves to say, he was throwing cheese-- the kind of gouda that garnered him 7 Ks over 5 innings.

He may have the best slider I have ever seen. Smoltz's slider drops and disappears out of a hitter's zone like a well finessed drop shot in tennis. And he can place it inside or outside if need be. It's an amazing out pitch, but he throws in whenever he feels like it.

But the story today, and one that has brewing since Smoltz's start in Baltimore, is that the bullpen is starting to fade, struggle and give up runs.

Someone in that pen is, in my estimation, looking at a potential demotion to Triple-A if they don't get back to form--and it very well could be Justin Masterson. Perhaps the All Star break will negate all this speculation.

With Clay Bucholz sitting there waiting to face major league pitching again, he seems like a possible candidate to become a long reliever. Again, this is my best guess, but if I were a GM (HA!) he would be someone on my demotion list (though when Lowell comes back, there will obviously be moves taking place like Bates going back to Portland).

Masterson is not fooling hitters lately, and his supposed-to-be sinking pitches are up. He was charged for 5 runs in the Baltimore debacle and 5 runs last night with a 8 run lead (with 4 hits, one which was a HR). To be a tad more fair, Delcarmen and Okajima were brought in to clean up Masterson's mess, and couldn't do it.

Luckily, Daniel Bard was able to stop the bleeding and the offense continued to pounce on weak Kansas City relief pitching to get the win. But it was a totally whacked game.

Masterson's ERA is now at 4.98 with a whip of 1.43. Nahmally, I wouldn't sweat these numbers for a middle reliever, but since he's become more of long reliever and has appeared in 65 innings, those numbers are not good. If you think I'm being too hard on the kid, look at it this way: Masterson has been a factor in two blown games recently (KC Thursday night--2 runs, blows save; Baltimore on June 30--5 runs; and almost gave up the whole enchilada last night).

Consider this: Last year he pitched 88 innings and gave up 68 hits, 31 earned runs (ERA 3.16), 40 walks, with a BAA of only 2.16. Solid numbers.

This year, in 65 innings has already given up 36 earned runs, 23 walks and now has a BAA of .288.

Sorry, Son, but you ain't Masterin' much lately. I know scapegoating one guy isn't a great thing, but I won't lie: I don't trust the kid. Something about Tampa Bay and the playoffs last year might still be at play.

The guy who came in to keep the Royals quiet in the ninth? Saito. And he went one-two-three. Whew.

Disco Denni
One of the best parts of the night had nothing to do with baseball at all. It was a side by side image of Dennis Eckersley next to Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees on the NESN broadcast, with Eck calling himself 'Disco Denni' and talking about how Reggie Jackson got him and Mike Torres in to Studio 54 back in the day.

Orioles Historic Comeback; Red Sox Pen Has Awful Night on the Road

You can't argue with the rallying that the Baltimore Orioles did last night at Camden Yards, but from a Red Sox perspective, the bullpen was crap-tastic last night.

I keep hearing this repeatedly over and over in my head: Ten runs over 2 innings. Ten runs over 2 innings.

Was it the rain delay? The big lead in the 4th inning? Heads not in the game? Beat up on the O's so many times you think they suck? So many psychological factors at play that you have to wonder where these guys heads were. But then you have to remember that for most of this season, this pen has been one of the best the Red Sox have ever had.

Let it go? Yes. Watch it closely? Well, close enough--that's what we do here for fun. The 10 runs over the 7th and 8th innings were tough to swallow, but you could feel it slipping away with every hit the Orioles offense made (13 hits in 2 innings for 10 runs--Ouch!).

Right now, pre-All-Star break, the Sox bullpen has the best ERA in the league at 3.24. Leading the league in the bullpen and playing in the AL East is no joke.

Here's some additional perspective on the pen:

• Red Sox rank 19th in innings pitched (with 228) [Thank you, starters]
• Red Sox rank 20th in walks [They throw strikes, gets outs]
• The Orioles rank first in innings pitched with 267.1 innings pitched
• The Orioles have a BAA (Batting Average Against) of .272.

It's no wonder the Orioles are in last place and will continue to be there. But given the amount these teams see each other in a season, it's no wonder an offense can click and rally occasionally. Nice comeback for a consistently losing Orioles team.

But poor John Smoltz. He pitched well enough--1 earned run--to get a win in Baltimore, but that was erased after a hour plus rain delay in which he was removed from the game, and pitching was turned over to Justin Masterson--who started out quite nicely, then lost it.

But he wasn't alone.

The offense did more than it's share last night to seal what should have been a fairly easy win. But the pitching from Masterson and Okajima last night in particular was just plain bad. Masterson was getting knocked around, then left a hanging slider over the middle of the plate, and the game's momentum was in full swing mode.

Even Papelbon, who you knew Francona did not want to have to use, got knocked around a little. All it takes in only timely hit to lose a game, and the Orioles seized it. Papelbon put it this way after the game:

“The good thing is the group of guys we have down there in the bullpen all can take this pretty well,’’ Papelbon said. “And understand that, hey, this is going to happen, but it’s not going to happen very often - and move on. We’re all professionals down there. You won’t see anybody hanging their head tomorrow, that’s for sure.’’

Congrats, O's. Now go back to being in last place.

No Deliverance

ALCS Game 6: Final Score: Boston Red Sox 4, Tampa Bay Rays 2

Followed my love from coast to coast/Chased by demons, chasing ghosts/And when I wound up facing the sea/Heard the waves crashing, laughing at me
Tonight was the prove it game: the game where the Rays could shut the door, kill the momentum, make Boston's fourth straight setup to an ALCS comeback (since '86 and going strong!) a dream and nothing more. The Rays had "Big Game James" Shields, unlucky - and unlikely - victim of Game 1, raring back to send his team to their first World Series berth and cap the penultimate chapter of a truly unlikely season. The Sox had Beckett; Beckett the martyr to the unknown drag, Beckett the now uncertain post-season hero, his record of kick awesome postseason starts tarnished by this year's October activities. Boston had the momentum, but Tampa Bay had the odds.

I waded into that icy black/I saw there was no, no coming back/No deliverance
At first, it seemed as if the very fates were conspiring against Boston: a problem in Atlanta kept the TBS off the air just long enough for B. J. Upton to go big long style on a Beckett fastball, putting the already uncertain denizens of Professor Thom's (including yours truly) into a tizzy of desperate anticipation: what sort of Beckett would we be getting tonight?

Ducked my head under, started to drift/Let the tide take me and down I went/I saw great wonders shunned from above/I saw blind monsters twisted in love/No deliverance
Fortunately, the Sox seemed to have (finally) anticipated Beckett's potential malaise on the mound: his fastball speed dropped a good five miles an hour after Upton's home run and the man with the fireball arm suddenly became a junkballer, throwing curveballs and cutters and low-90s fastballs with just enough bite on them to keep the Rays low on the board through five. It wasn't the prettiest performance and it was certainly far from the dominance that brought Beckett to Boston, but it the job done.

And when I saw her, bathed in light/A host of angels knelt at her side
Meanwhile, "Big Game James" was anything but: four pitches into the second, Youkilis answered Upton's home run with a deep fly of his own, sending the crowd - a mix of diehards, pink hats, and douchebags of various stripes (so help me God, if Professor Thom's falls victim to its own success and I have to watch another game with such a group of poseurs, standing around blocking the view on the screens while they chat amongst themselves, I will be forced to firebomb. There's nothing worse in sports than a bandwagon fan with no substance. I'm pretty sure I was getting dirty looks from one woman in front of me for clapping, for chrissake. You don't like it? Don't go to an effing sports bar!) into extacies and setting up a push that connected firmly to another run scoring drive by Pedroia, Ortiz, and Youkilis in the third. As Shield's pitch count mounted, the Sox started to circle in the water, never quite taking the big bad bite but doing enough damage to keep all of Tampa Bay's relief corps on their toes. Even the Rays' second home run, miraculously knocked in by Jason "Tampa Bay Rays MVP" Bartlett and his magical ability to lean into a pitch, Derek Jeter style, weren't enough to slow Boston down for even a half inning: Bartlett's solo shot quickly found an answer in a two run screamer by El Capitan in the top of the sixth. Okajima and Masterson shut the door; Papelbon delivered electricity in ten pitches and sent the Ray running into the night.

She said "You have forsaken all you believe/Crossed earth and oceans to be with me/I'll be your lover, I'll be your wrack/And now you're never coming back."/No deliverance
So, here we stand:once again contemplating the world a mere step away from the World Series. One good game; one solid Lester outing separates us from sweet comeback number four and a showdown with Philadelphia. Boston has the momentum, has time and experience on its side, has the capacity to make this thing one and done and take the pennant. No deliverance for Tampa Bay, guys. No deliverance.

Princes of the Universe

Presenting! Terry Francona's The Highlander! Watch, as one man from Georgia, supported by a cast with such dashing and daring characters as Youk, Pedey, Big Papi, Bay State (does anyone actually call him Bay State?), Coco, and Rat Boy, fights to keep his dreams of a 2008 World Series berth alive - or at least give the Rays a run for their money - in the face of Terrible Aggression, Rayhawks, female Rayhawks, and B. J. Upton!

With:

• J.D. Drew as Connor McLeod of the Clan McLeod, the Scottish warrior with the bat and excitement response of steel!
  
• David Ortiz as Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez, the Spanish swordsman who looks Scottish but is actually, in fact, Dominican.
• Evan Longoria as The Kurgan, the bad guy so bad ass he needs no introduction - nor pitch high in the zone.

Holy crap, what a way to end a game. I will admit without shame that while I headed into tonight with at least some hope of a good showing to brighten what had been an otherwise abysmal stretch of baseball, by the seventh inning I was reduced to praying for a run, making and burning small sacrifices of peanuts and crackerjack on my living room floor in the hopes that the baseball gods might let us live without the indignity of a skunking.

Then came the bottom of the seventh inning. Remember the feeling you had before Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS, where you basically declared "$#&% it" and decided to watch just to see how things turned out? That's how I felt when I wrested control of the TV at the start of the bottom of the seventh. Then things started happening. Pedroia comes up with two outs and a man in scoring position and does what almost no other Red Sox has done this series: he knocks him in. Papi comes up: we're all thinking "big spot, big spot, 2004, Mr. Clutch Hit," but we're all thinking about that wrist, too, about that sub-.200 batting average and the deadfish way his hits seem to have these days. And maybe we're thinking about that triple from last night, too, because somehow hard-cursing Grant "Lord" Balfour decides right now would be a perfect time to challenge Big Papi with a fastball in the heart of his ball-crushing zone. And like J. D. Drew last year, the totally improbable happened: easy as pie, Ortiz dropped that ball right into the grandstand and cut the Rays' lead in half.

Bottom of the eighth: we have our runs now. Now I'm starting to get greedy. I want that tie game, I want that win. I want to go back to Tampa and show these Rays why this decade belongs to the Boston Red Sox. I want J. D. Drew to hit a two-run homer. Surprisingly, so does Dan Wheeler, because he gives Drew a pitch about as fat as the one hit by Ortiz and suddenly, we're a run shy of the biggest comeback the Rays have allowed all year. Kotsay doubles on another fat offering and now it's up to Coco: two outs, momentum on the line. His battle with Wheeler is the stuff of legend and hitting instructional videos - ten pitches, fouling fastball after fastball after fastball until he finally got the perfect offering - but his result is what truly mattered: a smash down the right field line that was enough to score Kotsay and tie the game.

Francona, in a move that walks the line between genius and idiocy (and seems like genius because they won), had brought in Papelbon in the seventh and eighth, so he turned to Masterson for the ninth. Masterson, being the fine, upstanding citizen that he is, decides a collective heart attack is what's best for all and proceeds to put men on first and second before finally inducing a double play to escape. The heart of the order is up for the Sox now, but I'm pretty close to panic, with visions of Javier Lopez or - saints preserve us - Mike Timlin coming in to protect the lead in the ninth. All around the country, Red Sox fans jacked up on adrenaline are pleading for the same thing: no extra innings.

We almost got 'em. Watching Longoria make that grab on the third base line was like watching a ninja eviscerate a kitten: you admire the form, but you don't feel too good about the result. A long night looms...and then the throw sailed wide. Just like that. Youkilis goes to second and we're seeing the third example in as many innings of the type of breaks grabbing we've enjoyed so much in the past four years. Bay walks, Joe Maddon decides to play the odds of a lefty/lefty matchup with Drew despite the history and once again, a battle ensues. Howell can't throw anything but junk and Drew's seeing the ball so well he'll keep fouling off pitch after pitch until he finds the one he wants...until he hits the ball to right field. Until we win. Pandemonium. Dancing in the streets. Princes of the Universe. Go Sox.

Beating the Rays, Or The Evolution of Moneyball

I won't go into series analysis today; the previews across the web have done a fine job giving effective coverage to all angles. Personally, I recommend Paul SF's excellent dissection over at YFSF and Evan Brunell's exploration of key series factors at Fire Brand of the American League, but suffice it to say that all commentary points to another tight ALCS with a good potential for Red Sox victory. Boston in seven games sounds like a good call to me.

No, what inspired me to put fingers to keyboard this morning is an article on The Process, Theo Epstein's term for the Red Sox player development system. As we all know, Boston's heavy investment in its farm system has paid enormous dividends: Ellsbury, Pedroia, Youkilis, Lowrie, Masterson, Delcarmen, and Papelbon are all homegrown and all key components in Boston's championship-level success in the past two years. What intrigues me about the Globe's description of The Process - as necessarily undetailed, beyond the description of a consistent manual of development used by every level of the organization, as it may be - is that we are witnessing the next level of evolution in the scientific process of player development made famous (and infamous) in Moneyball.

Moneyball was all about the use of statistics to determine player value. Its development by Billy Beane was the result of the need to produce results in the straightened circumstances of Oakland A's baseball, but a perfect storm of circumstance lead to its adoption by other number-minded GMs across the sport. In the process, it won approval among the population of statistically-minded fans, popularized a revolution in how people watch and comment on the game, etc. But as Moneyball and more vocal stats organs like Fire Joe Morgan make clear, using statistics to predict future performance explicitly denies the use of any other predictive system. You know, like intangibles. Make up. Whatever black magic it is that scouts use when they look at players in high school and college.

We all know that Epstein is a Beane disciple from back in the day. But here's where the evolution comes in: when Theo talks about the club's pre-draft evaluation of player make up:

"We sit down and brainstorm about what we're looking for, which attributes we think make a major league player successful, and then we question our own assumptions," Epstein says. "OK, we think we want players who are tough and gritty. Well, what does that really mean? Can you actually see that in a 17-year-old, in a 21-year-old? Does it look different when he's 17 than when he's 25? We think we want players who are intense and baseball-centric, who are focused on the game. Well, what about players who are too intense and too focused? Do they put too much pressure on themselves?"

In essence, applying science (through sports psychology) to the profiles of players whose statistics attract organization attention, adding a layer of filtering to the selection of players that Boston hopes will do well in the big leagues. Taking the idea even further - since I'm sure the Rays, with their own intensive focus on player development, have a process similar to that of Boston - this ALCS might well be a demonstration of the powers of science in player selection. Given the parity between the two clubs and the expectation of a long, fun series, seeing this type of science in play has to be a good thing for fans of the sport.

Halo

Continuing Robin's angels and metal themes from Wednesday's game...

ALDS Game 2: Boston Red Sox 7, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 5

I think we should make it a rule that J.D. Drew should hit one really dramatic home run per playoffs, because it seems to do really good things for the team. Tonight's contribution might not have been as surprising as the $70 million home run (you know: given that home run and all he did for the team in June and the home run tonight, maybe it's time to retire that nickname), because I had high expectations for Drew as soon as he came to the plate, but that long bomb off of K-Rod (note to baseball writers: if you vote for K-Rod for MVP because of that save record, you are a fool. And tonight is a small demonstration of why.) was definitely Papi-like in its clutchness.

Speaking of long bombs, was there something in the air tonight that kept balls in the yard? If I remember correctly, there were four near-misses (three of them by Red Sox) to go with the two home runs and all four of them looked like sure things when they left the bat. Maybe it was the camera angle playing tricks with the mind. Or maybe there are air demons in Anaheim we don't know about. If there are, they probably come from Disneyland.

A few other thoughts:

• Once again, I take back all of the bad things I said about Jon Lester in my preview on Wednesday. It was just the numbers talking, I swear. I do not take back what I said about Matsuzaka, who made tonight's outing the closest three (and then two) run game I've ever seen.
  
• Jason Bay is amazing. Pure, bottled awesomeness who gets the hits we need. My friend Don and I were talking about him before Game 1, wondering whether or not the pressure of his first time would get to him. Clearly, we needn't have worried: he's 5 for 9 with two home runs, a double, and five RBI.
  
• Dustin Pedroia...well, I refuse to speak ill of Dustin Pedroia. Snapping an 0 for 8 is nothing for the Horse.
• Terry Francona made up for his tactical error in the eighth (sending Masterson back out to start the inning, leading to a need for a comeback and a six out save) by pinch-running for Ortiz in the ninth. It's a good thing, too because for a second he looked like he'd been out-managed by Mike Scioscia.

Josh Beckett. Fenway Park. Sunday night. Going for the sweep. If we don't send the Halos home with a broom after taking two from them in LA, we won't be able to hold our heads up when we walk down the street. Time to extend that baseball-best streak of 11 straight post-season wins against a team to twelve and get that ALCS ticket stamped. GO SOX!!!

Feat of Clay

Question: Who is 0-5 since is his recall from AAA ball?

Answer: The same guy who got the Red Sox a no-hitter last year.

I answered that question… but the rest here are up to people who know better… cause I got NOTHING.

Clay Buchholz is a disaster right now and it makes you wonder… is this guy only getting the starts because of some past glory?

Now I am not any sort of sentimentalist, but I can see why you would think that a guy who could go 9 solid without letting up a base knock would be good in the following season… but what about flukes? Could that have been the aberration and this the norm? Clay has a devastating change, a good solid fast ball and curve but he can’t seem to locate any of them. He doesn’t look like he trusts his stuff enough to just throw it across the plate.

And then there is the “I’m frustrated cause I just walked the last 2 guys” pitches he throws. Those tend to go 400+ feet and end with poor Clay looking like his dog just died. Is this going to be common slope with him?

Maybe it’s the lack of options then. Maybe there isn’t anyone better to throw up there every 5 days. Now with Wake going on the DL and missing at least 2 starts (boy does that suck) the premium on starting pitching is even higher.

Then again why did we go with Buchholz over Masterson? Wasn’t Masterson doing a lot better before he was thrown into the bullpen? Don’t get me wrong, I think Masterson is doing great in the pen, but would he be more valuable pitching his 6-7 innings in one game rather than stretched over a week?

So if anyone has any answers to these pressing questions I’m all ears, because as it stands right now, the youth at the back of the rotation looks more like crap then Clay. Ugh.

Game 95: The Buchh Stops Here

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 3, Baltimore Orioles 7

Welcome back Clay Buchholz… why the hell are you here?

He was ugly in the first, he looked lost in the fourth, and was relieved by a disaster filled bullpen in the 6th. It wasn’t the kid’s night, which makes me wonder if putting him back in the big leagues was the right move… no-hitter or not.

Was he better than Masterson? Maybe yes, maybe no. Is Masterson going to be better than Clay in the long run? Hopefully no. Is this an example of what we can expect from Buchholz? Dear God I hope not.

Look, as much as I want to place on Big Buch’s head (4 earned runs) I need to at LEAST mention the bullpen in this equation as well. Delcarmen and Timlin were up to the old tricks… as in runs scored tricks… for the latter innings. Just awful and awfully familiar.

Forget the fact that the Sox only scored 3 runs at home and that the Orioles are basically a .300 team hiding in a .400 team’s corpse… Boston didn’t want to win this game. Sweeping these orange clad chumps should have been elementary. The Red Sox could have really used this (both New York and the Rays got shut out), but I guess I’ll have to stick to the 1.5 game lead. Big rest coming up… looks like we need it.

Game 93: Let's Go

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 6, Minnesota Twins 5

I'll admit it: before the bottom of the eighth inning, I was going to write a post about how, all things considered, it was a better thing than not that Jon Lester matched Matsuzaka's total from last night by pitching seven and a third innings. Sure, there's the whole matter of the four runs and the man left on base who became run number five, the dangerous lack of offense and the looming possibility of a loss that would squander the opportunity to gain more ground on Tampa Bay were all concerns, but I was feeling stoic. Or stupid, I'm not sure which.

Anyway, no worries on that score, eh? One moment it's Matt "The Warrior" Guerrier on the mound, looking fierce and trying to kill a rally in the making, the next Drew's dribbling in a run and Manny's smacking the long bomb and grinning like Sylvester after a post-Tweety gourmet. First pitch, high fastball, by the way. I believe the phrase you're looking for is, "a storm's a brewin'." Particularly exciting for me, but for some reason I thought of Guerrier as a formidable pitcher, particularly against the Sox. His average of two runs per inning lifetime against Boston says otherwise, however.

And then Papelbon - oh, dear Papelbon, with your Cinco-Ocho sneakers and your gameface, which looks so very much like a trout possessed by a demon - well he was pretty much balls nasty, too. Really, if you're ever going to crush a team's morale and make them regret playing small ball, giving up a leadoff double before recording three outs - including the wasted out on the bunt - is the way to go.

By the way, I guess the Sox really are serious about making Masterson into the setup man of the future: Theo's not particularly excited about the idea of cleaning out the farm to get a well-known reliever. I certainly have no problem with that idea - I was talking the situation over with a friend of mine recently and I couldn't come up with a player I'd want to trade just to get that edge - but I (still) think the move to be made is for long relief; a veteran - off the waiver wire, perhaps, or through channels that don't require any particular sacrifice - who can fill a backup role and serve as a role model for all of the kids that Epstein's pinning his hopes on. Someone like Mike Timlin, I guess, but with less wear and tear and able to pitch more than an inning every fifteen days.

Game 92: Just What We Needed

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 1, Minnesota Twins 0

We may very look back on tonight's game as a turning point of our recent troubles. I sure hope so; while troubles look less, well, troubling in the rear view of a hard fought one run win (a win that tastes all the more delicious after the nasty ashes in the your mouth taste of the two losses against the Yankees), taking tonight's progress and building something solid would sure be sweet. One of the ESPN broadcasters closed out tonight's game by saying he believes the Sox will win the AL East, and despite the bombast, I'm too bathed in a euphoria borne of seeing wrongs made right to call him totally off base. Here are the three things that brought the love:

1. The Return of Dice-K. After a poor return from the DL on the 27th, Daisuke's had two decent outtings punctured by high pitch counts that took him out of the contest after the decision minimum number of innings. With the bullpen doing its best impression of a drunk man drowing in two inches of water, early exits are not what the doctor ordered; Boston needs some coverage for the shellshocked victims, not more exposure. Tonight, Matsuzaka delivered in quality and quantity, keeping the Twins off the board and the relievers in the pen.
   
   
2. Okajima Conquers His Demons. I'm referring, of course, to the vicious Inherited Runner oni, a beast that slinks from the shadows in late innings and rips out the tender throats of helpless leads. Deprived of his normal demon-hunting weapon (the still mysteriously absent splitter), Okajima came in to the eighth inning with one out and two runners on. In truly dramatic fashion, he walked Morneau to load the bases before saving the day with a pop foul/groundout combo and - surprise of surprises - not a runner scored. Good thing, too, because the Sox just went into panic mode and sent Masterson down to Pawtucket to make him into a reliever for use "later in the season," which probably means next week or something like that.
   
   
3. Manny Comes Clutch With the High Fastball. Manny and the high fastballs have not been BFFs lately. Problems with high fastballs lead to problems with low pitches, slumps result, everyone cries, the end. Not tonight, though: Manny picked up a single in the fourth off a high heater and - more importantly - another one off a fastball in the heart of the zone in the eighth to score Pedroia and the winning run. Sure, he struck out swinging reaching for an outside fastball in between, but tonight could be the start of something magical.
   

Game 90: Silver Lining?

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 1, New York Yankees 2

I'm a little conflicted. On one hand, if we're going to lose a game, at least it was a exciting one with a nail-biting finish. On the other hand, Julio Lugo just struck out with the tying run 90 feet away - with the bases frickin' loaded! - after the Sox squandered two chances to break down Rivera and score the second run they needed to push the game into extra innings - or at least the bottom of the ninth. So yeah, little conflicted, a little unsure about how to handle what just went down. Might feel a little better if Sean Casey could play shortstop; I'll take his lack of history against Rivera over Lugo's poor history. He can't though, so I'll take that disappointment and aim it somewhere else.

I know: I'll focus on the positives. Pitching, for example. Masterson might not have won today's game, but not for lack of trying. He might have even come away with the victory if he had kept the ball out of the air more often, or not hit batters like they were going out of style, but still, two runs is nothing to sneeze at. Good Red Sox starting pitching is nothing new though, and these days I'm far more likely to dwell on a poor start than crow about a good one - no need to get repeatative, after all. But starting pitching isn't what's got my blood going today; I'm all up about the relief corps. Mike Timlin, specifically.

Mike Timlin (and his snappy comebacks) came on in the eighth for his first relief appearance since coming off the DL yesterday. His job: keep the Yankees from scoring another run so the Sox could come on in the ninth and blow three chances - ahem - have a shot of taking the lead. His success rate: 100 percent. Bottom third of the linup to be sure, with three guys hitting a combined .241, but since we're so desperately focused on staying positive, I'll take Timlin's successful return as a silver lining. Every comeback has to start somewhere, right?

Game 85: The Young Upstarts

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 4, Tampa Bay Rays 5

I’m afraid again. It has been awhile since I’ve felt the fear of not being the best, the fear of another supplanting your dominance or unwillingness to relinquish their own. In 2003 and 2004 that fear was instilled in me by the Yankees. They were the team to beat for over 20 years… and historically over the last 75. When the Sox got over that hump and won in 2004, I knew it was going to take a lot to bring that fear back.

Last year, the Sox put that fear into everyone else. They looked like favorites, played like favorites and powered through the season and postseason like favorites. I knew they were the top dogs, the kings of the hill and unfortunately, the team with the target on their back. Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

Now every young gun, every piss and vinegar filled jack-rabbit wants to take a run at the big boy. Knock the Sox off their pedestal. And as you can see… the Rays are throwing rocks that have been hitting their mark.

This game was a microcosm of the year at large. A defacto spot starter-turned 4th starter (Masterson) pitched just well enough to lose and the offense hit just well enough to miss a rally in the 9th. I’m not one to blame Lugo… oh wait… yes I am! Nevermind.

Maybe it’s the injuries (we miss Papi) or maybe it’s the lack of consistency (the bullpen is insane) but the Sox aren’t making the plays, placing the pitches or getting the hits that a champ would in their situation. What’s truly freighting… is that the Rays are doing all those things.

They are too young to know complacency, too fresh to weaken and too good to dismiss.

The Sox are a team of power and intimidation… so why is Tampa making eye contact and waiting for us to blink? This may be the year they learn not to back down. I hope I’m wrong.

Game 75: J.D. Drew Is a Power Unto Himself

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 7, Philadelphia Phillies 4

I have a solution to the global energy crisis. There is an untapped clean power source that is being developed in Boston right now that could help fuel the entire world.

Let’s all plug in to J.D. Drew… cause he’s as hot as the Sun.

I don’t know if he got Papi’s life energy “Highlander style” or what, but this guy is a beast that cannot be stopped. This afternoon he went 4-5 with 4 RBI and 2 runs. His biggest hit was a 3 run shot in the first to give the Sox a lead they would not relinquish.

Unfortunately, another guy with a hot bat got cooled off due to an injury. Coco Crisp got pulled for Brandon Moss after Coco hurt his hand swinging. He’s day to day.

Masterson pitched a good, but WILD 5 innings for his 4th win and held the Phillies to 4 singles and 2 runs. Masterson is another hot player and he better stay this way because Bartolo just hopped on the 15-day DL with a case of “I’m too fat to swing a bat”.

I guess the biggest negative I can pull from this day game was the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde appearance from the bullpen. Embattled reliever Craig Hanson faced 3 batters, saw 2 of them score and didn’t get any outs. Ugly. Meanwhile, embattled reliever Manny Delcarmen pitched 2 great innings and basically saved the game from getting out of hand. What I wouldn’t give for some consistency out of these guys. I guess you can’t have everything.

Oh and by the way... just in case you wonder if we watch any OTHER Boston sports, our buddy DC has a Celtics post raring to go. Gotta love those parades!

Game 70: A Rough Start on the Road

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 1, Cincinnati Reds 3

Welcome back to Cincinnati: time to lose a tough game to a sub .500 team. Hard going when a good half of your lineup was what one might politely call "light hitting," leading to a regretful condition where thirteen batters scrounged up five base runners over the course of the evening...four of whom ended up stranded on base. To recap: offense, not so much.

Masterson's line was the odd part of the loss. Justin's a sinker ball pitcher, and because he's been pretty effective so far, he gets ground balls and ground ball outs and winds up surrendering two runs per start - and getting wins, which is why we keep coming up with clever post titles based on his name and success. It's been a good time, and one that will continue in the future, but...

...but he gave up almost as many fly ball outs as ground ball outs (4 to 7), and he struck out nine guys, which is about fifty percent more than his 2008 per-start average. Oh, and - most telling - he gave up two home runs, again topping his 2008 per-start average. In other words, it seems like someone was throwing hard, up in the zone. That the Reds only ended up with three runs seems like a statement about their hitting (or, to be more positive, about how effective Masterson's pitching can be even when he's not on), but with no hitting on the Boston side, a loss was approaching a foregone conclusion.

Game 66: Masterson Of the Universe

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 2, Seattle Mariners 1

Young Prince Justin lofts his mighty sword in the air as lighting strikes with metamorphosing power. His slight frame suddenly is host to muscles and poise beyond his years. He glares at the costal invaders and immediately drives them away with a flurry of fastballs and sliders. No longer a flash in the pan myth, the Masterson is the real deal and soon to be staple of the Red Sox rotation.

Well until Dice-K comes back…

All drama aside, I cannot get over how well this kid has been pitching. Masterson looks as good as any of our new batch of young guys and it gives me great hope for the future of this staff. 6 innings, 3 hits and 1 R was the line today for the newest phenom to grace this Sox staff. This was his 3rd win in 4 starts.

Along with the great starting pitching, the relief corps came out today as well. Hansen, Oki and Paps combined for 3 innings, no hits and one walk to shut down the Mariners in this close game. This is exactly what I want from these guys. No drama, just solid, quick innings. It’s hot enough outside, I don’t need rough outings to make me sweat even more.

Finally, I think I need to talk about J.D. Drew. With Ortiz on the DL for the foreseeable future, and rough stretches from Pedroia and Youk, the Red Sox NEEDED someone to step up and grab control of this offense. It seems that Drew has taken over this task. Now hitting in the 3 spot, Drew has been a beast. He hit the go-ahead solo homer today and has carried this team with a .519 BA, 4 HR, 10 RBI line so far in June. Yeah he’s that freaking good. Long gone are the boos and jeers from last years under performance. Drew has solidified himself as one of the premier hitters in the Sox lineup and has done so just in the nick of time.

Game 61: Julio Lugo is Not Here For His Glovework

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 7, Tampa Bay Rays 4

Masterson: not so masterful when you're facing a good team, it seems. Or maybe it's just that Akinori Iwamura hits better in Fenway than almost anywhere else and maybe should learn to play shortstop so he can come to Boston and replace the joker we've got playing there now. I'm just saying. Anyway, two sinkers that didn't sink found their way over the way tonight - including one courtesy of Mr. Iwamura - and Masterson had almost as many fly outs as he did ground outs. Maybe he was nervous about Manny's hometown reception post 500 homer milestone. Or maybe he was just so relieved that the doctors chose three weeks of immobilization over three months (or more) of surgery recovery for Papi's ailing wrist in the hopes of a scar tissue heal.

Speaking of shortstops, Robin remarked that ever since the aforementioned Lugo personally blew two saves for Papelbon, he seems to make an exit stage right for defensive replacement Alex Cora. We were curious, so I mined Baseball Reference and found that yes, since May 9, Alex Cora has replaced Julio Lugo at shortstop for every Papelbon appearance except for two: May 10, when Lugo was in the dog house, Cora wasn't available (I believe he was injured at the time?), and the Sox had Jed Lowrie (the once and future successor to the position) make the start; and May 30, when Cora and Lugo did a role reversal. Papelbon's record in that time: eight appearances, one earned run, six saves in six chances. I think the numbers speak for themselves (but I'll say it anyway): Julio Lugo is persona non grata when Papelbon is on the mound.

I wonder who made the call (or the request): was it Francona, adopting his no nonsense pose by putting his shortstop in some sort of extended purgatory for his extremely poor defense, or was it Papelbon, star closer and future ca-drillionaire (good to see that investment is paying dividends, by the way), throwing around some political muscle by getting Lugo off the field when there's a save situation on the line. As odd as he's proven to be, I like the idea of Paps being a bit of a prima donna, storming into Terry's office, slamming the door, exclaiming something like "I can't work under these conditions," and demanding Lugo get the defensive replacement treatment, all while wearing a smoking jacket. I'm a big believer in ball players having personality, you know?

Game 48: He's a Master, Son.

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 2, Kansas City Royals 1

Oh my puns, they are so clever. But seriously though, with the exception of one very iffy situation by Okajima, mastery was all over the pitching tonight. Masterson himself overcame the onus of having a hard act to follow, succeeding in (mostly) shutting down Kansas City in style, his funky three-quarterish arm angle delivery striking out five Royals while allowing three hits over six and a third innings. Control was a bit of a problem - witness the three wals, including the one that finally did him in - but Masterson is a ground ball pitcher, and through the ninety-one pitches he threw tonight, he got a lot of ground ball outs.

Masterson's cast of thousands relief crew did they jobs with reasonable adroitness, and Okajima's mini-meltdown in the eighth had one positive impact: Papelpon not only got to come in and do his thing to kill off the Royals' rally in the eighth, but do a full-on Cinco-Ocho freakout afterwards, looking like he was going to start breathing fire through the nostrils. Happy is the baseball fan with a lovable psychotic for a closer.

That wraps up two pretty special days of young pitchers making big splashes, but before I sign off for the evening, a word on Jason Varitek. As mentioned elsewhere, Varitek now owns the record for most no-hitters caught; a record underscored by Tek's success in coaching young pitchers to improve their games. Varitek has a direct hand in Josh Beckett's improvement last year, he called no-hitters for Buchholz and Lester, less than a year apart. Tonight he helped a young sinkerballer dominate the Royals. Are these the types of things we look for when we think Hall of Fame catcher? Is it still too early to tell, even after 11 years? Tell me your thoughts in the comments.

Game 24: Our Bullpen is the SuXx0r

Final Score: Boston Red Sox 5, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim 7

I really, really, really wanted to write about Justin Masterson and how well he did: six innings, four strikeouts, the eleven ground ball outs you'd expect to see from a sinkerballer, four walks that did no damage, an escape through a double play, one home run but a good job keeping things low in the zone (see the number of ground ball outs), etc. He brought peace, love, good will to all men and a controlled score to a team still staggering from flu-related illnesses, and if the bullpen could have done their jobs and kept the score under control, you'd all be treated to three paragraphs of discussion on sinking fastballs and the need for a strong defense. However...

We made up the Red Scare tag last spring as a joke about the embryonic nature of Boston's bullpen. This year, we've used it a (judicious) four times (counting today), but it's come to acquire a more menacing meaning: the Red Scare is becoming the collection of Red Sox arms who, despite expectations to the contrary, come into a game, blow the lead, and put pressure on the offense to win the game in spite of the damage. What's worse, the problematic pitcher (or pitchers) differs from game to game, so we're never exactly sure who's going to suck today. It's like watching a baseball version of Russian roulette, except no one gets a thrill when the bullet doesn't end up in their brain. It makes me wonder if someone's systematically poisoning the Red Sox, not giving them the flu.

Anyway, what amazes me is that the score ended up as close as it did. After the Angels exploded for six runs over the last three innings while their bullpen did the normal thing and kept the Sox off the bases, I entered fatalistic mode, where I console myself with fantasy baseball points and pray for the quick ending to the final outs. What's fortunate about this team (thus far) is that - unlike me - they don't give up: the ninth inning was exciting because despite the dispiriting shift in momentum, the Sox still managed to score two runs. I'll take that resurgence as the silver lining (it's April, after all, and I'm allowed), and hope that someone figures out the bullpen situation mighty quick.