Doubleheader Day

Doubleheader day wasn't quite the sweep we were looking for but Victor Martinez telling me Josh was dominant and mentioning his cutter and curveball is always a good thing.

The idiot rookie ump who had Beltre thrown out in the 2nd inning of last night's game really should have some consequences heaped on him but we all know that that won't happen because umps think they are infallible. Peter Gammons was quite worked up about it on the post-game show. For the record, I adore Peter Gammons and would love to have him over to watch a game with me and do some commentary while we watch. I'll provide beer and snacks Pete! If he were accompanied by the Surviving Grady guys, even better.

Day off today and then on to Tampa Bay where we have a chance to really make a play at the wild card. It is almost too much for me to bear watching but you know I will be.

Romero Who?

There was a feeling of inevitability last night when Youk hobbled off the field with a hurt ankle. It seemed only fitting that will all the people on the DL, he'd be the next to be hurt. All I could do was sit there laughing and saying "you have got to be kidding me" as the trainer and Tito bent over him on the field. His replacement, Romero, was someone I had never heard of. Where did he come from? When did he get here? I had heard of Patterson, Nava, and Dubrount before they arrived but I was flummoxed by Romero. Unfortunately, Romero did not flummox the Rays, who took advantage of his spot in the lineup to repeatedly walk Ortiz to get to him. I think we've been spoiled by the crazy magic our replacement players have had. McDonald, Nava, and even Patterson have done things that have made us cheer and shout and there was part of me that expected the same of Romero. Unfortunately, he showed he was human and we've now dropped 2 games to the Devil Rays. There are low points and high points to every baseball season. We had a low one at the beginning of the season, went steadily up, and now I think we're on our way down again. But don't fret, because after every valley there is a peak (unless the season ends first).

In better news, Josh Beckett threw a simulated game yesterday in Florida and by all accounts did well. The sweet part of the story was that his teammates Bard, Clay, Lackey, and Lester all showed up to watch him pitch and that made him happy. Pete Abraham obviously knows me well because he went to the trouble of live blogging Josh's game here. I will be seeing Josh in person this Sunday in Pawtucket while he rehabs there and I'll be sure to give you an unbiased account of how it goes.

Image from http://mercifulcrap.wordpress.com/

It Doesn't Matter Who the Sox Put Out There to Play - They Just Keep Winning

The Internet was alive with speculation during Monday's off day that despite all the injuries the team had that it wouldn't slow them down because the Red Sox have the right attitude, they have moxie, and they are going to grind it out without some of their best players.

I have been working on a big project at work this week and haven't had too much time to think about the Red Sox but when I have, I've worried that all this hyperbole about how gritty they are were would turn on them against the Rays last night. Lucky for us, the Rays have their own stories which are all over the Internet. Not to say the Rays didn't put up a fight last night but we won handily with our motley crew of players out there.

Homeruns by Ortiz and Bill Hall helped things, along with some fine pitching out of Lackey. It was nice to see Lackey digging in and getting strikes and outs and not struggling so much. The bullpen of course, remains a big issue. When Oki came in in the 7th the Sox were up by 7 points. By the 9th inning Tito had to have Pap come out because it turned into a save situation. This from the same bullpen who saved the day on Saturday when Clay got hurt. Why oh why can they not be more consistent?

I can't say my fears that the many injuries this team has sustained isn't going to effect their playing have been assuaged but last night was a good step in that direction.

Either the Rays Aren't as Good as We All Thought or the Red Sox Aren't as Bad as We All Thought

Well then. Who could have predicted after that horrible loss to the Yankees last Monday that we'd be sitting here riding high on 4 straight wins against the Phillies and the Devil Rays? Finally everything that Theo promised is started to come together. The starting pitching has been phenomenal, the defense has been tight and effective, and disparaged offense has even put in a strong appearance.

After the loss to the Yankees last Monday and then the subsequent come from behind win I read an article somewhere (and it kills me that I can't remember where because you know I like to be good about citing sources) in which the author was saying that clearly the Red Sox were not playing bad baseball because a bad baseball team does not come back from a loss like they had on Monday and gain a win on Tuesday in a tough game. Nothing could be more true. Finally we are getting to see the Red Sox play good baseball.

The wins against the Phillies were surprising and satisfying but really, it's the wins against the Devil Rays that make me even happier since they are in our division and basically running away with it. Yes, Devil Rays you may have 32 wins this season but the train stops here.

Bad Games Sound Even Worse From Florida

No readers, I have not been silent because I have been mourning the state of the Red Sox lately but because I have been in Florida on vacation. While I was gone I apparently missed two good games and a slew of bad ones.

You will all be happy to know that Red Sox nation is alive and well in Northern Florida. While we were there we saw a number of Red Sox fans, one random Cubs fan, and one Yankees fan. My son and I added to the Red Sox presence by wearing our gear regularly. One day my son wore his Ellsbury shirt, Red Sox shorts, and his Kid Nation hat. To save my husband from acute embarrassment I chose to not wear a Red Sox shirt that day.

Chances to watch the games were nil. The best I could do was bike down to Island Joes and use their wifi to watch the condensed version on my iPod and read the news. The last game I actually saw (rather than heard about or watched a condensed version of) was last Friday's rained out game at which Josh pitched wonderfully and Tek was his usual early season studly self. From what I can make out from my spotty coverage after that the Red Sox were abysmal against the Rays and fought hard against the Rangers, resulting in 5 games lost and 2 games won, including a sweep at the hands of the Devil Rays (at this point I think we should start put that Devil back in their names because those guys are going to be nothing short of evil for us this season).

The worst part about this is not just the embarrassment of having the Blue Jays ahead of us in the AL East but how bad the team has looked overall. There isn't just one thing you can point to that needs fixing. I would like to think everything would be better if Cameron and Ellsbury weren't on the DL but that's just wishful thinking. Maybe Dice-K returning to the rotation will be the shot in the arm needed? Unlikely.

I tend to think that Theo Epstein usually does a good job and athough I had my doubts about his off-season moves I was fairly confident that it would all work out in the end. Was I wrong? It is starting to look that way. But then again, we can just close our eyes, click our heels together and repeat, "It's only April" and things might still work out OK.

The Red Sox take on the favorite whipping dogs of the AL East this weekend, The Orioles. You just know we've got to get a win out of this (maybe even two or three). I'll be at the games on Saturday and Sunday. Look for me if you are there. I'll be the one in the Red Sox hat so say hi if you see me.

Spring Training Hyperbole or Fact? Can the Rays and Orioles compete for real this year?

By all accounts the Tampa Bay Rays are in for a monster year. Well, maybe not a monster year, but certainly one that might give the Red Sox and Yankees a run for their money. And why not? They did it in 2008. Their starting rotation of Garza, Shields, Niemann, and Price are strong and they've got Carl Crawford, BJ Upton, and Even Longoria in their lineup.

The Orioles on the other hand don't look like they are in for a monster year per se. Or maybe we can call it a monster year in Orioles terms. They've got Matt Wieters, their superstar in the making catcher and a couple of good pitching prospects thrown in for good measure. I don't see the Orioles posing a legitimate threat this year but they may not be the easy win Sox fans have become used to.

However, all this could be based on the feel good baseball reporting of Spring Training where everyone looks like they could have a great year and boasts a killer lineup. Everyone that is except for the poor Blue Jays who will be hard pressed to make up for the loss of Roy Halladay. In the end it seems more likely that the AL East will once again come down to the Red Sox and Yankees.