Bullpen woes continue as Sox fall to Jays again

Toronto 10, Sox 2
WP: Litsch (1-0)
LP: Buchholz (0-1)
SV: None
HRs: Tor-Thomas (1)

Superstar: Jesse Litsch 5IP, 5H, 2ER, 3BB, 2K
He wasn't spectacular, but the former D-Rays bat boy from down here in Pinellas County pitched well enough to earn the win.

The Biggest Loser(s): the Boston bullpen 3IP, 5H, 3BB, 0K, 6ER, HR
For the second straight game the supposed strong suit of the Boston pitching staff shit the bed like an old timer at Sunny Acres nursing home. While starter Clay Buchholz kept the damage to a minimum, the duo of Kyle Snyder and Bryan Corey dumped a can of butane on the game and tossed a match to it.

You know it's pretty bad when Julie Tavarez (2.1IP, 1H) is the lone bright spot.

RECAP:
Thankfully I didn't have the misfortune of catching this game today.

Stop me if you've heard this before. Because it was the same opening I used for my last game recap, and the sorry thing is it is just as appropriate today as it was yesterday.

I did miss the game today, thanks to the f-ing FOX blackout that trumps the Extra Innings package, and I am glad I did because it appeared, from trying to follow it on GameCast, to be the type of game that many expletives would have been flung around, possibly along with some small, tossable objects (like my clickers need any more tape on them.)

This loss was especially painful because unlike the night before Boston actually held a lead today, albeit a slim and short-lived one. But when Manny (1-3, BB, BI) doubled Papi in for a 1-0 lead in the first, and then Mayor Casey, making his first start of the season, singled in JD Drew for a 2-1 lead in the top of the 4th, it looked as if the offense was going to get on track and Clay Buchholz (5IP, 6H, 4R, 3ER, 2BB, 7K) was going to be able to put his horrible spring behind him and get the club back on the winning track.

In the words of coach Corso, not so fast my friends.

The high-fiving for Casey's first Red Sox ribbie barely subsided before the team would soon be lamenting his first Boston error, and it proved to be a costly one, too. In the bottom of the 4th Lyle Overbay (2-4, R, BI) singled with one out, Aaron Hill reached on a bunt single, and after Marco Scutaro walked to load the bases, 9th place hitter Ger Zahn hit a routine grounder to first that should have been an inning-ending double play.

Except the man who just set the consecutive game errorless streak for a first baseman, Kevin Youkilis, wasn't on the bag today, and his replacement, Casey, booted the ball for a 2-run, 2 base error that gave the Jays a 3-2 lead, and when David Eckstein (2-5, R, 3BI) followed with an RBI single it was just about over.

Not that a 2-run deficit would be impossible to overcome, but the Sox batters have been unable to muster any substantial offense against the Jays pitchers, and once again the bully was abysmal when called on to hold the game to a manageable deficit.

Kyle Snyder continued his rapid descent to being a has-been reliever when he gave up two walks, a sacrifice and a wild pitch to the three batters he faced, and Bryan Corey continues to make the Nation wonder why the fuck Theo ever picked him up last year when he immediately allowed RBI hits to Eckstein, Alex Rios, Vernon Wells and then a 2-run blast by Frank Thomas to cap a 6-run sixth inning and turn a close contest into a rout.

For his efforts this season Snyder (1.2IP, 2H, 2BB, 4ER, 21.60ERA) was shown the door after the game, given his outright release, but the question remains what to do about the hemorrhaging pitching staff. None of the starters have turned in a dominant performance so far this season, and not only has the bully not been a strength, but it has appeared to be more unstable than Britney Spears on crank.

What's that, the ace, savior and shoulda-been Cy Young winner Josh Beckett comes off the DL to start the nationally televised contest against the Jays' Roy Halladay tomorrow afternoon?

Well in that case, never mind.

Thankfully I will be able to catch that one.

RECORD: 3-2
AL EAST: 1 GB
UP NEXT: Sun @ TOR, 1:00EST, TBS HD

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Bullpen falters to blow JD Drew's game-tying homer vs. Jays

Toronto 6, Boston 3
WP: Marcum (1-0)
LP: Aardsma (0-1)
SV: Accardo (2)
HRs: Bos-Drew (1); Tor-Stairs (1)

Superstar: Shawn Marcum 7IP, 3H, 3ER, 1BB, 8K, HR
Toronto's talented young righty stifled the Boston batters on 1 hit and no runs through 6 innings; his only blemish was the 3-run bomb he surrendered to JD Drew in the top of the 7th, which tied the game and could have cost him the win if it weren't for a horrid outing by Boston's bully.

The Biggest Loser(s): Boston pitchers 8IP, 10H, 6ER, 4BB, 6K, HR
Tim Wakefield did alright in his first start of the season--until he surrendered 3 runs in the 6th, starting with a solo shot from fellow AARP member Matt 'Lumpy' Stairs; after Drew tied the score at 3, reclamation project David Aardsma walked the only batter he faced, Javier Lopez surrendered a single to the only one he faced, and Mattapan Manny D., after recording two foul outs, served up a 2-run double to Big Frank Thomas to put the seal on this one.

RECAP:

Thankfully I didn't have the misfortune of catching this game tonight.

I went to a company-sponsored function at the Clearwater Threshers game, and suffice to say that game was more exciting--and fun--than this debacle. Throw in the fact that my son won $87 and change for tossing a tennis ball from the stands into a tire on the field after the game, and the decision to take in an A ball game on a beautiful Florida spring evening over this major league mess was a no-brainer.

Actually, from what I could gather from highlights and recaps, this game wasn't ALL bad; J.D. Drew did hit his first homer of the year to tie the game late; Tim Wakefield (6IP, 6H, 3ER, 3BB, 4K, HR) pitched pretty well and shut out the mighty Toronto lineup for 5 innings before stumbling in the 6th; and Wake's new personal catcher, Kevin Cash, had a double and no passed balls in his first game behind the dish.

That's where the good side of things end. The bad included Wake falling apart in the 6th when he gave up a home run, two singles, two walks and a wild pitch; Boston batters being held to four hits - Cash's double in the 3rd, a single by Mike Lowell followed by Drew's homer in the 7th, and a 9th inning single by Manny; and of course the collapse of the Boston pen, which was supposed to be the strength of the depleted pitching staff.

Maybe it had something to do with the Jays wearing the Garth Iorg-era powder blue unis.

After Delcarmen's latest effort, the time is coming where many in the Nation will doubt if he will ever have what it takes to be an effective set up man, let alone superstar closer some day. Blessed with a live arm and calm demeanor, he has what it takes to shut down opponents, yet time and time again he cannot seem to get the necessary outs the team must have to pull out games like this.

Had he been able to get Thomas, who was just 1-7 with 3 Ks against him before tonight, the game might have gone in a completely different direction. But after falling behind 2-1, Thomas put a big hurt on Delcarmen's next offering, slicing a double to the left center field gap to score David Eckstein and Shannon Stewart, and the game was essentially over.

Luckily for Boston they will have a chance to immediately redeem this loss when they take on the Jays for a 1:00 game Saturday afternoon. That's when two young studs, Clay Buchholz and Jesse Litsch-will try to see which one has the moxie to lead his team to a big win.

And if Buchholz can't pitch a complete game, maybe the bully will get the chance to prove that it can be the backbone of the staff, and not the Achilles heel.

RECORD: 3-2
AL EAST: Tied for 1st
UP NEXT: Sat @ Tor 1:00

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Papi powers Sox to series win vs. Oakland

Sox 5, Oakland 0
WP: Lester (1-1)
LP: Embree (0-1)
SV: None
HRs: Bos- Papi (1), Tek (1)

Superstar: Big Papi 2-4, R, BB, 2BI, HR
Ortiz finally broke out of his 0-11 slump, first with a single in the 5th and then in a more Papi-like way with a 2-run bomb in the top of the 7th. His shot gave the Sox all the runs they would need to win the game and the series and put to rest any doubts that despite several injuries and surgeries Papi will still be Papi.

At last he's back where he belongs - in this category and not the next one.

The Biggest Loser: Manny 0-4, BB, 2K, GIDP, 6LOB
He left 2 men on base in the 1st and 5th innings when he whiffed both times, then grounded into a double play with the bases loaded to end the 8th. In between he failed to budge from home plate when he smashed a deep drive to center following Papi's homer, proving that despite several signs to the contrary, Manny will still be Manny.

Just a flat out awful game for ManRam.

RECAP:
Jet lag, what jet lag?

Boston continues to stifle any talk that the opening trip to the Far East and the West Coast will diminish its ability to successfully defend its title as the Sox swept the two games in Oakland thanks to a quality start by Jon Lester and another big, timely hit from David Ortiz.

Coming off a dreary performance in Japan Lester (6.2IP, 3H, 3BB, 3K) pitched a solid game, allowing just a pair of singles and a double in 6+ innings of work. Although he walked three batters he was bailed out when his teammates turned 3 double plays, including a catch & throw to first by J.D. Drew to nail Mike Sweeney to end the fifth.

Unfortunately I didn't get to see most of the first six innings since the start time for this one didn't coincide with my work schedule, but by following it on ESPN GameCast it seemed as if this one was shaping up to be a heartbreaking loss due to a number of missed opportunities by the Boston offense.

Oakland starter Rich Harden (5IP, 4H, 4BB, 6K) wasn't nearly as effective as he was in Japan in Game 2 of the series, but he still kept the game scoreless before giving way to the pen to start the 6th. The Sox loaded the bases in the first with no outs before Harden fanned Manny & Lowell and got J.D. Drew to--what else--ground out to first in his first at bat of the 2008 season to squelch the threat, then Harden worked out of a 2-on, 2-out jam in the 5th when he caught ManRam looking at strike three.

Boston would load the bases again in the 6th against Andrew Brown and had four men reach base in the inning, two on HBPs, yet still couldn't score thanks to a strike-em-out-throw-em-out double play and fielder's choice grounder by Pedroia, but in the 7th Boston and Papi would finally break through and score all the runs they would need to take this series.

Lucky for me that's right when I got home from work and turned on the trusty Extra Innings feed.

Youk (2-4, R, BI) got the party started with a hustle double to left center, then stood and watched as Ortiz launched Alan Embree's second pitch high and deep over the wall in right center for his first homer and RBIs of the season, and just like that Papi's early season slump was over and the so was the game.

The Sox would tack on a few insurance runs to take the pressure off the pen, two in the 8th on five consecutive base hits, including RBI singles by Pedroia (2-5, BI) and Youk, and a single run in the 9th on a solo shot by Cap'n Tek, runs that allowed Tito to rest his closer and get Manny Delcarmen his 2nd appearance of the season.

Now the team will head toward home to play a game in the Eastern time zone for the first time this season when they open a 3-game set against the Jays in Toronto Friday night. After two games at 6:00 am , one at 10:00 pm and one at 3:30 in the afternoon, it will be nice to sit in front of the set and see the Sox playing meaningful baseball games at a normal hour of the day.

What a quaint idea.

NOTES:

Youk's the man at 1st base: When he fielded Jack Cust's grounder with two outs in the 9th and beat him to the bag it was an appropriate way for Youk to end this game; he became the all-time record holder in consecutive error less games played at the position, besting Steve Garvey's mark of 193 games in a row. In honor of the achievement the As gave him the first base bag as well as the ball, which should both be headed to Cooperstown. Throw in the fact that he got two more hits and is now batting a robust .400 on the season and it appears the legend of Youk, along with his goatee, is only going to continue to grow.

Drew's back is back: After sitting out the first three games of the season with back spasms, J.D. Drew returned to the lineup and played right field, and as usual he had an interesting game. He was 1-5 with a single, struck out twice including once leading to a double play, and nailed a runner at first for an outfield assist. Fitting his first at bat of the season resulted in a ground out to the left side of the infield. Some things will never change, playoff grand slam or no.

Hit Show: for the second time in the series the Sox reached double digits in hits (13), with every starter except Manny & Lowell notching at least one and 6 players (Pedroia, Youk, Papi, Tek, Coco, Cora) racking up a pair of hits apiece.

Altered states: With the day game today and an off day tomorrow, Francona mixed up the lineup today, sitting Jacoby Ellsbury and Julio Lugo in favor of Coco Crisp and Alex Cora. The moves paid off as the two replacements combined to get on base 6 times with 4 hits, a walk and a HBP.

Beckett set for Sunday: more good news for the club came when Josh Beckett pitched in a minor league game and was declared ready to start his season Sunday against Roy Halladay and the Jays in Toronto. It just so happens that game will be the first on TBS' new slate of Sunday afternoon games, and it should help the upstart net garner nice ratings for a game this early in the season.

UP Next: Friday @ Toronto 715EST (yay!)

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Sox @ Oakland, Game 4

Red Sox (2-1) at Oakland (1-2)
Lester (0-1) vs. Harden (1-0)
3:35EST Oakland Mausoleum

The Athletics gave permission to MLB to allow this game, previously scheduled to be a night contest, to take place at 12:30 Pacific Coast Time in order to accommodate the road-weary Red Sox. This way they can get out of Oaktown later this afternoon and head to Toronto instead of waiting until after a night game and arriving north of the border in the middle of the night.

Thank goodness for small favors.

The other bonus of this switch is that it allows us sleep-deprived members of RSN get to bed at a normal hour tonight, helping to make up for the late-night/early morning contests that have been hallmarks of this crazy beginning to the 08 season.

In the getaway game today Jon Lester will try to do what Dice K did last night: shake off the rust from his first start in Japan and hang in there long enough to earn a win. Lester was pretty lousy in the Sox loss in Tokyo, allowing 4 runs on five hits and 3 walks in four innings in game 2, and his performance didn't exactly make everyone feel confident that he can pick up the slack in the absence of Curt Schilling.

On the other side of the hill Rich Harden was damn near perfect in Japan, shutting down the Sox lineup on 1 run and 3 hits while fanning 9 in six innings of work. Not bad for a kid who missed most of last season with an arm injury.

The other thing to watch for today is whether or not David Ortiz can finally get off the schneid. Big Papi has been the Big 0-Fer this season, hitless in 11 at bats while leaving numerous men stranded on base. Sure it's early, but these games count, too, and if he can't get untracked soon it's not gonna get any easier when the Sox start playing actual playoff quality clubs starting next week.

So sit back, relax, watch (or follow) the game today and then enjoy getting to bed early and waking up at a normal hour before we get to actually watch the Sox at a normal hour tomorrow night in Toronto.

Although they have to travel to another foreign country to do so.

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That's more like it: Sox look like champs in 2-1 win over As

Boston 2, Oakland 1
WP: Matsuzaka (1-0)
LP: Blanton (0-1)
SV: Papelbon (1)
HRs: Oak- Cust (1)

Superstar: Daisuke Matsuzaka 6.2IP, 2H, 1ER, 0BB, 9K
Away from the bright lights of his home city, Matsuzaka was near perfect in his 2008 stateside debut.

After surrendering a solo shot to Jack Cust in the 2nd inning, Dice K went into operation shutdown mode, limiting Oakland to one hit the rest of the way and giving his team a chance to come back and win it. They did, but unlike in the opener he actually benefited with a victory this time.

The Biggest Loser: Big Papi 0-4, 3 LOB
I know its early, but Ortiz notched his 3rd straight 0-fer tonight, and once again he came up with men in scoring position and couldn't do what he is paid handsomely to do- drive in runs.

He is now 0-8 on the season and has stranded 11 baserunners in 3 games. Ay Papi!

RECAP:
With some sense of normalcy finally taking hold for the first time this spring, Boston played like the team that calmly, coolly and collectively won the world championship last season.

Daisuke Matsuzaka overcame the Opening Day jitters that plagued him in his homeland and an early deficit to record his first win of the year; the Sox offense, though far from dominant, was opportunistic enough to take a late lead despite being robbed of a home run; and Jonathan Papelbon shook off the rust with an impressive 3- strikeout 9th in what was an all around team effort this evening in chilly Oakland.

I won't go into details here, because it's 1:00 am and I have to get up in 6 hours, but let's just say that this win temporarily put to rest any doubts that this team has what it takes to battle for another ring.

Down early and facing a tough opposing starter in Joe Blanton (6IP, 7H, 2ER, 1BB, 3K), the Sox chipped away at the burly righty for to tie the game in the 5th on an RBI single by Jacoby Ellsbury (1-5), and then took the lead the next inning after a triple by Youk (3-4, 2R) and a double by Tek that should have been a home run.

After being handed the lead Matsuzaka buckled down even more, retiring the next 6 batters on 2 strikeouts, 2 flyouts and a ground out before giving way to Hideki Okajima with 2 outs in the 7th. Oki walked Cust but then got Game 2 hero (and Game 1 goat) Emil Brown to pop out to Pedroia to end the inning.

When Oki allowed a single to Bobby Crosby to lead off the 8th, Tito let him retire the next two batters before bringing Paps in for an early season 4-out save despite the fact that Papelbon looked shaky in his appearance in Japan.

Not this time as Paps got pinch hitter Mike Sweeney to ground into a fielders choice to end the inning, then plowed through the trio of Travis Buck (0-4, 4 Ks), Mark Ellis and Daric Barton in the 9th to earn his first save of the season and give the Sox a chance to take this long, strange series tomorrow afternoon.

What, an afternoon game? By the time the Patriot's Day 11:00am tilt is in the books the Sox will have played at every conceivable hour within the first month of the season.

As long as they keep winning, who cares what the fuck time they play.

UP Next: Wed @ Oakland, 3:35EST

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Opening Day, take 2.

Red Sox (1-1) vs. Oakland (1-1)
(resumption of 4 game series from Japan)
Game 3 Tue 10:00EST: Matsuzaka (0-0, 3.60) vs. Blanton (0-0, 4.76)
Game 4 Wed 3:35EST: Lester (0-1, 9.00) vs. Harden (1-0, 1.50)

Raise your hand if you've ever seen a series in which all four starting pitchers pitched two games apiece in cities 5,000 miles apart?

Anyone...anyone...Bueller?

Didn't think so.

The maddening mystery tour that is the start of the 2008 season for the World Champs continues tonight when the Sox resume their 4-game set with the A's, this time in glorious Oakland, which last time I visited the Bay Area was a far cry from the site of the first two games of this series, Tokyo.

And luckily for us on the East Coast, instead of waking up before dawn to catch our Sox we have to stay up past 1:00am to see the entire first game of the regular season to take place in America. Yipee!

Wait, aren't the champs supposed to have the scheduling advantages the following season? What is Bad Hair Bud taking his scheduling cues from the NFL?

All lamenting aside it's just nice to see the Sox playing actual games that count in the United States. And it will also be nice to get away from the media circuses that have plagued this club since they set down in Tokyo a week and a half ago. Between that surreal scene over there and the farce exhibition game against the Dodgers last Saturday that drew 155,000 spectators, it will be a welcome change to play in the cavernous yet quaint (attendance-wise) Oakland Mausoleum.

Dice-K will get a chance to redeem himself far away from the fanfare befitting a movie star he received in his homeland, and hopefully being away from all those distractions will help him focus on the task at hand this year: pitching consistently and becoming the dominant pitcher everyone has been waiting for.

He's shown flashes of brilliance since coming to the Sox last season, but the up and down aspects of his starts have started to look more like a pattern than an aberration. perhaps pitching in front of 22,000 fans who couldn't care less about him will help improve his game.

It's almost time for Opening Day number 2, and we should be in for a late night.

Let's hope we at least go to bed happy.

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2008 Season Preview

On the eve of the Sox season opener on American soil, here are five burning questions RSN will be looking to answer this year:

5.) Will the pitching staff be healthy--and ready--enough to guide the team to the postseason

Josh Beckett's already on the DL. Curt Schilling will be out until mid-season at the earliest, and then who knows how long it will take him to provide any meaningful contributions this season, if any. Tim Wakefield is approaching retirement age, has a history of back problems and lost his designated catcher this spring. Dice-K is starting to resemble the type of pitcher that makes you cross your fingers every time he comes to the mound, just praying that this isn't the inning or game he implodes. Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz are like SNL's "also featuring" cast members-young & talented but maybe not quite ready for prime time just yet.

This is the biggest question mark the team faces this season, and obviously everything hinges on Beckett's health; if he can make this trip to the DL a distant memory by mid-May and come back to dominate the league like last year, then we can all hope everyone else falls into place. But if the ace encounters a year's worth of arm and/or blister problems, then the failure to trade for Johan Santana is going to hang over this team's head like an April raincloud.

4.) Will Manny be Most Valuable Manny?

Everything is in place for ManRam to have a monster year: he had a disappointing season last year, failing to reach 100 RBIs for the first time in a decade, hit his fewest homers (20) since 1997 as well, and slugged at less than a .900 clip for the first time in his career (in a full season.) So why does that make Manny my choice for the AL MVP? All together now: "Because he's in a contract year!"

If anything can motivate the mercurial ManRam it's the thought that if he has another down year the Boston brass might not pick up his option for 2009, forcing Ramirez to actually leave the team he's threatened, promised and hinted at leaving for the better half of the last decade.

Notice the early arrival at spring training, the lack of any MBM issues like grills and wheels for sale, the mashing of 5 ribbies in the Japan series? Not a coincidence folks. Sure he'll still Cadillac it on balls that stay in the park and intercept a stray cutoff throw now and then, but all signs point to Manny having a major offensive season, and those signs look like this: $$$$$$$$$$$

3.) Will the Coco/Ellsbury situation be a distraction?

Only if Crisp makes it one. If he's smart he'll keep his mouth shut, play a few times a week, come in for the occasional pinch-running and late-replacement duties and try to get another ring on his finger. If he really wants to be the superstar starting center fielder he thinks he is, he can go to a bad team, play every day, hit .255 with 15 highlight-reel catches a year and watch the playoffs on television.

Your choice Coco. Well, until Theo dumps you in a deal for another arm. Then it's the team's choice. Until then, in the words of native new Englander John Tortorella, shut your yap.

2.) How long before brittle JD Drew is replaced by Brandon Moss as the starting right fielder?

May 17th.

1.) Can the Sox repeat?

It may be an unpopular thought in the Hub and throughout the Nation, but all signs point to "no". Between the crazy opening to the season, with trips to Japan, California and Toronto, followed by 13 of 17 contests against playoff-caliber clubs and the rash of injuries and questions with the rotation, it would be a near miracle if this team could pull off the repeat.

Do I think they have the talent to get it done? Absolutely. But a lot of things will have to fall into place, not the least of which is Beckett's health, as well as that of Drew, Papi and Wakefield. Let's face it, the decision not to alter the makeup of the championship club was a noble one and certainly placated the now-zillions of Sox fans Nationwide, but with the brutal schedule and injury bug already playing a factor this early in the season, a repeat seems like a lot to ask for from a club that has already accomplished what no diehard ever thought they'd see in their lifetime: another championship flag flying over Fenway.

But here's to hoping they can beat the odds and put a third banner up before the next generation of misery begins.

For more on the 2008 baseball season, visit my other blog.

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