Yup, Pedey is All That and a Bag of Chips

I don't think I spend nearly enough time on this blog talking about Dustin Pedroia and his awesomeness. I think this may be because he is so consistently great that I take him for granted. Sure, he had that slump a month ago but his defense more than made up for his plate struggles. Now that he is out of his slump (and boy, is he out of his slump) I think it is time I gave him a credit where credit is due.

I honestly cannot imagine what the Red Sox would do without Pedey. Sure, I know, baseball is a team sport and it takes all of them to win (Odd that it isn't often the case that it takes all of them to lose as well. One guy can do that single handed) but Pedey is often the driving force behind them. Last night was the perfect example. After Pap blew things in the 9th (for the 2nd night in a row, no less) Pedey hit a homerun in the 10th and helped Pap get back on that bus and finish off the game.

Speaking of Pap and by extension, the bullpen, I've got to say they worry me quite a bit lately. I still trust Pap and hope that these two games are just a blip on the radar and I have a lot of faith in Bard, but none of the others inspire a whole lot of confidence. I'm hoping Theo does some bullpen shopping soon. Speaking of things we want before the trade deadline, a new outfielder would be nice as well. Having Reddick leave the game hurt last night was a reminder of how vulnerable our outfield is at this point, so hopefully Theo has that on his list as well.

Rocky Mountain High

The Red Sox are in Colorado today for some more interleague play. Despite my complaints about interleague play, the Red Sox have shown that they are more than up to the task, tearing through the competition and putting themselves within spitting distance of the Yankees for first place in the AL East.Colorado in particular is an National League park that holds a fond place in all our hearts since the Sox swept the Rockies there in the 2007 World Series. The spoils are much more modest this time around but a sweep here could put us in the lead. I like to imagine John Denver is looking benevolently down and wishing us well, although in all honesty, he's probably a Rockies fan.

What is most amazing about this tear that the Sox are on is that they've been doing it with that ragtag outfield they throw out there every night. Who would have thought that we would be doing this well with people like Bill Hall, Darnell McDonald, and Daniel Nava out there? Tonight it is even more ragtag as usual with J.D. Drew taking another day off to rest his hamstring (no DL for him though, thank God) and Josh Reddick joining the crew. Although Mike Cameron will be there and that man is not ragtag at all.

In other news, I hear word that Josh Beckett threw a bullpen session on Monday and will be doing another one or two before doing a minor league rehab. Minor league rehab? In a small park where you get good views of the players? I may be planning a road trip to Portland or Pawtucket in the near future. Who's in?