This is it. Rubber match. This determines something something something something. Oh yeah. A win and we can at least claim the season series over the Yanks. A loss and we're tied and they clinch the East tomorrow.

Magic number still at 3.

Been awhile since I've been around, been awhile since I've done one of these. My apologies for that. Work has been a something. 

Let's be honest. A win would be nice but I kinda would just like Paul Byrd to look like a big-league pitcher.

Well if that isn't a relief.

In his first start in the bigs since late last season, Paul Byrd threw six shutout innings and needed only 83 pitches to do so. It was quite encouraging considering the issues Junichi Tazawa had last time out and Tim Wakefield's continuing back problems. If two nights ago was the real Clay Buchholz then we should be in pretty good shape.

The rest of the staff pitched 3 scoreless innings following Byrd to finish the shutout. Manny Delcarmen, Billy Wagner (3 Ks!), and Takashi Saito (2 Ks!) combined on some excellent work. 

Did those names look like some of the least important members of the bullpen? Good. Cause they kind of are. And how was it that we were able to use them instead of say, Daniel Bard or Hideki Okajima? A well-balance offensive attack, that's how.

Everyone but ['Empty] reached base. Kevin Youkilis went 2 for 3 with 3 RBIs, Rocco Baldelli hit a HR and Alex Gonzalez was 2 for 3.

On Roy Halladay day, it was quite encouraging to put up such a good effort on offense to go along with Byrd's big day. We can only hope the momentum can be carried with us to Tampa. 

13 innings. I could've been doing a lot of things aside from following most of a 13 inning game that we ended up losing.

But enough about me. This one is about the guys who really stunk up the joint. We had only three players reach base more than once, with Victor Martinez, DP, and Youks accomplishing this most difficult of feats. This game had it all though. Varitek hitting for himself late in the game, a misuse (in my opinion) of Mike Lowell, and Paps throwing a 1-2-3 inning...and nothing else.

For their part, Jon Lester and Matt Garza tried to make it about their pitcher's duel. Garza went 7 while allowing only two solo home runs (one to Youks and one to DP), while Lester went 6 plus, allowing one run and striking out 10. But, alas, starting pitching was not the story. It was the bullpen. 6 scoreless innings from the Rays' assortment of RPs and a not-so-scoreless effort from ours.

Recent superman Daniel Bard was brought back to Earth, Hideki Okajima was eh, MDC suffered a rare bout of effectiveness, and Ramon Ramirez was clearly working from the Daisuke Matsuzaka playbook. In an absolutely stunning move, Jonathan Papelbon came into the 11th and did not walk the leadoff man. Saito was his usual effectively wild self in retiring the Rays' in the 12th, and his usual ineffectively wild self (along with questionable decision-making on the part of Tito) in taking the loss in the 13th on an Evan Longoria the Devil himself HR.

In short, this is a painful painful loss, not mitigated by the fact that all of our RPs were used and Brad Penny takes the mound tomorrow. Can't imagine Saito or Ramon being available. Probably not Bard either.  

I am tired of Jonathan Papelbon. There, I said it. Blame Nick Green all you want; Paps allowed 3 hits (one a double) and a walk in one inning of work. That ain't got it for your closer, and it's the kind of results we've been getting all season. Tito and Theo were man enough to change the guard after Foulke had done more than most to win us a World Series. Can they be again?

Among all of our RPs, Paps is first fourth in FIP, first fifth in WHIP, first fourth in K/BB. Of all of our relievers, the only categories in which he is first are LOB% and difference between ERA and FIP. On some teams, such a RP would be in a 6th inning or long relief role. 

And while we're at it, Nick Green. Two errors, one of which was completely his fault, and one (the Mark Ellis GB) where someone should've been screaming their lungs out for him to not throw. The ball was down, his head was down, it's up to someone (I don't care whoTF gets that responsibility) should be telling him to eat the ball.

Jason Bay still doesn't play shallow enough in front of the monster. Also, would be nice if he went on a streak soon.

People get way too pissed about J.D. Drew these days. When I read that Nick Cafardo wants to trade him to the Tigers straight up for Magglio Ordonez (of the .689 OPS and the -10.9 UZR/150 this season), it made me want to punch somebody. Preferably, in this case, Nick Cafardo. Obviously I'm joking, but apparently Cafardo was not, and that's a problem. I understand he's been slumping, but hey, has anyone been suggesting that we trade Jason Bay off lately? He's been in a longer slump. Don't take this the wrong way; I'm not suggesting it. But it's just as logical a suggestion in my opinion. Maybe we should just throw Daniel Bard and Jon Lester off a bridge as well?

Starting pitching? Beckett, Lester, and Brad Penny can all leave the room. All right. WTF are you guys doing? Clay: Throw strikes. You've got the stuff, everyone pretty much agrees on that. It's way too early to be giving up on you, but you're definitely making it difficult to not want to. Smoltz? Good peripherals, bad results. The results are bad enough that another sub-par start should make us start looking at other options.

It's been highlighted a lot lately, but if you're mad about Jason Varitek's inability to throw runners out, then I don't know where you've been the last few years. This has been a significant problem for him for awhile, and it's not helped by the fact that we simply don't have many pitchers who think a lot about the running game. Anyway, the point is that it's a complaint that we just need to swallow; there's no solution for right now or the near future.

Yes. I realize this is all very reactionary, and I'm likely to be accused of such. That's okay. In balance, I'll try to get a much more positive post up in the next few days.

Purely a depth move here, as Brian Anderson has been struggling to hit in Chicago. 

Once again. Depth. Insurance for Baldelli. We didn't acquire a guy with a .652 OPS over 862 PAs in order to trade Jacoby Ellsbury. 

In exchange, the White Sox will receive $$ and Mark Kotsay to bolster their bench. No official announcement to the effect has been made yet, but Anderson should be headed to Pawtucket unless someone is injured.

What happens when your ace is dealing and your lineup is clicking on all cylinders?

Answer: Only good things.

A very encouraging win for the Sox tonight, soundly defeating the Oakland A's 8-3 at Fenway.

Athletics vs Red Sox boxscore

Athletics Nation

Josh Beckett went 7 plus, allowing 8 hits, 1 walk, and striking out 10 A's hitters. Daniel Bard followed, allowing one inherited runner to score (Scott Hairston, who had tripled with no outs) but escaping any further damage while racking up 2 Ks of his own. MDC cleaned it all up with a clean 9th on 11 pitches.

The runs came aplenty, and these kinds of games have been rare for the Sox lately. New addition Adam LaRoche started at 1B and doubled twice, DP went 2-4 with a HR, while Jacoby Ellsbury went 3-5 from the top spot with a triple. Only David Ortiz and Jed Lowrie failed to reach twice, and everyone in the lineup had a hit. 

Can't worry about what the MFYs did tonight; it's great to get a win after a very disappointing loss. 

Sox and A's again tomorrow. Clay Buchholz gets another shot to prove his value to the Sox, whether here or elsewhere. He'll be opposed by Vin Mazzaro, who hasn't had a win since June 7th. No reason for such an excellent streak to end tomorrow.

I don't even know what to say about this one. Looked like a decent pitching duel (helped along with some baserunning/decision-making errors by the Sox) until the 6th, when the Rangers just hammered the f. out of Smoltz's pitches. The wheels came off the 2-1 victory wagon and it fell into a 6-2 loss ravine.

Consolation? Good bullpen work tonight, as Delcarmen, Saito and Masterson combined for 2 1/3 scoreless after Smoltz departed. 4 strikeouts and 3 baserunners allowed by the trio. And really, Smoltz was excellent until the 6th. But that's kind of like saying my work softball team was decent after the first inning last night, where we had the small problem of only managing one base runner and allowing ten runs by the other team. Can't erase it, and f' if it didn't ruin the outcome of the game quite significantly.

The offense was just a mess. DP and Ells (back in the leadoff spot) combined to reach base once, while Bay and Drew continue to battle (mini) slumps. I don't care how deep 'Tek's 2B was, sending Lowell home from first at most any time seems foolish. Lowrie is still working his way back. Lowell, Papi, Youks, and 'Tek are the only hitters who shouldn't have had required batting practice after the game. 

Good pitching from the Rangers, as Millwood was effective if inefficient, and C.J. Wilson shut the door with 1 1/3 scoreless innings for his 8th save.

On the plus side, it's one game. The first of the series which, yes, we can still win.

Beckett goes tomorrow, and I have no doubt he brought his a-kicking shoes. Wakefield on Wednesday, and while I have reservations based on the environment, he has been pretty steady and reliable for us this season. 

No getting around it.

Despite what we might've thought was in everyone's best interests, the Sox didn't pack up their gear and leave town after last night; we've got another game with the O's this afternoon @ 1:35 EDT.

At the very least, the members of our bullpen should get some hearty cheers at any moment that they step on the field; whether sarcastic cheers from the O's fans or...sarcastic cheers from visiting Red Sox fans.

Josh Beckett takes the mound this afternoon, and that's quite a relief. No offense to Wake or Brad Penny, but he's simply THE guy we need out there when we're feeling iffy about the pen. His opponent is Brad Bergesen. I know nothing about Brad Bergesen. That's about to change for all of us:

Not bad. Actually, a great line overall if you can get around the fact that we normally see good starters as being able to get strikeouts, and Bergesen really doesn't.

Use some listerine to get that bad taste out of your mouth from last night, and comment away.

So, allow me to tell you a short story.

A team is cruising to victory, with almost a double-digit lead. The offense is clicking, and the future HoF starter threw 4 innings before the game was delayed for rain. A young reliever comes in, and resumes pitching brilliance for 2 innings.

Then, something disastrous happens; the opposing team forgot that they were supposed to lose this game, and the first team (our heroes) reminds us all that an entire bullpen can have an off-night. I'm not sure there's anymore I want to say about this game.

We wish for Adam Jones to be okay, and for a better day for Josh Beckett tomorrow.

If you'd like to relive the crapfest, follow along after the jump...

Continue reading this post »

Lowell has been placed on the DL due to lingering hip issues, apparently the injection he received was not immediately helpful. Jeff Bailey takes his place on the roster, and Youks becomes the everyday 3b for awhile.

Extra Bases.

It's as good a time as any for this to happen, as Lowell had been struggling and we all have seen how his range at 3b has been limited this season. 

This could definitely open up more trade talks, as we might seek some help depending upon whether or not this could last longer than the required 15-day stint. Nick Johnson, anyone?

The title is a bit tongue-in-cheek. I don't mean to rein in Randy. I kind of mean to rein in everyone else with some "facts" with regard to trades, real and imagined.

1. Adrian Gonzalez isn't walking through that door. Hey. I love the dream as much as anyone, and it's ridiculous to say that he's untouchable or unavailable. But when his "availability" is contingent on us sending San Diego 8-12 of our top 20 prospects, it starts to lose a little bit of its luster. I'm not interested in that kind of deal, and I very much doubt that Theo would be interested in said deal as well.

2. If Adam Dunn walks through that door, it will most likely mean that someone else who has meant a lot to this organization over the last several years will have played his last game as a Red Sox. I'm not saying we won't be brought to the point of considering this, I'm just saying that the Sox aren't going to trade for Dunn and use him in the field more than once a month or so. Somewhat ditto for Victor Martinez and Mark DeRosa in that they make a lot more sense on a team that doesn't have David Ortiz than one that does.

3. When it comes to defensive upgrades at SS, Jack Wilson is more likely than anyone else. This is partially good, because Wilson's relatively high salary for an all-glove no-hit SS means that Pittsburgh will probably be receiving the baseball equivalent of a wooden nickel. 

4. We can imagine that many of our minor leaguers have trade value, but here are the ones who actually do: Lars Anderson, Clay Buchholz, Michael Bowden, Nick Hagadone, Ryan Kalish, Luis Exposito, Stolmy Pimental, Josh Reddick, Mark Wagner, and to extend a bit to the bigs, Justin Masterson and Daniel Bard. Here are examples of minor leaguers with negligible or no trade value: Jonathan Van Every, Kris Johnson, Dusty Brown, Travis Denker, Chris Carter, and Jeff Bailey. Neither list is all-inclusive, but a good rule of thumb is this: If you can easily imagine parting with the player, then it's probably easy for the opposing club to decline such a trade, unless they would have monetary reasons to do so (the aforementioned Wilson.).

5. Nick Green and Julio Lugo provide acceptable offense from the 9 spot and the SS position in general. Names like Miguel Tejada and Michael Young make no sense for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that neither would solve the actual problem at SS: fielding. 

6. While Miguel Cabrera is a fantastic pipe-dream, that Detroit firesale we were hearing about all winter won't come to fruition as long as the team is performing this well. Adam Everett could be available, I suppose, though I imagine Detroit would look for an NL team first if they make that decision. Ditto for Texas, who would have no real motivation to trade a player like Omar Vizquel right now. He might be a bit of a luxury for them as a utilityman, but he's a very affordable luxury for a team in 1st place. 

7. Jed Lowrie is coming back. My hope is that they're going to be conservative in getting him back on the field, but he will be back, even conservatively, probably by the end of the month. Wilson might be the only appropriate acquisition we could make happen by then. 

8. Me no wants to trade with Oakland. This isn't a fact, I suppose, but Billy Beane very rarely loses trades. The team, if any, that gets Matt Holliday from him this summer could very easily live to regret it.  On that note, however, Matt Holliday is probably the reason that the Sox haven't been as aggressive extending Jason Bay as some think that we should. If Holliday can turn it on and prove he can hit in that big park in Oakland and in the AL, then the Sox will probably make a push for him in the offseason. Say what you want about Bay being a better player, but Holliday is definitely better defensively, and I have to imagine that's something going through the minds of everyone in the FO.

9. We're not getting a prospect back from Brad Penny. A role player is likely, one who would fill the hole of good defensive SS or of reliable RH 4th OF. That's still a good trade, because in a hypothetical world, we'd need that role player more than we would need a 5th starter when we still have Smoltz, Buch, and Bowden yet to start games in the MLs this season.

10. We've got some albatross contracts, just like many other teams. Spin it however you want: Julio Lugo and David Ortiz have negative value. If they depart, it'll be for nothing but some contract relief. Possibly. We're not going to be unloading J.D. Drew or Daisuke anytime soon either. Drew is a positive offensively and defensively, despite his real or imagined fragility and contract status. Daisuke would be giving up far too soon on an intriguing if still sometimes (all right, often) frustrating starting pitcher whose CONTRACT (not total cost, CONTRACT) is very reasonable from the Sox' point of view.

11. If a BIG move is coming this summer, it's probably going to involve something few of us would be emotionally ready for, such as the previously alluded to release of David Ortiz or a possible trade of Jonathan Papelbon. React in surprise if you must, but Paps will be 29 to begin next season, and while I don't think he'll be actively shopped, we're kidding ourselves if we believe that Theo wouldn't be prepared to go with Saito or Bard or maybe even Masterson in the closer role if someone puts a great offer on the table for Paps, who is looking for top dollar at every opportunity.

12. I guess that's all. Maybe I'm blowing smoke as much as the next guy, but I think it's important to be reasonable and thoughtful when thinking about trade rumors, especially this early in the season. 

Maybe I'm just thrilled about the lineup change, but this game was pretty exciting.

For one, the lineup just seems like a great use of our current offensive resources. I don't think Tito is inclined to bat Papi any lower than 6th, so this might be the best we can do right now. Hopefully they hold onto this for awhile and don't get too reactionary because of the relatively poor job Drew and DP did at setting the table (combined 2-8 with no walks, despite DP's three-run job). 

What can I say about Jon Lester? 12 Ks for a career-high, and all three hits against him were "of the infield variety". Masterson and Ramon Ramirez cleaned up relatively painlessly to preserve the victory for Lester.

Youks and Bay seemed determined today to be the dynamic 3-4 combo we haven't really had since Manuel and healthy-wrist Papi batted back-to-back. The aforementioned Bay and Youks combined for 4 hits, 3 walks, 2 HRs, a 2B, 4 runs and 3 RBIs. Despite a lack of hits, '[Empty] managed to walk 3 times, while Nick Green and Ellsbury had a walk and a hit apiece. Mike Lowell hit 2 doubles.

So after a weekend that began and continued with sure heartbreak, the Sox end on a good note and in first place.

Wake wasn't terrific, but the 5 runs he allowed paled in comparison to the 13 12 runs that the Sox offense put up. George Kottaras and Nick Green were very productive from the bottom of the lineup, Lowell and Drewlicious were beasts, DP set the table, and Youks hit not 1, but 2 1 homeruns! 

MDC and Saito were excellent in shutting out the Mets after Wake left, combining for 3 IP, 3 Ks, 1 H and 0 BB. 

I can only assume that this hitting streak of Jacoby Ellsbury's is going to eventually result in a better approach and a shorter swing. ...right?

In the "in case you missed it" category, Mets RP Ken Takahashi performed a most unusual balk while facing Papi. He went into his windup and the ball simply fell out of his hand. You'd almost think he'd have been thrown off by that enough to give Papi something to hit. Almost.

Anyway. On to Minnesota. 

The end of a short two-game set in NY. 

Josh Beckett takes the mound against Joba of Chamberlain. We can only hope that the encouraging outing from Beckett's co-ace last night can inspire such a performance from Becks tonight. Otherwise, we could be in trouble. Joba of Chamberlain has been a bright spot in an otherwise dim Yankee rotation to-date. 

My guess on the lineup? Well...

Ells, DP, Papi, Bay, Drew, Lowell, Bailey, 'Tek, and Green. Have to imagine they'll give Youks a day off unless he's 150.89% and another day off for Lugo of Suck has already been implied. 

Only wild card, I think, might be in 'Tek v. Kottaras today. Late night and long day for 'Tek yesterday.

Or I could be completely wrong. The Sox could decide to go with Van Every in the middle of the lineup with Lugo AND Green in at the same time. With Kottaras catching and 'Tek DHing for Papi. Hoo. Sounds like a bad dream.

Do it. Puck drops at 7:05 EDT...most likely.

Good G. Brad Penny again. I know I probably sound pretty negative right there, but I'm not sure how else to feel about him right now. Tired, tired, tired of how he's pitching. I would love nothing more for him to prove me wrong.

My favorite/least favorite Rays pitcher goes today, James Shields. How is he my favorite and least favorite? Well, I really don't like him, but for whatever reason he's the Rays' pitcher I'd most like to steal and put on the Sox.

...I can't explain it.

Kickoff at 1:38 EDT. (WTF is with the 8s in the start times down there? Is it a dome thing?)

Even after last night's satisfying win, I find myself wanting to communicate certain things to certain members of the Red Sox organization.

Dear Jacoby Ellsbury,

Hey buddy. Love the stolen bases, and your theft of home against the Yankees will be one that is repeated in our minds all season. You've done an excellent job holding down CF for us, and you seem like a great kid.

That being said, I'm going to need you to take some walks. Not just for my sake. There are a lot of Sox fans wishing only for "patience for Jacoby Ellsbury" for birthday or anniversary gifts this year. 

And it's for your sake too. I don't want you to have to change your last name to Pierre.

This is fun. Ready for another?

Dear Javier Lopez,

Hey man, just me again. Just wondering if you've forgotten that the idea of a reliever is to get outs, and not to give out as many walks as possible. 

I've defended you in the past, because I always thought you'd be good for a groundball in a pinch, or as someone to soak up innings when we didn't want to use our good relievers. But at this point, Hunter Jones and Daniel Bard are pretty much breathing down your neck. It can't feel good.

I don't know if you knew this, but the Sox are off for the next couple of days, and after that we'll actually be playing in Pawtucket. Ask Lou Merloni, he'll tell you how to get there.

P.S. How was that stint in the outfield the other day? Great, right? Tell the Sox you want to go all Ankiel on the league and ask for your unconditional release. You know you have my support.

One more? Sure.

Dear Brad Penny,

Hey. Y'know, we kind of need to see something great out of you tomorrow, unless you want your "What I did on my summer vacation" paper to be REALLY long.

Last, for sure.

Dear Tito,

Hey T-dog. I just had a procedural question for you. Is it absolutely illegal to have your 5-hitter bat 1st and 3rd in the lineup as well? I'm sure there are some great ghost runners that we could sign from my old neighborhood, and you'd still have a L-R balance in the lineup. Hey, at least think about it.

So, I have to admit something kids. I was pretty concerned this offseason. Lowell was due for hip surgery, and the idea of signing Mark Teixeira seemed like prudence rather than overstocking. He'd spent most of the end of last season fielding like he'd forgotten what 'moving' was all about, and his hitting was pretty underwhelming too.

And yet, here we are. A month into the season, and Mike Lowell is among the very least of our concerns. He seems mostly back to his old ways in the field, and his hitting line thusfar (.312/.340/.581) makes me wish I had the ability to carve one of the first statues to ever have a distinctive salt-and-pepper goatee. He's kicking a. and taking names, and we're all reaping the benefits.

Of course, he wasn't alone in his antics tonight: Nick Green?!?, Youks, and DP all had very strong games at the plate as well. Jacoby Pierre Ellsbury stole 3 bases, and Drew got the scoring fun started with a double in the first. Jason Bay singled and stole a base before leaving in favor of Jeff Bailey due to an ankle issue. All indications are that this will be, at worst, a day-to-day issue. Bay has not been ruled out of the starting lineup tomorrow. Oh. And how about our backup f'n catcher? 2B and a walk? Yes please.

Wake ended his much-impressive run of starts, but qualified and got the win. Okajima, Ramon, and Saito finished out the game mostly uneventfully, though Ramon was the only RP to toss a perfect inning. (As an aside, if anyone has some kind of great double-nickname for Ramon and MDC, feel free to share. They probably need one.)

The Sox finish out against the Rays tomorrow behind Brad Penny. James Shields will be on the mound for Tampa.

Did you know that the Rays are in last place? If that's not evidence enough that the standings are not necessarily to be trusted, I don't know what is. We kick off a four-game set with them tonight. The pitchers are as follows:

Josh Beckett

#19 / Pitcher / Boston Red Sox

Height: 6-5

Weight: 220

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: May 15, 1980

V.

Matt Garza

#22 / Pitcher / Tampa Bay Rays

Height: 6-4

Weight: 215

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Nov 26, 1983

And who will emerge victorious? F. I dunno.

I expect that we'll probably see Lugo again this evening, along with hopefully getting Youks back in the lineup. Comment, comment, comment.

Penny and Reyes. 

Well, we'll just see won't we? Going by WHIP, Reyes has been the staff ace for the Indians this season with a 1.29 mark. He's got a miniscule BABIP of .157, and he's been walking more than he's been striking out. We could be just the thing to straighten out his run of 'luck'.

Penny? Even worse by peripheral stats. 0.63 K/BB (umm...not good) and a 1.67 WHIP. It's only a matter of time... (in other words, any day now Smoltz, Daisuke, or Buch!)

...probably won't be a pitcher's duel.

Drew and Lugo! are back in the lineup tonight. First pitch from Anthony Reyes @ 7:05 EDT.

Comment, comment, comment.

P.S. Sox go for 12!

Tonight, the Sox take on the Cleveland Indians behind Tim Wakefield.

Pitching for the Indians will be Cliff Lee, 2008 Cy Young Runner-Up to Roy Halladay, 2008 AL Cy Young Winner.

The good news? The Cleveland staff is allowing 6.21 earned runs per 9 innings. The bad? It seems as though Travis Hafner and Victor Martinez are back to their old tricks at the plate. Hafner seemingly back in form could be a huge boon to the Indians this season. 

First pitch from not Roy Halladay but yet still the 2008 Cy Young Winner Cy Young Winner Cliff Lee @ 7:05 EDT. 

Anyone think we might see Bailey start in RF for Drew?

Jacoby Ellsbury steals home.

Jacoby Ellsbury steals home.

Jacoby Ellsbury steals home.

Jacoby Ellsbury steals home.

Jacoby Ellsbury steals home.

Masterson, Jones, Bowden, and Saito all got it done on the pitching end.

Jacoby Ellsbury steals home.

Jacoby Ellsbury

steals home.

Yes, friends, it's time to head into our first 'tilt' with the New York Yankees.

What's changed, in a year? What can really change beyond a lot of players getting older and a lot of other players making a lot of f'in money?

The biggest addition, so far, has been Nick Swisher. We know, of course, about his ability to work the count and hit for power. He's also been pretty versatile for the Yanks, being an option in LF, RF, 1B, and at P. A.J. Burnett has also been a good signee so far, 17 Ks in 19 IP over 3 starts. 

Another big change the Yankees made was in CF. While Melky Cabrera saw most of the time out there last year, the Yankees decided to make a change and go with Brett Gardner as the starter. How has it worked? Gangbusters! Gardner's been tearing up the AL to the tune of a 1.211 OPS, while Melky has struggled to a .583 OPS. ...wait. Strike that, reverse it. The long-term for both of these guys is probably as 4th outfielders, but Melky has earned the bulk of the PT thusfar. 

Somewhat quietly, a number of Yankee regulars are putting up their usual numbers. Jeter, Damon, Posada, and Matsui have all been as good as could have been expected or better. Swisher and Cano have probably been a bit above their heads, but they've also shown that their respective struggles last season may be behind them.

STRENGTHS

The offense. 4th in the AL in scoring runs while getting nothing from 3B and CF most of the time, with Alex Rodriguez coming back at some point and Mark Teixeira still having a cold April.

WEAKNESSES

In a small-sample way, this season, the bullpen. Beyond Rivera and Brian Bruney? A huge crap sandwich. It's not even a joke to say that Swisher has been among their best RPs this season.

YANKEES' KEYS TO SUCCESS IN 2009

Perhaps a swap out of some bullpen arms? The arrival of Mark Melancon? The offense will be fine, but the pitching isn't shaping up as intended. Pettitte and Burnett have been steady but Joba, Sabathia, and Wang have not been good. I keep waiting for Sabathia to get back on track, and young and inconsistent should actually have been an acceptable outcome for Joba this season. It's still early for both. It's probably pretty obvious to everyone right now that there's something wrong with the Yankees' Wang.

HOW THE SOX CAN BEAT THEM

Knock the starters out early. The Yankees probably have their 3 best (thusfar) going this weekend in Boston. Non-Bruney or Rivera RPs should be a welcome sight on the mound. In general, the pitching gives out a lot of walks, though CC's 14 in 24+ innings might be skewing that data a little bit. The pitchers should keep the ball down; the Yankees are slugging quite well thusfar. 

UPDATE: Game postponed. Day/night doubleheader tomorrow starting at noon.

Minnesota's in town for a 2-game series. These are always so weird. It's not really a series, and you can guarantee not-winning the non-series if you lose the first game.

Let's not do that. First pitch from the King of Momentum @ 7:10 EDT

My guess about tomorrow's lineup? 'Tek will not be in it.

Scott Baker takes the mound for the Twins. 5th in WHIP in the AL last season, and 7th in K/BB. He's got only 10 IP against us in his career. If you trust in such small samples, we might be screwed.

Justin Masterson makes his triumphant return to the world of starting pitching today. He'll face Mark Hendrickson from the O's. 

Hendrickson is most known for being tall. The joke's on him, because Masterson is tall too. Have to imagine that'll throw him a little bit off-balance.

Speaking of throwing, would love to see Masterson throw strikes from the start. Seems like most of his problems last year were walks and nibbling and poor command. Walks or no walks, my guess is that he's on a count today and possibly an innings limit. I imagine the 'blueprint' for a Sox win would go something like this:

Masterson 5 IP, MDC 2 IP, Oki 1 IP, Paps 1 IP.

Regardless of whether THAT happens, I'm sure that MDC and Oki are both prepared to go multiple innings. Those glorious rubber-armed bastards.

Anyway, first pitch from Masterson @ 11:05 EDT. Everyone officially has my permission to skip work or school. Especially since my word means absolutely nothing.

...Go Sox!

I can say with all certainty that this might be, possibly, perhaps, the second most satisfying win of the season.

While Wake's gem against the A's might be certainly more awesome, this one did something to calm a significant fear; that Jon Lester, either by overuse or market correction, is not the pitcher he showed us last season. Is that fear gone? No.

But how excellent was it for us to see Lester throw 7 shutout innings today, with 9 Ks and 6 total baserunners? It ain't pushovers in that Oriole lineup either, though it's worth noting that a few of their toughest bat LH. And now I'm pissing all over the accomplishment. Even given that aforementioned fact, I feel a lot more confident in Lester going forward. 

And it might be just as important that he did it on a day on which his margin of error was small. The Sox got a run in the 2nd on a Youkilis-Lowell combo package, and then Nick Green doubled in the 5th and was knocked in by DP. Uehara pitched well for the O's, though that still doesn't excuse Papi's continuing issues at the plate. Wouldn't be awful to get him a day off soon, for his sake and for the rest of the team.

Better options out of the 3-hole right now? Basically everyone on the active roster who is not a C or primarily on the team to play SS. And even that's not entirely true...

The bullpen was fine today. Ramon Ramirez got what has now become expected from him, a 1-2-3 inning, and Saito, despite giving us a little bit of stress, ultimately did his job and got his first save of the season. If the stressful stuff isn't the norm for him, he'll certainly continue to get most of those chances when Paps is not available. Otherwise, Ramirez, MDC, and Oki are all decent choices.

Patriots' Day tomorrow, and Justin Masterson gets the start. Make sure you skip work if possible.

So, Kevin Youkilis is pretty good at baseball.

Also, game today. O's @ Us, with first pitch from Lester somewhere in the vicinity of 1:35 PM EDT

Koji Uehara goes for the O's. His ML resume to date; 10 IP, 12 H, 8 ER, 2 HR, 5 BB, 3 Ks, 2 Wins NO Losses. 

1.70 WHIP. 0.60 K/BB. .284 BABIP

That guy we're all worried about?

1.84 WHIP. 5 K/BB. .416 BABIP

I'm not saying it's just bad luck, but a turnaround seems likely. If not today, then soon.

I think certain teams are required to give oft-injured but talented teases a chance in their rotation. Mark Mulder comes to mind, lately, and it's really kind of strange how he and others keep getting chances. I feel like if I were in charge of those teams, I'd get myself out of this bizarre club. Hiring a veteran starter to suck suck suck and not even be a good bet to soak up innings? No thanks. 

On an unrelated note, Adam Eaton starts for the O's tonight.

First pitch from The Appealer is @ 7:10 EDT.

Lineup for us: Some guys.

Lineup for them: Some other guys. 

P.S. Ecoli is priceless.

It's Brad Penny and Jeremy Guthrie this evening. 

...a series win would be nice, though let's just start with this one tonight.

Penny's first pitch @ 7:10

Orioles players I would kidnap and plead guilty to all charges if it meant they had to join the Red Sox: Nick Markakis, Matt Wieters, Adam "Not Pacman" Jones.

P.S. Did some team get embarrassed in their new stadium yesterday? Yikes. Horrible. And yet, I somehow really enjoyed the highlights.

P.P.S. Hooray Bruins!

P.P.P.S. Boo Garnett's knee.

Aha. Good news. 

Jed will not require surgery for his ailing wrist. The Sox look for him to "resume baseball activities in a couple of weeks". The article cites his return as potentially in 3-4 weeks, though I'm thinking they might play it a bit conservative if the Return of Lugo is successful (he starts rehabbing in AAA on Tuesday, probably). 

Until Lugo is ready, it'll remain Nick Green and Gil Velazquez holding down SS, and one of the two (no doubt Green) will see more time on the ML roster than they probably expected at the beginning of the year.

So that was fun, huh?

If you're just joining us, Tim Wakefield gave everything he had and more in an effort to rest a depleted bullpen today. After some poor starting pitching on this trip, Wake stepped up with a gem: he was 5 outs away from finishing the game before he gave up his first hit. The end result was a complete game 4-hitter. The knuckler was dancing, Kottaras was solid in catching it, and Wake got some strong defense behind him in support (aside from Lowell's rare error in the 6th).

The lineup also did some serious damage to the A's. Lowell got the fun started with a 2-run HR, knocking in Jason Bay, in the 2nd inning. The Sox then got a 6-run 8th inning, fueled primarily by J.D. Drew's 3-run HR, which brought home David Ortiz and Kevin Youkilis. Also want to mention Kottaras (1-3, 2B, BB) and Nick Green (1-3, R, RBI, BB). I doubt anyone expected much out of them offensively today, but they certainly held up their end. Papi got his first XBH of the season with a 2B against Jerry Blevins. Oakland's bullpen did them in in this one, with Blevins and Sean Gallagher combining to give up the runs in the Boston half of the 8th. Brett Anderson just ran into some bad luck going against Wake today, as he pitched pretty well.

But the credit for today has to go to Tim. I have no doubt that he watched last night's game and stepped out onto the field today expecting himself to go at least 8. Not that most starters aren't like this, but that's the kind of guy Wakefield has always been in Boston. He's a team guy (cliche, yeah, so the f. what), and today his team needed him to go deep into the game and keep the A's from scoring. I'd say he was pretty successful in that, and it's a great note on which to close out the road trip. 

Off-day tomorrow.