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The Red Sox have won 11 straight and have virtually erased any concern of their 2-6 start.

What's working?  Jason Bay.  He's hit for power while getting on base.  Bay has 5 home runs and has walked an MLB leading 20 times while getting on base at a .506 clip.  Mike Lowell leads MLB with 22 RBI.  An impressive accomplishment considering he was an after thought during the Mark Teixeira negotiations and given his hip surgery.

Kevin Youkilis is hitting .414, getting on base 52.3% of the time and hitting for power with a .709 slg%.  Dustin Pedroia has dragged his average up to .286 and the rest of the line-up has stepped up their game.  David Ortiz continues to struggle, but has done better of late, showing a willingness to go opposite field with a few doubles.  Ortiz has always used all 90 degrees of the baseball field and now that he is back to doing that, I expect better production.  Not vintage Ortiz production, but certainly good production.

And of course a steal of home by Jacoby Ellsbury will always get an offense (or the crowd) fired-up.  Then again, had he been thrown out, with 2 out and the bases loaded, he'd have been demoted...

Tim Wakefield has, for the 3rd start in a row, bailed out the Red Sox bullpen by pitching deep into a game.  Wake has allowed only 16 hits in 29 innings and has managed to avoid the long-ball in 2009 (did I just create a jinx?).

Even the young kids in Hunter Jones and Michael Bowden have done their part.

The Red Sox are playing well as a whole.  The concerns are:  Josh Beckett and his 6.00 ERA and Javier Lopez.  I am thrilled that my biggest bullpen concern is Lopez, but he has been terrible having allowed 14 hits/walks in only 5 2/3 innings.  His 4.76 ERA isn't reflective of his inability to keep batters off the base paths.  Beckett is just...annoyingly inconsistent.  He is walking too many players and just seems to lose focus.  He is my 2009 downer so far.

I'll hold off on any further complaints, but I also recognized it is early with only an 1/9 of the season in the books.  The Rays have not played well and the Yankees will have an important player returning soon, so the Red Sox cannot afford to fool around.

Notes:  Julio Lugo is back and should slowly resume his shortstop position, given what Terry Francona said today, don't expect Lugo to be the starter in the immediate future.  Nick Green has done a great job offensively and will probably get 75% of the innings over the next week with Francona slowly dialing the innings more towards Lugo over time.

I'm still very much looking forward to John Smoltz being an option.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 11:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

MLB Tonight had an interesting feature Thursday night that focused on the frequent high and/or tight pitches from Joba Chamberlain to Kevin Youkilis.  I believe the tally is 1 knockdown, a fastball behind the legs, a fastball behind the head and a beanball (upon further review, it wasn't a beanball, but instead ruled a foul ball).

One of those knockdowns resulted in Joba getting tossed.  Obviously there is something between the two of them and with Joba vs. Jon Lester tonight at Fenway, we might see some fireworks. 

Joba has ok control, but no matter how much control you have or how wild you are, 4 pitches at or behind Youkilis suggests there is a problem.  Normally Red Sox fans would want Josh Beckett on the mound in such a situation as it seems he'd knockdown a grade schooler if he felt it necessary.  But Beckett has too much willingness to mix it up and would only manage to get himself suspended again.

I think Lester has a better chance of managing this situation as he'll be a bit more thoughtful in how he chooses to retaliate should it come to that.

Finally, is it me or does Chamberlain seem best suited for the closer role?  Sure he can start, but it just doesn't seem to fit.  I imagine if Mariano Rivera stays healthy, Chamberlain will remain a starter, but the minute Rivera struggles or gets injured, Chamberlain will be tabbed...and will look the part much more so that he does as a starter.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 10:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Former Red Sox pitcher Kason Gabbard is once again a Red Sox pitcher.  The Boston Globe, via Dallas Morning News, is reporting that the Red Sox re-acquired Gabbard for cash considerations.

An interesting development given that he has major league experience and the Red Sox seemingly have decent starter depth, seemingly.  So let the speculation start.  Or maybe it's because the Red Sox just released Davern Hansack when they promoted Jeff Bailey and they need that arm in Pawtucket.

Then again, word has it that Hansack will be re-signed to a minor league deal.  So wait, I've just gone full circle and feel a bit sick now...all the while not concluding anything.  Very typical of me.

Regardless of why, Gabbard is in the organization again.  Let someone else tell you why.

It needn't be said, but what should be an entertaining series starts Friday at Fenway.  Get ready for 4+ hour games.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 04:38 PM | Permalink

For Boston sports fans, this past Monday, Patriots Day, was a great day.

Boston Marathon

Boston Red Sox - 11:05am start

Boston Celtics - playoff game

Boston Bruins - playoff game

All on the same day, pretty neat stuff.

As for the Red Sox, they've righted their ship somewhat and things appear much better than just a week ago. That said, I find my self impatiently waiting for the return of Julio Lugo.  How can that be you ask?  Well with Jed Lowrie out for 8-10 weeks (wrist surgery) and Nick Green filling in, the Red Sox need Lugo back.

Green is good with the glove, but doesn't offer much with the bat.  He is a nice short term option, but won't give you much more than a .650 OPS over any long stretch.

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Rocco Baldelli was also put on the DL with a hamstring strain.  Jeff Bailey was purchased from AAA Pawtucket to take his place.  I love Bailey's bat, but the sad part of this promotion is that Bailey will have to pass through waivers (and accept) his assignment back to Pawtucket when Baldelli returns meaning this might be his last trip to Boston.

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Since my last post where I moaned and groaned about the lack of offense, the Red Sox have hit .318, gotten on base at a .407 clip and slugged .543.  They've averaged 7.6 runs over this 5 game win streak.  Not bad.

David Ortiz showed some signs of breaking out in his last game, but he remains the most concerning element.

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The Red Sox will try to play 2 today, but the night game is questionable with rain on its way.  Then the Yankees come to town for a 3 game set starting Friday.  Chien-Ming Wang, originally scheduled to throw batting practice to Red Sox batters on Friday, has been pushed back so he can work on his mechanics.  Probably a good idea on the Yankees part.  Not that the Red Sox line-up is the best in baseball, but they have enough veterans capable of piling it on.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 09:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (8)

The Red Sox arrive back in Boston with a 3-6 record.  Here's why (sorry in advance if the formatting looks terrible):

When your 1, 2 and 3 hitters are all below the Mendoza line, things are never good.  Wednesday's game was a welcomed change, but we need to see more of that.  Where would they be without Youkilis and Bay?

I'm being somewhat selective here, but you can see some of the starters have been terrible and 3 members of the bullpen have struggled.  Kudos to Papelbon, Ramirez and Delcarmen thus far in the pen (although Delcarmen has walked 4 in 4 innings...)

The Red Sox have essentially started the season with a slump.  Let's hope that home cooking and Baltimore as an opponent will help right the ship.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 11:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Another game, another body.  Daisuke Matsuzaka was put on the DL today with general arm fatigue and shoulder soreness.  Great.

I love the WBC.

So things look a bit bleak for the Red Sox but we are in just the 2nd week of the season, no need to get worried.  But you can get annoyed.  Have at it...

The Red Sox return from this awful road-trip to an off-day Thursday and then an extended home stand starting with the Orioles.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 04:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Josh Beckett was suspended for 6 games for throwing at Bobby Abreu this past Sunday.  If you saw the game, there is no question the pitch would have hit Abreu in the head had he not moved.  At the same time, it was a dead ball because time had been called.

Beckett was looking at 2nd base and then turned to home and immediately started his delivery.  It seems like it would be hard to look towards home and start your delivery at the same time, realize the umpire has called time and alter your aim towards Abreu's head all in a split second.

I have to balance that with the fact that Beckett seems to get himself into these situations more often than others.  He seems to like confrontations.  So I have decided that Beckett did indeed try to throw at Abreu, but keep out hope that he didn't mean to aim for the head.

Either way, Beckett pitched like crap on Sunday and needs to show his teammates that he can pitch and keep the Red Sox in each and every game.  No mental breakdowns.  Just do what Jason Varitek says.

The rough start continues for Boston.  Funny, Tampa Bay, New York and Boston are 3rd, 4th and 5th respectively thus far in the AL East.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 03:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Jed Lowrie was put on the DL today with a sore left wrist, the same wrist that caused him trouble last year.  This move came out of no where and is a major disappointment.  Gil Velasquez was called up to replace Lowrie.

Now this means I can't wait for Julio Lugo to make it back.  I can't believe I just said that...

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 09:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Do you realize that after the Red Sox finish this current road trip this Wednesday in Oakland, they return to the West Coast only one other time during the regular season?  And that happens May 12-17 with another stint in Anaheim and then to Seattle.

After that?  Nothing, no more 10:05pm starts.  That's amazing.  I guess the MLB schedulers are giving them a break for their 2008 start in Japan.

Either way, the trip back to Anaheim should prove interesting giving Sunday's fireworks.

Week 1 in the books and the Red Sox are in last place in the AL East.  Small sample size and nothing to worry about, right?  Right.  That said, the Red Sox are trending into some worrisome areas.

First off, where's the beef?  The Red Sox, through Sunday, have sported a .242/.329/.434 (avg/obp/slg).  Where's the filth?  Red Sox pitchers have posted a 5.02 ERA and a 1.54 Whip (That's 1.54 hits and/or walks per inning pitched).

Above represents a bad combo.

Not to ring any alarms, but a few thoughts:  Jacoby Ellsbury had a somewhat disappointing year in 2008.  So far in 2009 he is off to a...dud.  Ellsbury has 2 types of swings, the just get my bat on the ball so I can run like crud or the swing for the fences cut.

The latter swing is slow, that is to say it is a more deliberate swing and seems to result in balls being fouled off to the 3rd base side.  His former swing is more like a reactionary swing.  That's the swing I want to see.  Ellsbury should just try to put the ball in play and use his legs to get on base.  Keep it simple.  If Ellsbury cannot figure out a way on base at least 35 % of the time (so far at 26.9% i n2009), the Red Sox will need to either consider moving him to 9 in the order or finding an alternative.

Pedroia is off to a very slow start, as is Mike Lowell, David Ortiz, Jed Lowrie (1 hit) and JD Drew.  The good news is that's only 5/9 of the line-up...um...

As for the arms, let me give them all another turn in the rotation.

But let me rant of a moment.  Josh Beckett, the Red Sox opening day starter, has posted a 4.11 ERA since joining Boston.  4.11.  The MLB average ERA from 2006-2008 (he joined the Red Sox in 2006) is 4.43.  I guess my point is that despite the fact that Beckett has enormous talent, he is frustratingly inconsistent.  I don't have too much more to say about Beckett at present other than I expect my #1 starter to not be inconsistent.  Be good far more often than not, ok.

Off to Oakland for 2 late night starts and a late afternoon start.  In other words, 3 games you'll struggle to watch live.

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 12:01 AM | Permalink

The anticipation, the thrill of opening day for Red Sox fans just got washed away.  The Red Sox have officially postponed opening day because of the "near certainty of heavy rain."

The game will be played Tuesday at 4:05pm.  At least I have a shot at catching the last few innings of a 4:05pm start.  Always thinking about me...

Posted by Andy (Red Sox) at 10:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)