Game Preview: Sox @ D-Backs GM2

Tavarez (3-4, 5.33) vs. Owings (4-1, 3.86)
9:40 Chase Field, Phoenix

To say that Julian Tavarez has some mighty big shoes to fill, not to mention a king-sized weight on his shoulders, tonight when he takes the mound in Phoenix would have to be considered a massive understatement.

Besides having to follow in the footsteps of arguably the two most impressive pitching performances of the season, Tavarez must also deal with the looming specter of Jon Lester's impending return to the rotation.

Lester has been progressing nicely in his second rehab assignment and could join the big club on the next homestand, presumably bumping Julie back to the bullpen, something he is reluctant but willing to do.

That point plus the fact that Julie is coming off two lackluster no decisions should have the fiery veteran charged up and eager to get a victory tonight, possibly marking his exile to the bully with a bang.

On the other side the Sox will get a look at highly touted youngster Micah Owings. The 24-year-old righthander has already had a ballyhooed career, as a star first baseman/pitcher at Georgia Tech and then Tulane, then as a thrice-drafted prospect who finally stayed with the Diamondbacks.

Originally mentioned as a coveted piece in the Randy Johnson deal, Owings remained in the desert and ultimately was called up from the minors in April to replace the injured Unit in the rotation. After throwing throwing five innings of one hit in his debut, he has won 4 of 5 decisions and established himself as a solid major leaguer after just 43 appearances in the minors.

Owings is a big kid (6'5", 220) with a cannon of an arm, so the contrast in styles between the two hurlers will be apparent from the start. Tavarez & the Sox will have their hands full tonight, but with all that's riding on this game for Julie, look for him to step up big and turn in a quality start.

Hopefully the Sox offense left something in the tank to support him with.

NOTES:
Reliever J.C. Romero was designated for assignment following the game last night as Mike Timlin was activated from the DL. According to the Globe, Romero was visibly upset when a dejected Tito broke the news to him, but with the kind of numbers he was bringing, the move was certainly justified...ESPN.com posted J.D. Drew's lifetime stats against the Diamondbacks, and man if he doesn't like to slay them snakes. In 60 career games against Arizona, Drew is batting .346 with 18 homers and 52 RBIs; just last season + last night's game the numbers are .425/9/27...Manny and Lowell will have the night off tonight, according to the Globe...don't look now, but the Stanks have won five straight after Roidger Clemens made his re-return to their rotation today and beat the Pittsburgh Pirates (ooohhh!) in the Bronx (ah, they're still 10 back)

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"Strange Days are here...."

A season filled with incredible streaks and surreal plays has this baseball lifer scratching his head

Lugo's brilliant bit of baseball deception was just the latest in a long line of unbelieveable plays this year

Okay, let's get this out of the way- I'm no Don "Gerbil" Zimmer or Tommy "Swirly" LaSorda when it comes to time served in the department of viewing baseball games, but in my 39 years I have attended hundreds of contests live and watched thousands more on the tube, and then either talked, wrote, or in Boston, often fought about said contests later.

But all I can say is in all this time I have never seen a team go through a fun & freaky stretch of baseball as Boston has to begin the 2007 season.

Now forget about the hot start and the large division lead; that kinda shit has happens occasionally, such as the Tigers' 35-5 start in '84, and it's even happened with the Sox, most infamously in 197bleepin'8.

Except when that hot start morphs into a team with the best record in baseball and largest division lead the team has ever enjoyed after 50 games, not to mention a monthlong double-digit lead over its hated arch rival, it doesn't take a diehard fan to realize your team's got something special going on.

Throw in some record-setting streaks from a multitude of players, such as Youk's multi-hit game mark, Beckett's wins w/o a loss chase, and Dice-K's three-game strikeout binge, and you've got a cauldron of championship ingredients just waiting to boil.

This is where the mystical, head-scratching shit comes in, because I don't think even Encyclopedia Pete Gammons has seen a string of plays and feats pulled of by and against the Red Sox in the first two+ months of this season.

A short list of the eerie events include:

• banging back-to-back-to-back-to-back home runs against the Stanks in an incredible Sunday Night Baseball game (4/22)
• coming back from a 5-0 9th inning deficit to defeat BAL on Mom's Day (5/13)
• Eric Hinske's game-saving catch and game-winning homer against DET (5/17)
• Youk's inside-the-park homer against CLE (5/28-Memorial Day)
• losing consecutive games on late-inning homers within 24 hours (6/2-6/3)
• Oakland's Mark Ellis hitting for the cycle on Tuesday (6/5)
• Coco's twin over-the-shoulder catches in back-to-back games against OAK (6/6-6/7)
• Schill tossing a near no-hitter on Thursday (6/7)

...and the capper in last night's game..

• J.D. Drew ripping a career best two homers & 7 RBIs in the same game that Julio Lugo pulled a hidden ball trick against an unsuspecting young D-Back (6/8)

Call me crazy, but I don't believe there has ever been so many rare & exciting plays happen to one team in such a short period of time.

Things like inside-the-parkers, no hitters, cycles and hidden ball plays are scarce enough occurrences in & of themselves, but when you throw them all together in a span of a few weeks, it's time to start looking in the stands for Agents Scully & Mulder.

Maybe it's the spirit of Ted Williams' cryogenically frozen dome, or the fact that one of the greatest thriller writers of our generation is a lifelong Sox diehard, but whatever it is the reason these things are happening to our team, the only thing I know is the propensity for the unthinkable to happen at any time with this team has made for a fantastic and magical season so far.

I wonder what's in store for us tonight...

...perhaps a...Julian Tavarez victory (shriek!gasp!oohaah!)

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Drew's career night fuels huge Sox win

Sox 10, Arizona 3
WP: Beckett (9-0)
LP: Davis (4-7)
HRs: BOS-Lugo (4), Drew, 2 (3,4); ARI-Montero (4)

The number seven was certainly lucky for Drew tonight

SUMMARY:
J.D. Drew had the game of his life, blasting two 3-run homers plus an RBI double, Josh Beckett was awesome in his second start since coming off the DL, and Julio Lugo pulled the play of the year as the Sox rolled the young & restless D-Backs.

HERO: Drew 3-5, 2B, 2HRs, 2R, 7RBI
The $14 million dollar man finally came through with a monster game; I guess it just took playing against his little brother to bring out the best in the slumping right fielder.

GOAT: D. Davis 4IP, 6H, 5ER, 5BBs, 2Ks, 2HRs
The journeyman had been on a hot streak coming in, but the Sox batters cooled him off quick. The fact that he couldn't throw strikes from the start was bad enough for Arizona, but when he did find the plate the Boston hitters torched his belt-high meatballs for blistering hits.

RECAP:
So this is why the Sox invested $70 million in J.D. Drew; here I thought they had merely acquired the world's foremost authority on grounding out to the right side of the infield.

Drew had the game of his life while in the midst of a horrific slump, smacking a career-high two homers and seven ribbies in the first game he's ever played against his younger brother, Arizona rookie shortstop Stephen. He has always hit the D-Backs well going back to his days with Atlanta, but even this kind of night was totally unexpected with the way he had been scuffling.

Boston grabbed an early lead in the first thanks to Julio Lugo's 4th homer of the season and with Josh Beckett mowing down 'Zona batters with a fastball that topped 101 mph and a knee-buckling curve, Drew went to work on supplying him with his league-leading 8.5 runs of support per game.

Who knew he would nearly knock in that total himself?

After Lugo walked to open the third, Pedroia and Papi hit sharp outs before Manny lined a single to center. Drew then took an 84-mph flutterball from Doug Davis and deposited it over the wall in right center about 415 ft. away give Boston a 4-0 lead.

He whiffed on a Davis curve in the dirt his next time up, but in the sixth, after Papi had just doubled in Pedroia with run #6, Drew did something no one who had been following this team all season would have ever expected him to do- hit another three-run homer to effectively put the game out of reach.

This time it was a titanic shot to right off Arizona reliever Edgar Gonzalez (4IP, 6H, 5ER, 5K) that turned a five-run game into a 9-1 rout, and just when you though his night couldn't get any sweeter, he laced a double to right in the 8th that plated Boston's 10th and final run of the game and put a bow around Drew's present to Red Sox Nation.

As Drew was filling his highlight reel, Beckett (8IP, 5H, 2ER, 0BB, 8Ks) was nearly as dominant as Schill was the day before, and his dazzling display of command and velocity put to rest any thoughts of him being hampered by that blister problem-at least temporarily.

One at bat in particular summarizes Beckett's night; after a 1-2-3 first, he quickly got two outs in the second when left fielder Scott Hairston stepped to the plate. Strike one was a 101-mph laser that nearly blew the ump's cap off; strike two was a filthy 76- mph breaker that froze Hairston in place, and after a ball Beckett broke him off with a 96- mph heater that left him muttering under his breath all the way till the timeout.

It was that kind of night for Arizona, a team that had been red-hot coming into the series but played like a bunch of over-matched, overwhelmed little leaguers at the plate, in the field and on the basepaths.

Nothing signified the level of their futility more than the rare play turned in by Julio Lugo in the third inning. After the immortal Alberto Callaspo singled to right to open the frame, he advanced to second on a single to right by Chris Snyder, and almost got himself picked off over-running the bag.

But as he got up to dust himself off after the close play, Lugo waited behind him like a cheetah tracking a zebra, and as soon as Callaspo removed his hand from the base, Lugo tagged him out on a modern version of the hidden ball trick that left the D-Backs stunned and signified the kind of wild night it would be in the Arizona desert.

So after a 4-game losing streak the Sox have won two in a row in dramatic fashion, on a near no-hitter and an this one an offensive explosion. And the string of wacky, weird, and rare plays continues to swirl around this team like a cosmic cloud of championship karma.

'Cause when J.D. Drew is matching his uniform number in RBIs, there's a whole lot of freaky shit going down.

NOTES:

• A few eye-popping numbers to put Drew's night into perspective: he tied his season total for homers, and hit his first longball since April 22nd against New York; he had almost as many ribbies tonight as he had in the entire month of May (9-6); and he had as many hits tonight as in his last 20 at bats, spanning seven games. Oh, and it was his first three-hit game since April 20th and only his second of the season.
• Boston rapped 12 hits including two doubles and three homers.
• Manny's solid night (2-3, 2R RBI) pushed his average to a season high .293 and he now has 33 ribbies, one less than Lugo
• Speaking of Lugo (1-4, 2R, RBI, BB), it was his second leadoff homer of the season and seventh of his career. Still, he's batting just .217!
• Papi played first while Youk sat this one out, and he handled himself adequately, as usual, plus he hasd two hits and scored a run; he's now up to a sizzling .337
• Beckett's streak is the 5th best in Sox history, but he's got a ways to go to catch Roger's record of 14 wins without a loss
• Arizona's Eric Byrnes extended his hitting streak to 14 games with an RBI single in the third
• Red Sox Nation was in full effect in Boston's first trip to the desert; it seemed like about half the 28,000+ appeared to be cheering for the Sox, sorta like a Rays game

QUOTES:

"I think there's always going to be that sibling rivalry going on. He does well, I want to do better. "--Drew about Stephen; ah, good luck matching this performance, lil bro!

"I'm on a great team. I can't take all the credit for being 9-0. These guys have done an unbelievable job behind me."--Beckett, taking the championship line that it's all about the team

RECORD: 39-21
STREAK: W-2
LAST 10: 4-6
AL EAST: Up 10.5
UP NEXT: Sat @ ARI 9:30

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Series Preview: Sox @ Arizona Diamondbacks

Arizona Diamondbacks (36-25)
Chase Field, Phoenix
NL West: 1 GB
STRK: L-1 LST 10: 8-2
AVG: 254 (12th in NL) ERA: 3.58 (3rd)
HRs: 54 (8th)

KEY PLAYERS:

• Eric Byrnes (.319/9/32)--the free-spirited outfielder is known for being a goofball, but he happens to own a 14-game hitting streak, the 8th best average and the 2nd most hits in the NL, and he's in the Top 10 in most offensive categories. He's hot, and can knock in a big run or make a great catch at any given time
• Orlando Hudson (.290/6/34/31R)--the 'O Dog' has found a home in the desert after four season in Toronto. The slick second sacker has already made 8 errors this season after just 13 last year, but he's a respected vet who brings a lot to the table
• Stephen Drew (.238/2/23)--the younger brother of J.D. was supposed to be a major piece of the D-backs youth movement this season, but the shortstop phenom has gotten off to a slow start and has been a major disappointment so far; hmm, must run in the family
• Connor Jackson (.283/4/21)--the big young first baseman has been on a tear lately, ripping off a 15-40 (.375) streak in his last 10 games with 2 homers, a triple, seven doubles and 12 RBIs during the stretch, raising his average nealy 30 points

Probable Pitching Matchups:

GM1 Fri 9:30 Beckett (8-0, 2.95) vs. Davis (4-6, 3.05)
Josh Beckett will try for the second time to win his 9th decision without a loss to start the season when he faces Arizona lefty Doug Davis.

Beckett pitched well in his first start since coming off the DL, allowing 4 runs and 8 hits in 6 1/3 against New York on the 3rd, The A-Rod game, but got no decision. Davis, meanwhile, has had three quality starts in a row, allowing just 4 earned runs in 22.2 innings, lowering his ERA 66 points and posting a 2-1 record.

Coming off of Schill's masterpiece yesterday, Beckett will be amped up to follow suit and Davis, who allows righties to hit nearly .300 off him with 15 doubles and 20 ribbies (hello, Manny), should come back to earth as the Sox get hot again.
MY PICK: Sox

GM2 Sat 9:30 Tavarez (3-4, 5.33) vs. Owings (4-1, 3.86)
Julian has pitched well recently, save for an inning or two here & there, but may be making his last start if Jon Lester is ready to return the rotation next week as expected. Therefore Julie could be even more determined than ever to pitch the game of his life.

Owings is a fascinating case. The rookie righty starred at two schools (Ga. Tech & Tulane), played two positions (first base & pitcher) and was drafted three times before landing with Arizona in 2005.

The D-Backs kept him as a starter, and he made his ML debut in April; he has gone on to make eight starts, and after starting out strong, he had a rough patch in the middle where he allowed 13 earned runs in 17.1 innings, but since then he has given up just 2 ERs in 14 innings while striking out 11, winning both games.

Tough one to call, with the wily vet fighting for his spot in the rotation and a rookie phenom looking to add to an already impressive early resume. Plus he can hit.
MY PICK: D-Backs

GM3 Sun 3:30 Matsuzaka (7-4, 4.63) vs. R. Johnson (3-2, 3.78)
The most intriguing game, pitching-wise, of the series will pit the crafty, rising star Dice-K against the fading fireballing hero, Big Unit.

A total contrast in styles, appearance and demeanor, this game will be like a microcosm of two opposite ends of the athletic spectrum. While Matsuzaka is doughy, baby-faced, humble, and ever polite, Johnson is a long & lanky barking bad-haired badass who looks like the Big Bad Wolf compared to Dice's Little Red Riding Hood.

Johnson began his second go-round with the D-Backs on the DL but has recovered to make eight starts, winning his last three decisions after starting 0-2. In his last 4 starts he has allowed just 4 earned runs in 23.2 innings, giving up just 16 hits and 2 walks while fanning 33. Gulp.

Dice will be trying to bounce back from a 2-game losing, and although he pitched well in a loss to Oakland Tuesday, he's going to have to put a lot of zeroes on the board in order to beat a determined Unit.
MY PICK: D-Backs

PREVIEW:
Good thing the Sox won that streak-breaking game yesterday, because right now the desert is no place to bring a dying animal.

That's because the Diamondbacks are playing like jackals, feasting on the rest of the NL to the tune of a 14-4 stretch that has allowed them to be nipping at the heels of division leader San Diego.

And it's no secret as to how they've done it: pitching. Much like the team the Sox just faced, Oakland, the D-Backs are one of the best staffs in the majors, and they have a multitude of hurlers who can shut a lineup down.

In fact there are currently only two regular pitchers with an ERA over 4.00 on the staff, while an incredible five pitchers have marks under 3.00. In this day and age that is downright phenomenal, and at this stage of the Sox season, it's exactly what they don't need to see.

The other factor working against Boston will be the interleague rules, meaning Papi will have to play first base and either Youk or Lowell will have to sit out. With all three batters swinging hot sticks, the loss of any of them will be a major blow to an already sputtering offense.

In the Sox favor they will miss Cy Young winner Brandon Webb and Livan Hernandez, so they got that going for them.

Solid pitching matchups, the Drew brothers facing off for the first time as pros, Schill returning to his old haunt, and the thrill of playing in a foreign park will add excitement to this series, and with the Sox headed home after Sunday's contest, what better way to end a tough road trip than with a series win.

Go Sox!

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That's what I'm talking about: Schill 1-hits A's

Sox 1, Oakland 0
WP: Schilling (6-2)

LP: Blanton (5-4)

HRs: Papi (11)

Damn you Shannon Stewart, damn you!

SUMMARY:
The ace went a step better than shutting the A's out-he was one out and one pitch away from tossing the first no-hitter of his career before Shannon Stewart singled with two outs in the 9th.

A first-inning homer by David Ortiz was the only offense of the game, and the only run needed for Schill to help the Sox halt a four game slide.


HERO: Schilling (duh!) 9IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 4Ks
This is why the guy is money-when the chips are down and there is a game that his team absolutely needs to win, Schill buckles down and takes his game up a notch like only the best pitchers in the history of the game can do.

GOAT: Shannon Stewart 1-4, 1B
I always liked him when he was with the Jays; suddenly, I despise him.

RECAP:
The day started out well for Boston, and it ended even better.

In the first inning word came down from the luxury box housing bench coach Brad Mills' son Beau that the younger Mills had been selected with the 13th pick in the MLB draft by the Cleveland Indians.

Moments later, David Ortiz drove the 7th pitch from A's starter Joe Blanton deep into the stands in right center for a monumental home run, and I'm not just referring to the distance the moon shot travelled.

Because as it turned out, Papi's 11th homer of the season and second in four days was the only run either team would score in what turned out to be the best, most intense and well-pitched game for the Sox so far this season.

Everyone & their brother knew Schill had to and would want to come up big today as the Sox had dropped six of the last seven games overall and seven straight at McAfee Coliseum.

Ironically, the site was the location of another historic moment for Schilling, as he achieved his 3000th career strikeout at the venue last season when he fanned Nick Swisher.

But despite the obvious need to have a quality outing and the Sox desperate desire to get a win any way possible, nobody could have predicted the way this one would unfold, especially with Schilling pitching so erratically over his last four-five starts.

After the home run both pitchers settled into a nice groove; Blanton retired 15 of the next 17 Sox hitters before J.D. Drew led off the seventh with a single, while Schilling was setting the A's down in a variety of ways through the first four innings, including three line outs, three ground outs, three strikeouts and three fly outs.

Talk about distribution.

In the fifth inning Schill lost his bid for a perfect game when Julio Lugo bobbled a routine ground ball by Dan Johnson, so it was time to concentrate on the no-no. Which Curt did.

We all know the prerequisites for a no hitter: a terrific defense play (or two), a favorable strike zone, and a lot of luck.

Coco Crisp provided the first item in the sixth inning with yet another spectacular running catch with his back to home plate in straightaway center field. Mark Kotsay drove the first pitch of the inning from Schilling to one of the deepest parts of the cavernous ballpark, and Coco got on his horse and kept an eye on it the whole way over his shoulder.

Right before the moment of impact with the wall, the ball came over his shoulder and nestled softly into his glove; Coco pulled on the brakes and glanced off the barrier with nary a scratch, ball in glove and jaws on the floor throughout the stadium.

The miraculous thing was it was the second such catch he's made in the series!

Coming on the heels of that morale-booster the Sox put a mini-rally together in the 7th against Blanton (7IP, 4H, 1ER, 3BB, 2K), only to be thwarted again, although at least it wasn't a double play that led to the downfall.

Following Drew's leadoff base hit Varitek laced a single to center with one out to set up a 1st & 3rd situation with one out. Unfortunately Cora fouled out to the parking-lot sized area near third base and Coco tapped out to Blanton, and the game would stay a 1-run affair.

Boston again flirted with putting an insurance run on the board when it got two men on in the 8th, but a freaky play prevented any damage from being done. Youk had led off with a walk, and when Papi saw the gaping hole on the left side of the infield, he decided to push a bunt that way.

He did get the bunt down, but it went just a few feet in front of the plate (power hitters!), so catcher Jason Kendall pounced on it and threw to second, where Youkilis should have been nailed easily. But Chavez missed the bag and the tag, and when Youk saw the unoccupied third base he decided to test his legs again and broke for the base.

Long story short Marco Scutaro read what Youk was thinking and shadowed him along the infield until he received the ball from Chavez and easily applied the tag to nail Youk about 10 feet before he reached his goal.

The team can laugh play off now, but in the bottom of there was no time for laughter or talking. Schill was three outs away from his first nno-hitter, and he knew what he had to do to get it.

Kotsay grounded out to Lugo on the fourth pitch from Schill. Then Kendall followed suit after just three pitches, and we were one out away from history.

Then Shannon Stewart stepped in, and the fairy tale ending was squashed like a love bug on a semi's grill. Schilling got the sign from Tek, but shook off the first suggestion; instead he went with his instincts and his fastball, and Stewart laced the first pitch past the outstretched glove of Cora and into right field for a clean single.

The no-no gone, the big fella still had a game to win )thanks to another anemic performance from the Sox offense), and he quickly got Mark Cycle Ellis to foul out to Cora to end the game and the miserable losing streak.

So the no-no was no-not to be, but like Schill said after the game, the win was the most important thing today, for him and the Sox, and if that's all he needed, well then mission accomplished.

Turns out that almost witnessing history was a mere bonus.

Thanks, Curt.


QUOTES:

"You never want to get no-hit. The bottom line is we lost the game. Nobody is happy about that."--the classy Stewart, taking the proper perspective


"We get two outs, and I was sure, and I had a plan, and I shook Tek off. And I get a big 'What if?' for the rest of my life."--Schill, lamenting what might have been after the game


RECORD: 38-21

STREAK: W-1

LAST 10: 5-5

AL EAST: Up 10

UP NEXT: Fri @ ARI 9P

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Game Preview: Sox @ Oakland GM4

Schilling (5-2, 3.91) vs. Blanton (5-3, 3.81)
3:30P Oakland Coliseum

Not much needs to be said about this game except the Sox need a win.

And what hurler has been the one the Sox can turn to when they've needed a win over the past 3+ years?

That's right, the bloody socked blogger himself, Mr. Curtis Montague Schilling.

Today's matchup features two pitchers with very similar stats, but one thing separates the two besides the 14-year age difference between Schill & Blanton- Schilling is a money pitcher who takes his game up a notch when his team is in need of a win.

I don't have to catalogue all the times he has done this in his career, and I don't want to.

All I (we) want is for Curt to go out and shut down the A's and bring this losing skid to a halt, and he might just have to shut them out in order to do it, the way the offense has been operating out on the Left Coast.

C'mon Curt, we know you've won bigger games than this in your career, but no one cares about that now. The Nation needs a win and needs it badly, and we're counting on you to get if for us.

And if you can just tell the batters to avoid the double plays, that'd be great, too.

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Tito's Tirade: A retrospective

During these tough times we must search for the small things in life to bring us pleasure.

That's why even as our Sox stumble through its worst streatch of the season, we as a Nation can find joy in some of the simplest things that take place on the field: another brilliant catch by Coco Crisp; Kevin Youkilis popping blood vessels while chugging around the bases for a triple; or our mild-mannered manager going all Tom Sizemore on an unsuspecting umpire.

Last night Tito provided miles & miles of smiles for weary Sox fans with his 8th inning meltdown on home plate umpire Dan Iassogna.

Francona was miffed about a few perceived blown calls on the night by Dandy Dan, including a check swing strike three that nearly caused Big Papi to bump Iassogna in the sixth inning, but the waist high breaker that he called for a third strike on Dustin Pedroia sent Tito into full-blown Piniella mode.

Luckily I grabbed some screen shots to capture the merry moment. They are in chronological order, and I apologize for the quality- I was not able to watch the game in HD (friggin Extra Innings!)

Tito came out spitting mad from the start...

But after a mild introduction...

...the gum was tossed...

...and Tito got ramped up to the point where...

...he tried to swallow Iassogna whole.

He then muttered something like "FINE" under his breath..

...noted the fact that Iassogna's mom is a horticulturalist

... and then the two kissed and made up!

From the bottom of the Nation's heart, Tito, we just want to say thanks.

Thanks for providing some entertainment during this seriously un-entertaining time. Thanks for attempting to light a fire under this sparkless team.

And most of all thanks for knowing how to argue like a true baseball man, not a glorified rodeo clown like Piniella.

Keep up the good work, Tito.I hope your tirade translates into a win today.

Go Sox!

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Losing streak reaches four with another lackluster effort

Oakland 3, Sox 2
WP: Kennedy (2-4)
LP: Wakefield (5-7)
SV: Casilla (1)
HRs: None

SUMMARY:
And the beat goes on.

For the second straight game Boston fell victim to a mediocre pitcher who got hot at just the right time and was hampered offensively by another rash of rally-killing double plays, sending the Sox to its fourth straight defeat and sixth in the last seventh games.

At least the game was over before 1:00 am.

HERO: Joe Kennedy 7IP, 7H, 2ER, 2BB, 7K
Joe freakin Kennedy very nearly threw a shutout against Boston. I still can't believe it.

GOAT(s): 9-1-2 hitters 0-11
The guys who need to get on base in order to be driven in-Coco, Lugo, and Pedroia, went a combined 0-11 with no runs, no walks and one K.

Not gonna get it done.

RECAP:
I got good news and bad news regarding tonight's loss.

The good news: the game was played in an NL-like 2 hours and 25 minutes.

The bad news was the rest of the game, as the Sox continued to make a loud statement to the rest of the league that says 'YES, WE ARE IN A FRIGGING SLUMP, SO IF ANY TEAM IS GONNA MAKE A RACE OF THIS THING IN THE EAST, YOU'D BETTER TAKE YOUR SHOT NOW!'

You know things are going bad for your team when the manager getting tossed and arguing with an umpire is the highlight of the game.

Well, unless you're the Cubs, where that actually is the only highlight for their fans on any given night.

But the mocking tone of that sentence starter, 'you know things are going bad when', felt like a perfect way to mix up my misery-wallowing posts and to describe how tonight's game unfolded/ how bad things have been for the Sox this last week.

So without further adieu, here are the

TOP 10 WAYS YOU KNOW THINGS ARE GOING BAD FOR THE SOX:

10.) The manager getting ejected is the highlight of the game
When home plate umpire Dan Iassogna called Dustin Pedroia out on strikes on a high breaking ball with one out in the 8th, Tito's exasperation & frustration with the losing streak and a few other missed calls caused him to have an epic meltdown.

It wasn't Piniella-esque, no child-like dirt kicking or base-throwing antics, just an up close & personal, profanity filled tirade that you can bet will be all over YouTube tomorrow.

It was a great way for a manager to try and fire up his moribund team.

9.) Batters have more double plays than hits and/or runs
Last night it was both (5 DPs, 3hits, 0runs), tonight it was the latter (3 DPs, 2 runs). Boston once again had quite a few opportunities to get runs home and put some pressure on the opponent, but soul-crushing double plays killed three such chances.

8.) Big-league scrubs turn into Cy Young candidates
First Lenny DiNardo, now Joe Kennedy. Tampa Bay let Joe Blow go the year after he was named their opening day starter in 2003; he lost that game to (ironically) Boston, then went on to post a 3-12 record with a 6.13 ERA for the season and was shipped to Colorado that winter.

His career record is 40-56 with an ERA of 4.68, and he's 1-2 with a 4.59 against the Sox.

And tonight he was two bad pitches from shutting them out for seven innings. Kooky, huh?

7.) The starting pitcher pitches well but still loses
The Sox have hit the trifecta on this one in Oaktown, as first Tavarez, then Dice-K and now Wakefield (6.2IP, 7H, 3ER, 2BB, 8Ks) have all pitched well enough to win but were done in by the sputtering offense.

Wake handed in his best outing in a month but one bad inning- he allowed two doubles, a single and a walk and all three runs in the fourth- cost him a shot at the win.

6.) Freaky plays don't go their way
One of those doubles in the fourth was by suddenly scorching Eric Chavez, who lined a shot off the first base bag that skipped over Youk's head and into right field for an unconventional two-bagger.

5.) Slumping players suddenly get hot
As I mentioned, Chavez was batting .230 coming into the series but has raised his average 12 points on 5-13 hitting; Jack Cust was in a staggering 3-30 slump, but is 3-7 in two games with a run and a big RBI tonight; Bobby Crosby had two ribbies in his last 16 games-until he notched two tonight

4.) An opposing pitcher gets his first career win and save against you in one series
Meet Santiago Casilla-the newest Sox killer

3.) The team must resort to celebrating merely scoring a run
When the Sox finally got on the board in the 7th inning tonight, thanks to a double by Manny followed by triple by Youk, it marked the first time a Boston player had crossed home plate in 17 innings.

The mighty mighty BoSox are averaging 2 RPG in this series so far.

2.) They cannot beat a certain opponent, especially in their yard
With the loss Boston has now dropped seven straight games at a football stadium named after an anti-virus software company and 8 of 9 to the A's overall.

More irony, please: the last time Boston lost at least this many in a row was last August when it dropped six straight, the last three coming in Oakland.

1.) A team that runs like Maurice Clarett swipes bags off you like Rickey Henderson
Oakland was second to last in the league in steals yet somehow managed to nail four thefts against Wake & 'Belli, tying the most it has had in a game since a game in 2001 against...

...you guessed it, the Sox.

I got nothing left.

Right now it looks like the Sox don't either.

But they'd better get it figured out quick, because there's a day game tomorrow before the first trip to an NL park this weekend in Arizona.

NOTES:

• Of Boston's eight hits, Manny (2), Youk (2) and Mirabelli (2) had six of them; Papi & Wily Mo had the others
• In a turnaround from the other night, J.D. Drew, who didn't start for the second straight game, came in to pinch hit for Pena and drew a walk in the 9th
• Coco made another spectacular catch, robbing Shannon Stewart of extra bases with a Willie Mays over-the-shoulder special in the 8th
• Kennedy walked two of the first four batters, then didn't allow another one all night
• Leadoff liability Lugo turned in another 0-4 effort and is now batting .221

QUOTES:

"We're playing well but it's just not here. We don't have the intensity we had."--Papi

"Things aren't going our way. That's the kind of stuff that happens."--Youk on the base bounce double

"You're a fucking piece of fucking shit and I hope you fucking rot in hell you blind, clueless piece of dog feces..."--Tito to Iassogna (reproduced via lip reading)

RECORD: 37-21

STREAK: L-4

LST 10: 4-6

AL EAST: Up 9

UP NEXT: Thu @ OAK 3:30

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Game preview: Sox @ Oakland Game 3

Wakefield (5-6, 4.38) vs. Kennedy (1-4, 3.11)
Oakland Coliseum 10PM

The weight of the Nation is on the shoulders of ageless knuckleballer Tim Wakefield as it is up to him to end this three game mini-slump that the Sox are in, as well as break a 1-4 skid of his own.

It certainly won't hurt Wakefield that he is not facing the Stankees tonight, which have become his own personal kryptonite as of late, but the lack of run support that he normally gets combined with the lack of runs the Sox have been scoring out West could be a bad omen for Boston.

In his last four starts, Wake has allowed an alarming 23 earned runs in 22.3 innings (8.75) with 28 hits and 13 walks allowed. Yikes!

Therefore this is a critical start for him and the Sox. A three game losing streak is bad enough, but if you don't stop the bleeding in time, next thing you know the large division lead is gone, and those games against New York in late August might actually mean something.

And we don't want that, now do we?

Opposing Wakefield is the ever-mediocre Joe Kennedy; there's only one phrase needed to describe the 28-year-old lefty: Former. Devil Ray. Castoff.

'Nuff said.

Gotta beat these fuckers tonight, Wake.

The season is depending on it.
(okay, so I got a little melodramatic there, but these are harsh times)

GO Sox!

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It's official: Sox are in a slump

Oakland 2, Sox 0
WP: DiNardo (2-2)
LP: Matsuzaka (7-4)
SV: Embree (5)
HRs: OAK-Chavez (9)

SUMMARY:
A leadoff homer in the 3rd inning by last night's hero Eric Chavez was all the offense Oakland would need as former Sox hurler Lenny DiNardo shut down the Boston offense, and when the Sox did get baserunners, the A's turned five double plays to nullify any threats.

Just for good measure, ex-Sox Alan Embree got the save. Nice.

Boston has now lost three in a row and 5 of 6, an official "slump".

HERO: Lenny DiNardo 6IP, 2H, 0R, 6BBs, 0K
Um, like, I was just KIDDING when I wrote earlier that Lenny was going to throw a two-hitter against the Sox.

Seriously, that's just too freaky!

GOAT: The Red Sox brass...
...for letting this kid get away in the off-season!

RECAP:
Another late night, another shitty result for the Sox as Lenny freaking DiNardo bitchslapped the boys all the way to their season-high third straight loss.

All I know is I'm too tired, too pissed off, and too freaked out about predicting that outcome earlier that I need to go to bed, and maybe tomorrow (today?!) I'll have a clearer picture of how the fuck something like this could happen.

Okay, I'm back. In the light of day, the situation with the team looks bleaker than it did when the game ended a few short hours ago, because looking at them now the numbers for the Sox are absolutely grisly: 3 hits (all singles), five double plays hit into, seven walks taken, no runs scored.

From what I remember, or will allow myself to remember, things started poorly for the Sox in Game 2 and got progressively worse. In the top of the first, Boston loaded the bases, for seemingly the 647th time in the last month, on a leadoff single by Lugo and the first two of DiNardo's half dozen walks. But Mike Lowell flied out to end the inning, and once again the stumbling Sox could not push a run home despite the favorable scoring conditions.

By the second inning Boston's sudden outbreak of double play fever struck when Coco grounded into the first of five after Tek had walked to leadoff. By the end of the night Boston would find creative ways to throw a GIDP in the scorecard, and even fell in love with them enough to turn a nifty 2-6 strike-em-out-throw-em-out number themselves.

Meanwhile Daisuke Matsuzaka (7IP, 7H, 2ER, 2BB, 8K) was doing his best to give the team a chance to win.

Coming off back-to-back unimpressive outings, Matsuzaka was using most of his pitches effectively, and through five innings he really only made two bad ones: an 0-2 fastball that Eric Chavez crushed to the opposite field for a leadoff homer in the fourth, and a 3-2 slider that Nick Swisher (2-3, RBI) drove to the gap for an RBI double in the fifth.

Other than that he was in control (ask Mark Kotsay, who fanned three times against the Diceman in his first time facing him) and kept his team in the game. All he had to do was wait for Boston to capitalize on one of its numerous scoring opportunities, and this game would either be tied or won in no time.

Unfortunately that time never came, because every time DiNardo would dole out a base-on-balls (frequently) or the Sox would get a hit (infrequently), a double play or conventional out would snuff the threat immediately.

The best opportunity to mount that comeback came in the sixth, DiNardo's last inning. Boston loaded the bases (#648) on two walks and a single by Papi, but the formerly flammable Kevin Youkilis hit a broken bat chopper to third; instantly Chavez snagged the grounder, stepped on the bag, then fired across the diamond to complete the whipsaw DP and effectively end the game.

By the time Papi hit a soft liner that was caught and Pedroia, who hit the deck between first and second to avoid flying bat shards, was easily, comically doubled off first in the eighth, it was time call it a night and set the snooze button. It didn't even matter than another ex-Bosox, Alan Embree, slammed the door shut with a 1-2-3 ninth.

And so here we are, with our team in its first official slump of the season, and the division lead is down to an almost microscopic nine games now (I know, boo freakin hoo-shut up Stankee fans!)

Yep, the clouds are a little grayer in the Nation this morning.

I don't want to know what we'll do if it really starts raining.

NOTES:

• Other than Papi & Lugo, Mike Lowell was the only other Sox to register a hit, meaning...
• ... Pedroia's 14-game hit streak came to an abrupt halt with a depressing 0-1 (UGH!). But the ever-unselfish Pedroia did reach base twice, on a walk and HBP, and also gave himself up with a sac bunt in the first; can you say 'team player'?
• Wily Mo played right in place of J. D. Drew also went 0-2 with 2 walks
• After notching just five homers thru May 13th, Chavez has hit four in the last eight days, including on back-to-back nights against the Sox; he's also gone 7-18 in his five June games
• Following a six-decision winning streak, Matsuzaka has now dropped two in a row
• Javier Lopez relieved Dice for the 8th and although he loaded the bases with one out he did not allow a run
• Four relievers combined with DiNardo for the 3-hitter

QUOTES:

"I got away with some stuff." -- DiNardo, slyly understating things

"I tried not to look at who they were, because I went to battle with those guys for three years. If you look at their faces, that's not going to help. I just tried to look at their blue hats and their jerseys."--DiNardo (how can you not like this guy?)

"The Red Sox are not a team that loses a lot of games in a row, so I definitely had a sense of urgency to stop the skid. ... If the team had won, I could say I did my fair share. But with the home run, which I think was preventable, and the second run, I'm disappointed."--Matsuzaka; don't fret, Diceman, this one wasn't your fault

RECORD: 37-20

STRK: L-3 :(

LST 10: 5-5

AL EAST: Up 9 on TOR

UP NEXT: Wed @ OAK, 10P

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Game Preview: Sox @ Oakland GM2

Matsuzaka (7-3, 4.83) vs. DiNardo (1-2, 1.80)
10P EST Oakland Coliseum

Don't look now, but our streaking Sox are suddenly in a little bit of a s...okay, I'm not gonna say it, 'cause I don't want to be the one blamed for it...

... but SOME people might say our boys are in a little sl...

Let's put it this way, Boston has lost two in a row for the second time in less than a week and dropped 4 of its last 5 games, and if they were to lose tonight it would mark the first time all season they dropped three in a row.

You see what I'm getting at?

The man charged with saving this slu...from occurring is Daisuke Matsuzaka. Dice has so far avoided any kind of losing streak himself, but at times he has been more erratic than Lindsay Lohan on crystal meth.

Matsuzaka had been costing along with a 6-game winning streak thanks to 8 runs/game of support and his eight different pitches, but the past two outings he has had one very bad inning come up and bite him in the ass.

On May 25th a five-run fifth nearly cost him the win at Texas, and last week against the Indians, a four-run sixth did cost him a win against the Tribe.

More disturbing than the 'one bad inning' issue is the startling numbers of hits and runs the control freak has allowed; in his past three outings, the Diceman has allowed 28 hits and 14 runs in 18 2/3 innings for an eye-popping 6.75 ERA.

Needless to say he's going to have to do better than that for all the time, money and P.R. the Sox have invested in him.

And with Lenny DiNardo, the young former Boston reliever turned Oakland starter, opposing him tonight and making just his 8th career start, now would be as good a time as any to get things turned around.

Because we wouldn't want this thing to turn into some kind of a slum...

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Sox Notes: Did that just really happen?

Kyle Snyder walks off the mound after helping the Sox complete a depressing bi-coastal double-dip

I think I may be suffering from some rare form of baseball malaria, or possibly I'm just overwhelmed by the sheer volume of complex, come-from-behind baseball I have observed over the past four days, because I keep having scary thought slices of the Sox losing two consecutive games on opposite coasts within 24 hours of each other on walk-off solo homers by the other team.

Couldn't have really happened, could it?

Just like light-hitting Oakland second baseman Mark Ellis, he of the career .269 average, 16 triples and 43 homers in his 4+ major league seasons, couldn't possibly have notched the sixth cycle in the long & storied history of the A's franchise, and achieved the rare feat on a bloop single in extra innings.

Not possible, right?

And our beloved BoSox, proud owners of the best record and largest division lead in all of MLB, couldn't have just dropped 4 of 5 games, which would qualify this stretch as the team's worst losing run of this so far glorious season, right?

Right?!

Somebody please slap me and/or tell me this is like a hokey, mythology-based serialized drama or something, and the real Sox have actually been captured by others who have taken possession of their uniforms and started playing like, like...the Stankees!

Say it ain't so!

Please, just let this all be a bad dream, and let Dice-K return us to normalcy tonight.

Because if something really fucked up happens, like lovable Lenny DiNardo beats his former mates with a 2-hitter, I'm going to jump into a hatch and disappear forever.

***CORRECTION: Ellis' cycle was not the 6th in A's history, it was the 6th in Oakland A's history; I kinda forgot about all those years they played in Philly & Kansas City--J Rose***

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Not again! Sox lose another heartbreaker

Oakland 5, Sox 4 (11)
WP: Casilla (1-0)
LP: Snyder (1-1)
HRs: BOS-Papi (10), Pena (4); OAK- Chavez (8), Ellis (4)

SUMMARY:
After tying the game in the 9th off old friend Alan Embree, Boston couldn't hang on and pull out a win as Kyle Snyder allowed a homerun to Eric Chavez with two outs in the bottom of the 11th to send the Sox to another heartbreaking defeat.

HERO: (a game like this, there's gotta be more than one)

1. Chavez-- hit a homer to win the game, you're a hero
2. Dan Haren-- the A's starter threw a gem and should have had a win until his pen blew it
3. Mark Ellis-- Oakland's second sacker hit for 6th cycle in A's history
4. Wily Mo Pena-- his homer brought the Sox back from the dead, and his single tied the game in the bottom of the 9th

GOAT: (ditto)

1. Kyle Snyder--allow a homer to lose the game, you're a goat
2. Joel Pineiro--gave up the A's fourth run in the 8th; if he didn't, it might never have come down to the 11th
3. Nick Swisher--the A's best hitter went 0-6 with 3 Ks-ugh!
4. Tito Francona--why was Pineiro allowed to come back out for the 9th? He almost blew the game right there
5. Alan Embree--the former Sox reliever allowed 4 hits and 2 runs in 1 1/3 and almost blew this win for the A's

RECAP:
I thought they left these games behind them on the East coast?

After playing a topsy-turvy game last night against the Stanks that lasted four hours, had a terrible outcome and produced enough indigestion to fell Hogzilla, the Sox flew 3000 miles overnight and played in another agita-inducing four-hour marathon that ended at 1:36 EST and had just as disappointing result.

For the second consecutive night (actually, both games ended within 25 hours of each other) the Sox hurlers wasted a spectacular comeback by the offense and lost the game on a solo home run by the opponent in its final at bat.

That hurts.

Last night it was A-Rod who sunk the Sox with a game-winner off Papelbon in the 9th; tonight it was slumping Eric Chavez who launched a scud over the rightfield wall at Whatever Theyr'e Calling It Now Stadium in Oakland, sending the A's fans in the crowd home happy and the Sox back to the hotel for some much-needed sleep.

Just like I said after last night's game, I don't have the ability or the desire to describe everything that just happened on the field, so I'm gonna keep it short and, well, short.

The game was pretty cut & dried for about 8 innings- Dan Haren pitched a gem, taking a 4-2 lead into the 8th and setting down 17 straight Sox at one point, while Mark Ellis (4-5, R, 3RBI) provided all the offense with a two-run triple and solo homer- and all Oakland had to do was retire the Sox in the 9th to earn the much-deserved win.

But before you can say 'where are they now?', former Sox bullpen battlehorse Alan Embree gave up a leadoff double to Papi (3-4, HR, 2-2Bs, 2R, RBI) to lead off the 9th, and a pich hit RBI single by Captain Tek to get the Sox withing one, and a deep single to right center by Wily Mo that scored pinch runner Coco Crisp easily from first, and the game was suddenly, miraculously, tied at four.

After Joel Pineiro & J.C. Romero worked their way into-and then out of-a bases loaded, no out jam in the bottom of the 9th, the game was headed to extra innings, and most of the team had to be cursing Bud Selig's dreadful amphetamine ban.

Ah, nothing like extra innings on a West Coast game!

Dustin Pedroia, who batted leadoff in this game, led off the 10th with a single, his only hit of the night, extending his streak to 14 games. But we found out what Youk claimed last week-Pedroia can't run for shit, because when Papi blasted a pitch from Embree all the way to the wall, almost any other player except the catchers would have scored on the blast.

Pedroia, however, was dead meat at the plate.

Riding that adrenaline rush, Ellis dumped a single to shallow center with one out in the 10th to achieve the rare cycle, but the A's couldn't bring him around to score as Snyder came in to retire Shannon Stewart and Travis Buck to end a 2-on, 1-out threat.

Snyder wouldn't be so fortunate in the 11th.

Nick Swisher and Dan Johnson were easily retired to start the inning, but then up stepped Eric Chavez. The proud vet is in the midst of one of his worst seasons as a pro, yet as I stupidly said in my preview post, no matter what he's batting he is still always a dangerous hitter.

As if to prove my point, Chavvy took the third offering from Snyder and deposited it over the wall in right for the walk-off win, and a group of tired and demoralized Sox staggered off the field in search of warm beds and hot pitching.

Maybe tomorrow with Dice-K on the mound.

As long as he stays away from the sushi at Fisherman's Wharf.

NOTES:

• Papi's homer in the first inning was his first longball in 20 games, a span of 64 ABs, the longest drought of his Red Sox career; his three hits raised his average to a season-high .333
• Pedroia, who needed extra frames to extend his hitting streak, is from nearby Woodland, Ca. and will have a number of family & friends on hand for each game of the series (god knows there's room in the stands)
• Santiago Casilla, a 26-year old righty and 3-year vet, picked up his first major league win
• The blown save was Embree's first in exactly two years, when he was with Boston
• J.D. Drew returned from a mini-layoff to rest his hammy and singled in his first at bat; he wound up 1-3 with 2 Ks and was lifted for pinch hitter Tek in the 9th
• For the fifth time this year Tavarez, the Sox 5th starter, had to face the opponent's ace, and although he pitched decently again-5.1IP, 9H, 3ER, 2BB, 3K, HR-Haren was just better
• With the late game last night, early arrival and long flight, Tito rested Coco, Lugo, Lowell and Tek to start the game, but by the end of the night every Sox position player had seen playing time in some form or another

QUOTES:

"Maybe Eric Chavez will find a pitch to his
liking and send us home."

"Are you calling it?"

"I'm hopefully calling it."

--A's announcer Ray Fosse to partner Duane Kuiper immediately before Chavez' game winner

RECORD: 37-19
STRK: L-2
LST 10: 6-4
AL EAST: Up 10
UP NEXT: Tue @ OAK 10P EST

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Series Preview: Sox @ Oakland

Oakland A's (28-27)
AL WEST: 6.5 GB
STRK: W-2 LST 10: 6-4
AVG: .252 (11th)ERA: 3.34 (1)
HRs: 52 (9th)

Probable Pitching Matchups:
GM1 MON 10P: Tavarez (3-4, 5.40) vs. Haren (6-2, 1.64)
The A's ace will square off against the Sox fifth starter. Although Julie has pitched well in spots, Haren & the A's will have the decided advantage on the mound in this one, and the Sox' late arrival on the West Coast also plays into Oakland's favor.
MY PICK: A's

GM2 Tue 10P: Matsuzaka (7-3, 4.83) vs. DiNardo (1-2, 1.80)
Will the real Dice-K please stand up? Will we see the man who lit the league on fire with 24 strikeouts in his first 3 starts and ripped off a 6-game win streak, or will we see the Diceman who sometimes pukes before games, and then makes RSN puke after them? Ex-Sox DiNardo makes his 9th career start.
MY PICK: Sox

GM3 Wed 10P: Wakefield (5-6, 4.24) vs. Kennedy (1-4, 3.30)
At least it's not the Stankees, so maybe Wakefield stands a chance to win. I'm not sure if facing someone not wearing pinstripes will have an effect on Wake, but for his sake he'd better put on a good performance in this one.
MY PICK: Sox (?)

GM4 THU 3:30P: Schilling (5-2, 3.91) vs. Blanton (5-3, 3.81)
To say Schill has been shaky is putting it mildly, so a big time outing in the final game of this long series is a must for him as well as the team. Blanton's a good young pitcher, but he freaks when playing a quality opponent (1-6 vs. ANA, 0-2 vs. NYY), although he does own a 2-0 mark in 3 career starts against the Sox. No matter.
MY PICK: Sox

Season Series: Tied 1-1

KEY PLAYERS:

• Nick Swisher (.302/9.33)--the slugging first baseman leads the A's in average, homers, RBIs, OBP, SLG%, walks and total bases; other than that he's done nothing
• Eric Chavez (.233/7/26)--the Gold Glove third baseman has fallen off the peak of his game in recent years, but he can still hurt you with the bat and KILL you with the glove
• Jack Cust (.221/8/21)--after being acquired from the Padres on may 3rd, Cust turned into a folk hero in the Bay area. He smacked all 8 of his homers in his first 13 games with the A's, but his recent slump (3-30 in last 10 gms) combined with the return of Mark Kotsay could put Cust on the bench
• Dan Johnson (.295/5/22)--the burly DH got hot the last time he played the Sox, going 4-9 with 2 doubles, a homer and 3 ribbies in the two games at Fenway in early May. The homer came off Papelbon to tie the game in the 9th; needless to say, his confidence has been growing since

OLD SOX:

• Lenny DiNardo (1-2, 1.80)--the 3rd-year reliever was a rookie on the championship team, pitching in 22 games in middle relief; departed as a free agent after an injury-shortened 2006 season
• Alan Embree (4 svs, 3.00)-- a stalwart in the pen on the championship squad, the 13-year vet appeared in 71 games that year and amazingly his left arm is still intact

PREVIEW:
Two of the best pitching staffs and two of the most patient lineups in the American League will face each other when the Sox start a 4-game series in Oakland tonight.

The A's are ranked #1 in the AL in ERA and the Sox are a close 3rd (3.89), but Boston ranks 1st in the league in walks (236) with Oakland 10 behind them in second place, tied with Cleveland.

What that says is that both teams are disciplined at the plate ands solid on the mound, and is usually the case when these teams hook up, the games should be exciting and well-played.

The Sox could be suffering from jet-lag in Game 1 as they had to fly out to the Bay Area after last night's ESPN Sunday Night game against the Stanks; bad enough the game ended after midnight Eastern time, but the nature of the loss (9th inning homer by A-Rod off Papelbon) had to make that red-eye charter flight all the more uncomfortable.

The last time these two teams met Oakland took the first game of a brief 2-game set in Boston when, ironically, Papelbon allowed a 2-run homer to Travis Buck to tie the game in the 9th, and the A's won it in the 10th on when Dan Johnson doubled off Brendan Donnelly to score Mike Piazza. Huston Street then shut down the Sox in the 10 for the save.

A lot has changed since then, for both teams; the Sox have shot to the best record in the majors, possessors of a potent offense and a deep staff, while the A's have been afflicted with devastating injuries (Street & Piazza are both on the DL now) and ineffective play from guys like Chavez and shortstop Bobby Crosby (.242, 5 homers).

Thus the A's languish around .500 while the red-hot Angels are threatening to run away with the division.

But we all know that Oakland doesn't start to heat up until the second half of the season.

Hopefully they don't pick this series to start their annual summer streak to the playoffs.

Go Sox!

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