Series preview: Toronto @ Sox

Toronto Blue Jays (11-15, 3.5GB in AL East)
at Red Sox (15-12, t-1st in AL East)
3 game series @ Fenway Park

Game 1 Tuesday 705
Halladay (2-3, 3.73 ERA) vs. Lester (1-2, 5.40 ERA)
Game 2 Wednesday 705
McGowan (1-2, 4.18 ERA) vs. Matsuzaka (4-0, 3.14 ERA)
Game 3 Thursday 705
Burnett (2-2, 6.07 ERA) vs. Wakefield (2-0, 4.16 ERA)

What to watch for: Sox exact payback for early April sweep
Boston had just returned from a trip to Japan and the West Coast when they arrived in Toronto for a 3-game set against the Jays, and after the Sox were outscored 23-9 in the series, it's safe to say the travel and jet lag probably contributed to the losses.

Now Boston is coming off another 3-game broom job by the Rays, and that combined with the memories of the Jays sweep and the return of a couple of key players should be plenty of motivation to kick their rears into gear.

Who to watch for: Mike Lowell
The Boston third baseman returns to the lineup after missing the last 17 games with a sprained thumb.

In the 9 games he played this season, Lowell, the 2007 World Series MVP, hit just .200 (6-30) with no extra base hits or RBI, but there's no doubt that his veteran presence in the lineup and on the field make the Sox a much stronger team.

PREVIEW:
The time is now.

With team leader Mike Lowell coming off the DL and Big Papi returning to lineup after a two game absence, the time has come to shake off the stench of losing five straight games, including three that helped catapult the once lowly Rays into the stratosphere of the AL East, and start a winning streak that separates the men from the boys in the division.

As long as struggling starter Jon Lester can defeat former Cy Young winner Roy Halladay tonight, ailing Daisuke Matsuzaka can overcome his 11-day layoff, Lowell is recovered and not rusty from his time on the DL, and Ortiz' knee problem isn't one that is going to hamper his swing like it did last year, then they should be fine.

It might be early in the season but this is a critical time for the defending champs. The team has had a topsy-turvy first month, with the long road trip leading to up-and-down stretches of baseball, and illness and injury forcing Tito to juggle the lineup like Roidger Clemens juggles excuses.

But now the flu is gone and so are the excuses. Lowell returns tonight and so does Papi, Beckett proved he's healthy with his 13-strikeout performance Sunday in St Pete, and the team has more depth than most any other team in the league.

Not to mention the good fortune of having the struggling Jays come into Fenway.

Thankfully Toronto is off to a worse start than Boston, having gone 7-15 since sweeping the Sox, and the team appears to be falling apart right in front of our eyes.

They recently jettisoned disgruntled DH Frank Thomas, who was a key part of the Sox sweep; they just got key off season acquisition 3B Scott Rolen back after he spent the entire season on the DL; and the decision to bring back LF Shannon Stewart and let go of budding star Reed Johnson has backfired immensely.

The problem is team is supposed to be an offensive juggernaut, but they sit in the middle or bottom of the pack in the AL in runs scored (115, 10th), average (.258, 7th) and homers (19, 11th) and that lack of production hasn't been enough to offset the fact that they are 4th in the league in ERA (3.91).

But Boston has its own offensive woes to worry about. The team scored a paltry 5 runs in 3 games in the Rays series and after scoring at least 5 runs in 10 straight games, have not scored more than 5 in the last five contests.

Part of that has to do with Papi going down, part of it has to do with guys who were hot, like Youk (8-37, .216 last 10 gms) and JD Drew (6-34, .176, 3BI in last 10 gms) cooling considerably of late.

But like I said earlier, the time is now for the team to put aside the travel, illness and injury bullshit and play some freaking winning baseball.

They're home, they're playing a weak team, they've got their team at full strength, and they're out of excuses.

No time like the present to start a new streak.

Especially with those pesky Rays coming to town this weekend.