Series Preview: ChiSox @ BoSox

Chicago White Sox (42-51)
AL CNTRL: -15 GB
STRK: W-1 LST 10: 5-5
AVG: .245 (14) ERA: 4.61 (12)
HRs: 96 (8) RUNS: 393 (14)

Probable Pitching Matchups:
GM1 Thu Vazquez (6-5, 3.77) v. Matsuzaka (11-6, 3.94)
GM2 Fri Contreras (5-11, 5.32) v Beckett (12-3, 3.35)
GM3 Sat Danks (6-6, 4.81) v Gabbard (3-0, 3.38)
GM4 Sun Garland (7-6, 3.88) v Wakefield (10-9, 4.69)

Season Series: 1st meeting

KEY PLAYERS:

• Paul Konerko: .270/20/57--the slugging first baseman leads the underachieving Sox hitters in batting average, homers, ribbies, runs and OPS., and leads the AL in homers since June 1st; other than that he hasn't done much this season
• Jermaine Dye: .230/16/46--having a down year by his standards, especially coming off his MVP-caliber season (.315/44/120) of a year ago, and his name has been frequently mentioned in trade circles, but he can burn you with the longball in a hurry; he's homered in 4 of the last 5 games
• Jim Thome: .290/15/48--after spending time earlier this season on the DL the aging DH has heated up as of late; he's batting .325 (13-40) with 2 doubles, 2 homers, 6 runs scored and seven driven in in his last 10 games
• Tadahito Iguchi: .258/42R/27RBI--the diminutive second baseman has faced fellow countryman Daisuke Matsuzaka many times in the Japanese League, and he has fared quite well against him (31-85, .365), which should give him a decided edge over his teammates in Game 1

PREVIEW:

The Chisox come to Fenway for the first time this season riding high after taking 2 of 3 at division-leading Cleveland, but all in all Ozzie Guillen's bunch has been one of the biggest disappointments of the 2007 season.

The stats speak for themselves--last in the league in batting, last in runs, and third from the bottom in team ERA--and paint the picture of an underachieving group that was poised to have a dominant run after beating Boston en route to winning the Series in 2005.

But, as Boston knows all too well, things don't always go according to plan after the confetti is swept away.

Anyway, the way the Bo Sox have been playing lately my son's Little League team could probably take 'em, so Boston cannot afford to underestimate these pesky sons of an Ozzie.

They need to start the series off on a positive note, which means a solid performance from Dice-K, not that weak shit (10ER, 19H in 11IP) he's been throwing his last two outings, and a lot of timely hits.

If the Red Sox can't stick to that simple formula and apply it in the next four games, things could go well for them in this series.

If not, it could be shades of 2005 all over again.

**UPDATE--the start of tonight's game has been delayed by rain, and according to the Globe it is not supposed to start before 8:15. Great. Haven't had one of these in a while.***

**RE-UPDATE--the first pitch was just thrown at 9:02 pm EST. Looks like another late one**

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Series Recap: Jays @ Sox

GAME	SCORE	WP	LP
GM1	BOS, 7-4	Wake	Halladay
GM2	TOR, 6-5	Marcum	Snyder
GM3	BOS, 9-4	Dice K	McGow'n
GM4	TOR, 2-1	Litsch	Becks

STAT	TOR	BOS
WINS	2	2
HITS	43	44
RUNS	16	22
HRs	4	4
AVG	.303	.310
ERA	5.29	4.00

Batter's Composite Box:

PLAYER	SERIES STATS	COMMENT
Coco	5-15, 2R, 3B, RBI, 2BB, 2K, SB	continues to excel
Pedroia	2-14, 3R, RBI, 2BB, SB	sick & slumping
Papi	8-17, 4R, 3-2Bs, HR, 5BI, 2BB, 2K	FINALLY!
Manny	6-16, 3R, 2B, HR, 7RBI, BB, 3K	DITTO!
Lowell	5-16, R, 3B, 3RBI, 3K	Professional Hitter
Youk	2-13, R, 2B, 2RBI, 3BB, 4K	just getting healthy
Tek	2-8, R, 2B, HR, 2BI, 4K	sat GM4 w/ thumb inj
Lugo	7-16, 2R, 2SB	I repeat, FINALLY!
Hinske	2-9, R, RBI, HR, 3K	Big Hit Hinske
Cora	1-3, R, 2B	played one game (#4)
Belli	1-7, 2B, BB, K	played 2 games this series
Pena	1-2, K	Whiffy Mo strikes out again
Drew	2-6, 3R, 2B, BB	living down to "Nancy"

Pitcher's Composite Box:

PITCHER	SERIES STATS	COMMENT
Wake	6IP, 9H, 4ER, 0BB, 2K, 2HR, W	wins despite poor numbers
Tavarez	4IP, 9H, 4ER, 3BB, 3K	ND despite poor numbers
Dice-K	6IP, 9H, 4ER, 2BB, 2K, 2HR, W	wins despite lousy numbers
Beckett	8IP, 7H, 2ER, 2BB, 8K, L	loses despite great numbers
Manny D	3IP, 1H, 5K	can you say 'money'?
Oki	2IP, 3H, 2K	Oki doing a-okay
Paps	1IP, H, 2K, SV	save # 21 in GM1
Timlin	3.1IP,1H, 1K	...heee's baaack!
Pineiro	2/3IP, 1H, 1BB, 1K	...oh, and so is he.
Lopez	1/3, 1K	1batter, 1K--nice
Snyder	1.2IP, 2H, 2ER, BB	awful in GM2 loss

Recap

It was another eventful series with the Sox northern neighbors/division rivals, a wild & wooly four games that featured two Boston blowout wins and two tough one-run losses.

Plus a lot of wind.

The good news coming from this series was the reemergence of Ramirez & Ortiz as the power hitting offensive forces we know and love. Both batters had huge numbers this series (14-33, 7R, 2HR, 12RBI), and with the 3-4 spot producing numbers like that, it's only a matter of time before the Sox start to club some teams into submission with this offense.

Actually the Sox clubbed plenty of balls in this series; unfortunately a stiff breeze and stiffer starting pitching kept the Sox from getting Josh Beckett what would have been his ML-leading 13th victory yesterday, and Kyle Snyder gave the game away in one fell swoop after Boston had worked so hard to get a lead Friday.

I found it interesting that the first three Boston starters had identical numbers as far as hits and earned runs allowed, numbers which were not good, but all three could have gotten wins, while the one starter who had an excellent outing was saddled with a bitter loss. Hmmm.

That's the game of baseball, as they say.

On the injury front Drew left Saturday's game with a tweaked hammy and sat the last two games, but could be back tonight; Youk played all four games after missing 5 of 6 with a bad quad; and Tek had yesterday off after getting hit in the thumb by a Matsuzaka mistake on Saturday.

It wasn't a terrible series by any means, but for a team that was swept before the break, splitting series against weaker division competition won't cut it. With New York now just nine games back, the Sox need to string together a stretch of 8 wins in 9 games or some shit like that to get the confidence back and start rolling into the dog days of summer with that sizable lead intact.

Oh, and who better to do that against than the next two teams to visit Fenway, the putrid Royals and awful Chisox?

Go Sox!

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Series Recap: Sox @ Detroit

GAME	SCORE	WP	LP
GM1	DET 9-2	Miller	Julie
GM2	DET 3-2	Grilli	Paps
GM3	DET 6-5	Robertson	Dice

Series Stats:

STATS	BOS	DET
WINS	0	3
HITS	23	32
RUNS	9	18
HRs	4	5
AVG	.207	.288
ERA	5.65	2.32

Batter's Composite Box:

PLAYER	SERIES STATS	COMMENT
Coco	3-12, R,RBI, 2B, 2BB, K, SB	add 3 awesome catches, too
Pedroia	3-12, R, 2B, 3B, BB, K	2B & 3B in GM2
Papi	2-5, R, 3BI, 5BB, K, 2B, HR	first homer in 15 games
Manny	1-9, 2B, 2BB, 3K	U-G-L-Y series
Lowell	2-13, 2B, BB, K, BI	joined the slump club...
Drew	1-11, 3BB, 3K	...of which he's a charter member
Tek	3-13, BB, 4K	threw out 2 runners in GM3
Lugo	3-8, 3R, 2BI, 2BB, 2SB, 2B, HR	finally a big game from the $36 mil man
Hinske	0-5, 2K	played solid D at 1B
Pena	1-7, 3B, BB, 5K	did not play solid D in LF
Bailey	1-9, R, RBI, HR	1st ML hit is a HR--kudos!
Belli	1-1, HR, R, RBI	PH HR in GM1
Cora	1-5, K	played in GM2
Youk	0-1	PH in GM2

Pitcher's Composite Box:

PITCHER	SERIES STATS	COMMENTS
Tavarez	4.2IP, 10H, 8ER, BB, 4K, 2HR, L	reverting back to bad habits
Gabbard	6.1IP,3H, 2ER, 2BB, 3K	best start of the three
Dice-K	5IP, 10H, 6ER, BB, 4K, 3HRs, L	not a good way to close the half
Lopez	3IP, 2H, BB, 2K	he's been shaky lately
Manny D	2IP, 1H, 2K	he's been nails lately
Snyder	1IP, 2H, 1ER, BB, K	rough 9th in GM1
Timlin	3.1IP, 1H, 2BB	strong GM2 & 3
Oki	2.1IP, 2H, 2BB	not good in GM2
Paps	2/3IP, 1H, 1ER, 1K, L	blew GM2 in the 13th

Recap:

Basking in the glow of a sweep of the Devil Rays and riding high on a four game winning streak when they came into town, the Sox got humiliated by the suddenly surging Tigers, putting a damper on the feel-good experiences from the last week.

The sweep was more damaging because the Tigers beat the Sox in every way possible--a blowout victory in Game 1, an extra-innings heartbreaker in the second game, and a hard-fought battle in the finale yesterday in which they torched Boston's hottest starter, Dice-K, then hung on for a satisfying win.

Three games, three different styles, all adding up to three depressing losses for the Sox and RSN as they hit the All Star Break.

Despite the putrid performances and anemic numbers put up by most of the entire team in this series, there were a few highlights:

• Jeff Bailey hit a home run for his major league hit after spending 11 seasons in the minors
• Julio Lugo continued to break out of his slump with a nice 3-3 game yesterday, including a homer
• Papi hit his first homer in weeks and was walked four times, including three intentionally, in Game 2
• Kason Gabbard continued to put his horrible outing in Seattle behind him, turning in his third straight decent start in the second game
• Coco made at least three stellar catches and probably more, but he makes them look so routine now that it's hard to keep track
• ....I guess that's it.

Like I said, there were a few positives, but all in all it was about as shitty a way to end the first half of what has been a superb season--losing to a team that was in the World Series last year and by the looks of it has every intention of making it back to the Fall Classic this year.

So the Sox players who aren't on the All Star squad will head to their various corners of the country to enjoy a three day respite from slumps, losing streaks, and sweeps, and hopefully they will come back on Thursday relaxed, refreshed, and ready to tackle the always tough dog days of summer, a time when pennants are made or broken, and sweeps like this take on a much more serious meaning.

A certain Boston Massacre II comes to mind...

Enjoy the break, Bosox, and let's come out swinging in the second half.

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Series Recap: Tampa Bay vs. Sox

Game	SCORE	WP	LP
GM1	BOS 4-1	Dice-K	Kazmir
GM2	BOS 7-5	Wake	Jackson
GM3	BOS 15-4	Beckett	Howell

STAT	TB	BOS
WINS	0	3
HITS	25	37
RUNS	10	26
HRs	2	3
AVG	.194	.363
ERA	9.38	3.33

Batter's Composite Box

PLAYER	SERIES STATS	COMMENT
Coco	4-12, 2R, 2-2B, GS, 2BB, 6RBI	ripping the ball, + great 'D'
Pedroia	4-13, 2R, 2B, 2BB, 2K, 2BI	settled in nicely to 2-spot
Papi	4-12, 5R, 2B, BB, 2K, 0BI	hammys must be real bad...
Manny	4-10, 5R, 2-2B, 3BB, 2K, 2BI	...but what's his excuse?
Drew	4-8, 2R, 2-2B, 3K, RBI	avg. up to .265
Lowell	8-13, 6R, BB, 2K, 2HRs, 7RBI	fountain of youth ?
Tek	3-5, 2R, 2BB, 1K, 3RBI	avg. steadily climbing (.277)
Lugo	3-10, BB, K, SB, 2CS, 4RBI	as many hits this series as in last 3 wks
Youk	1-3, 2R, 2BB, K	played 1 gm (bad quad)
Hinske	0-5, 4BB, 4K	all-or-nothing
Belli	1-4, 3RBI, 3BB, 2K	snapped a 1-15 skid; BL walk
Cora	1-4, 2B, R, RBI	down to .281
Wily Mo	0-6, 4K	Whiffy Mo Pena
Ellsbury	1-4, 2B, R, RBI	impressive kid

Pitcher's Composite Box

PITCHER	SERIES STATS/COMMENT
Dice-K	8IP, 4H, 0R, 1BB, 9K; win #10 in GM1
Wake	6.1IP, 7H, 4ER, 2BB, 2K, HR; win # 8 in GM2
Beckett	6IP, 9H, 3ER, 1BB, 9K; win #12 in GM3
Paps	2IP, 1H, 1R, 0BB, 3K, HR; save #20 in GM1
Manny D	1,1IP, 0H, 0R, 1BB, 3K; he's been huge lately
Snyder	1IP, 1H, 1R, 2BB, 1K; not a good job in GM2
Timlin	2IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 0K; nice work in GM3
Lopez	1/3IP, 2H, 1R, 1K; all'd 3 runs to score in GM2

RECAP:
It's always fun doing the composites for these series--it's like keeping track of stats from a video game or something (not that I've ever done that, well, at least not since the days of ColecoVision.)

The ailing Boston batters got dose of just what the doctor ordered--a visit from the recently decent and now utterly pathetic D-Rays, and like a potent antivenin, the Sox suddenly started slamming the ball all around the yard, cranking the pathetic 2-run/game average it brought into the series over the past eight games up to a more Bosox-like 8.6RPG.

Now that's what I call a miracle cure.

The series, as most often happens when these two clubs hook up, featured plenty of offensive fireworks including a total of 62 hits, 36 runs and a week's worth of clutch hits and multi-run innings, a nice change of pace from the 2-1 paint-drying nail biters RSN had been saddled with for the last month or so.

Yesterday's mashathon featured a number of eye-popping moments, including J.D. Drew tying a major league record with two hits in the first inning, Mike Lowell ringing up a career high five-hit, five-RBI night, and Coco Crisp crushing a first inning grand slam and then reeling in yet another gorgeous basket catch in the eigth.

My adopted hometown Tampa Bay was swept in its third consecutive series and has been anemic at the plate (outscored 70-30 in the current 11-game losing streak) and horrendous on the mound.

Thankfully my real hometown Sox are headed in the exact opposite direction, winners of four straight and five of its last seven and showing no signs of relinquishing the huge division lead it has enjoyed for most of this fantastic first half.

As for the Rays, well the Sox will be down here in three weeks for the first time this season, and by the time I'm in the standsat the Trop for Game 3 cheering on the Sox with the rest of RSN South, Boston could be 30 games up on Tampa Bay because the Rays still may not have won a game by then.

Seriously, thanks for coming guys!

Next up: Detroit

Sweep the Tigers and then on to the break!

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Series Preview: Tampa Bay @ Sox

Tampa Bay D-Rays (33-48)
AL EAST: 17GB
STREAK: L-8 LAST 10: 2-8
AVG.: .261 (9th) ERA: 5.62 (14th)
HRs: 95 (4th) RUNS: 381 (10th)

Probable Pitching Matchups:
GM1 Kazmir (5-4, 4.26) vs. Matsuzaka (9-5, 3.80)
Kaz, the Rays great starting hope, has yet to pan out as a true front of the rotation ace, as his ML-leading walk total (105) and 27-24 career record attest to. He does, however, pitch well against the Sox, posting a 5-2 record with a 2.60 ERA with 69 strikeouts in 65.2 innings of work.
Dice-K had a terrific June, although his record (2-2) doesn't reflect it. That's because despite a minuscule 1.59 ERA in five starts, Boston averaged 2 runs per game for him, down from the 8 1/2 per game he got for the first two months of the season.

As long as Boston scores some runs for him, Dice should win this battle of young pitchers heading in opposite directions.
MY PICK: Sox

GM2 Jackson (1-8, 6.88) vs. Wakefield (8-8, 4.31)
Ediwn Jackson has 1-8 record and ERA approaching seven, and has allowed 90 hits, 61 runs and 40 walks in 69.1 innings this season.
MY PICK: Ha ha ha ha ha!!! (Sox)

GM3 Howell (1-2, 5.19) vs. Beckett (11-2, 3.38)
Howell has shown flashes of brilliance since his early June callup (8IP, 1R, 7K vs. KC; 9Ks vs. FLA) but he has also interspersed those outings with bouts of wildness (6ER in 5 inns. in that Marlins game.)

Beckett needs this win to get the All Star start.
MY PICK: Becks will not be denied

Key Players:

• LF Carl Crawford: .285/43R/8-3B/49BI/20SB--as you can tell from the stats, C.C. is the most talented player on the Rays, hence its only All Star representative; he is what they call a five-tool player, and many teams will inquire about him come trading deadline
• RF Delmon Young: .271/9/44--Dmitri's little brother is coming into his own in his first full season; on top of power and speed, he's got a cannon for an arm, as evidenced by his 9 assists this season, 3rd in the AL
• 3B Aki Iwmura: .293/33R/12BI--the Japanese vet was leading the AL in hitting when he went on the DL in early May; a slick fielder, Aki was a Japanese league opponent of tonight's starter, Daisuke Matsuzaka
• DH/OF Jonny Gomes: .246/6/17--not a huge stats guy but a real spark-plug player; if something's going on offensively, Jonny is usually involved. Since being called up from AAA in mid-June, Gomes has ripped 5 homers and had 11 RBIs while batting .322 in 16 games

Old Sox:

• 1B/DH Carlos Pena: .282/18/46--although the Mass native's stay with the Sox last season was brief (18g, 33ABs), he parlayed that stint into a gig with the Rays, and following a tepid April start, he's gone on to hit .302 with 14 homers and 33 RBI since
• P Casey Fossum: 5-7, 7.40--the former promising fifth starter for the Sox from 2001-2003 has had an up & down career since departing Boston in 2004; a starter for most of his career, frequent injuries, an erratic arm and a 37-51 career record dictated a move to the pen. Results haven't been much better

Preview:
Talk about scheduling quirks.

Tonight the Sox finally get to play division rival Tampa Bay for the first time after half of the season has already been completed.

Seriously, how fucked up is that?

Adding to the insanity is the fact that these two squads still have to play the full schedule, meaning 18 games between each division opponent, so out of the next 81 games for Boston, 18 will be played against the Rays, or an astounding 22%.

Earth to Bud Selig: scrap the friggin unbalanced or balanced schedule shit.

Anyway, these two East coast neighbors are connected by more than just a long interstate and millions of transplants (like me) who migrate from Beantown down here to RSN South.

In only a brief 10 seasons of playing each other, the Sox and Rays have already had a cantankerous & storied history together, from bean balls to no-hitters, and from name calling to all-out brawling.

Despite the noticeable advantage in payroll, talent, and victories Boston holds over Tampa Bay, it seems like whenever these two get together there is plenty of excitement, animosity, and just plain fun baseball to be seen.

I'll never forget attending that game at the Trop when Pedro hit Gerald Williams to start the game, touching off a bench clearing melee, only to see Petey settle down and throw a near no-no until former Sox backstop John Flaherty broke it up in the 9th.

Or how 'bout when Nomar hit two grand slams (three homer total) and had 8 ribbies in a 22-4 shellacking of the Rays in the first game of a double header at Fenway in July of 2002?

Or the time D-Lowe no hit the D-Rays in the 4th game of the season in 2002.

Funny how all the memories seem to be of Boston wins.

But the Rays usually play the Sox tough, and a slim 10-9 Sox advantage in games last season can attest to that. Think of it as the little brothers of the AL East trying to overcome the big brother, who just happens to be the BMOC as well.

The games might not be artistic masterpieces all the time, but they are usually exciting and you can almost assuredly count on some wild, wacky things happening this series.

Like maybe even Julio Lugo breaking his hitless streak while facing against his old mates.

Go Sox!

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Red Sox 2007 mid-season report

A look at the Bosox at the actual midway point of the 2007 season

Here at Curt's Bloody Sock, we asked our self, errr selves, why wait till the mythical halfway mark of a baseball season, the All Star Game, when the real midway point comes today, after game #81?

To which I responded, good question, self!

Just because there's plenty of extra time with the teams all taking a three day hiatus, I suppose.

But here at the offices of C.B.S. we strive to be the bastions of integrity, so if today marks the actual midway point of the 2007 season, then dammit we are going to do our mid season report card right now, not next Monday when there's nothing going on except the bastardized Home Run Derby and perhaps it's a little bit more convenient to us.

Besides, I didn't want to do the June wrap up, the Texas series recap and then this thing all in the next week. Plus it'll leave me time for some fun posts over the break, like mercilessly ridiculing the Stankees and their classless hag spouses.

Enjoy/feel free to comment.

Boston Red Sox: 50-31, Up 10.5 gms in AL East

AVG:.273 (6th) ERA: 3.71 (2nd) HRs: 81 (7th) RUNS: 400 (6th)

PLAYER	FACTS & FIGURES	GRADE
Youk	.329/9/44; 7th in avg, 6th in OBP (.419), great 'D' at 2 pos.	A+
Lowell	.292/12/55; 9th in AL in RBI; leads Sox in HRs & RBI	A-
Pedroia	.320/32R/25RBI; top 20 in 2Bs (20) and 11th in OBP (.411)	A
Papi	.312/14/49; 2nd in OBP (.426), 3rd in BB (54), 7th in SLG (.551), 2nd in 2B (27)	B+
Manny	.288/11/44; 10th in BB (44); power #s way down	B
Tek	.270/8/33; CS % (14.3) has to improve	B-
Coco	.262/41R/22BI; 8th in SB (15); stellar 'D' every night	B-
Cora	.282/15R/14BI; proven to be invaluable bench guy	B-
Hinske	.218/14R/11BI; he doesn't hit often, but he makes 'em count	C+
Drew	.257/6/32/42BB; recent improvement raised grade	C
Belli	.174/2/5; current 1-16 skid, but he's Wake's caddy...	C-
WMP	.224/4/12; 40 Ks, 10 BBs in 107 ABs	D
Lugo	.189/4/34; current 0-33 skid; only SB total (20- 4th) keeps him from F	D-
Ellsbury	.300 (3-10), 2R, 2BB, 1SB; it's early, but he looks awesome	A/I
PITCHER	FACTS & FIGURES	GRADE
Beckett	11-2/3.38/83K; 2nd in Ws, 6th in WHIP (1.10)despite DL stint	A+
Dice-K	9-5/3.80/110K; 4th in Ks, 5th in W despite rough spots	B+
Schill	6-4/4.20/71K; injured or just old? did have a near no-no	C+
Tavarez	5-6/4.39; has been better than expected as a No. 5	C+
Gabbard	2-0/5.79/11 BB in 14IP; needs to cut down the walks	C
Wake	8-8/4.31/40BB, 12HRs all'd; 7th in BBs, 4th in Ls	C-
Paps	19svs/1.50/42Ks, 10BBs in 30IP; 6th in saves	A+
Oki	2-0/4SV/0.88ERA; 4th in holds (13), 2nd in relief ERA	A+
Snyder	1-1/2.40; most consistent of mid relievers	B+
Manny D.	2.57ERA/4H, 2R in 7IP; plus 98 mph gas	B+
Lopez	1-1/3.05/11BB in 20IP; good 1-batter specialist	B
Donnelly	2-1/3.05/15K in 20IP; on DL since 6/17	B
Timlin	1-0/1SV/5.59/5HRs in 19IP; showing his age & mileage	C
Pineiro	1-1/5.04/36H, 13BB in 30.1IP; that Seattle game-ugh!	D

Upon further review after plowing through this massive post, I now realize why everyone does this during the break--I just spent a few hours composing this and in a couple of days it'll be buried under previews, reviews and results of the D-Rays & Tigers series.

I guess I'll just link to it on Monday.

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Series Preview: Texas @ Sox

Texas Rangers (32-46)
AL WEST: 16.5 GB
STREAK: L-1 LST 10: 7-3
AVG: .259 (10th) ERA: 5.34 (13th)
RUNS: 409 (3rd) HRs: 99 (1st)

Probable Pitching Matchups:
GM1 Fri 7EST Wright (1-1, 7.43) vs. Wakefield (7-8, 4.52)
Wake needs a good outing like Pacman Jones needs an image makeover, and what better time to get one than against the horsehide-ripping, bat-flipping Rangers.

Uh, maybe not.

Luckily he'll be opposed by recently rehabbed Jamey Wright, who after a 2+ inning outing against the D-Rays on April 10th spent the next 2+ months on the DL with a (stop me if you've heard this before ) a shoulder injury. Gulp.
MY PICK: Sox in a slugfest

GM2 Sat 7EST Tejada (5-7, 6.57) vs. Beckett (11-1, 3.07)
Tejada baffled Boston with a 7-inning, 2-hit masterpiece in early April, but he's facing the best pitcher in either league tonight, so I don't foresee a repeat performance.

Did I mention Boston has the best pitcher in baseball going for them?
MY PICK: Sox

GM3 Sun 2EST Loe (4-6, 6.02) vs. Tavarez (5-5, 4.60)
Julie needs to rebound from the disaster in Seattle, and he'll have a chance to atone for himself against the equally erratic lanky right Kameron Loe.
MY PICK: Sox win another slugfest

GM4 Mon 7EST Millwoood (4-7, 7.06) vs. Gabbard (1-0, 6.48)
Millwood was supposed to be the savior of the staff when signed to a huge deal before last season, yet two stints on the DL this year and a 2-19 record in a year and a half isn't what the Rangers had in mind for their $60 million investment.

Gabbard-who knows.
MY PICK: Sox could lose this one

Season Series: Sox lead, 3-2

Key Players: (* Mark Teixera is on the DL)

• Sammy Sosa .255/13HR/62BI-- he recently became the 5th member of the 600 HR club, and somehow the once-exiled superstar has made it back to the game as a valuable contributor to an offensive powerhouse; he's 4th in the AL in ribbies and has hit in six straight games at a .391 (9-23) clip
• Michael Young .296/45R/42BI-- last time Boston played Texas, the career .300 hitter was baatting .240; but thanks to a hot June (.384, hit in 20 of 24 games) his average is right back where it's accustomed to being
• Ian Kinsler .241/14HR/50R/45BI-- the young second baseman is 7th in the AL in homers and leads the Rangers in longballs and is second in runs scored behind Kenny Lofton
  

Preview:
To say the Texas Rangers like to hit is akin to saying Lindsay Lohan likes to snort blow, drink like a fish and act like an obliterated tramp in public.

That is to say, it's redundant.

Five players on the team have 9 or more homers, and an astounding 17 players have hit at least one home run for the team. By contrast Boston has three players with 9+ homers, and just 13 who have homered for them. Texas has also hit 19 more homers total than Boston, yet have lost 17 more games than the Sox.

And the moral is, kids: homers don't necessarily translate into victories.

What does is quality pitching, something the Sox had in abundant supply (until they hit Seattle), and a commodity that the Rangers have been lacking since, oh, the mid-70s.

Once again a pathetic pitching staff is preventing the offensively explosive Rangers from climbing atop the standings in the AL West, as an incredible six regulars have an ERA of 5.90 or greater, and two starters, Bruce Chen & Kevin Millwood, have ERA near or over 7.00. Yikes.

Oh, and they're defense is pathetic, too (2nd most errors in the league, behind Tampa Bay.)

Hopefully the Sox can put the combination of home cooking and superior pitching to work in sweeping the Rangers out of town.

But the way the Rangers hit the baseball, coupled with the recent ragged pitching of the likes of Wake, Julie and Gabbard, could mean setting our goals a little bit lower.

We'll settle for taking three out of four.

GO Sox!

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Series Recap: Sox @ San Diego

**NOTE: This post should have been published earlier this afternoon, but due to a combination of the new Live Writer feature and my inability to use it properly, it did not make it on the net at that time. The staff here at the CBS deeply regrets the unfortunate idiotic error, and someone WILL be fired. Thank You**

STAT	BOS	SD
RUNS	8	9
HITS	23	24
AVG	.232	.242
HRs	1	3
ERA	3.11	2.33
WINS	2	1

GM1: BOS 2-1 W-Dice K L-

GM2: SD 6-2 W-Young L-Wakefield

GM3: BOS 4-2 W-Beckett L-Peavy

Batter's Composite Box:

PLAYER	SERIES STATS	COMMENT
Drew	3-7/2K (2 games)	avg. nearing .250
Pedroia	1-6/R/BB/SB(2gms)	little guy in mini slump
Papi	1-11/R/RBI, 5K	5-27 last 10 games
Manny	3-1/R/2B/RBI/BB	power outage again
Lowell	2-8/2B/2BI(2 gms)	still leads Sox in RBI
Youk	1-4/RBI/K (1gm)	slightly banged up
Tek	3-6/R/3B/HR/ 2BI / 2BB/2K	busy 2 games for the Cap'n
Coco	4-13/R/3K/SB	raised avg 30 pts in 10 gms
Lugo	0-10/BB/4K	currently 0-26 (ugh!)
Cora	2-4/R/BB/K	has to play more
Pena	0-4/K	3 for his last 21
Hinske	1-2/2B/K	4 hits in last 8 ABs
Belli	0-4/2K	4 for his last 24

Pitcher's Composite Box:

PITCHER:	SERIES STATS	COMMENT:
Dice-K	6IP/5H/ER/5BB/9K	earned 9th win
Wake	5.1IP/8H/6ER/0BB/4K	dropped below .500
Beckett	8IP/6H/2ER/BB/8K	11th win leads MLB
Paps	2IP/4K	now has 18 saves
Oki	1IP/2K	ERA now 0.98
Delcarmen	2/3IP/ all zeroes	0R, 0H in 2.2IP
Snyder	1IP/H	ERA at 2.84
Timlin	1.2IP/2H/K	arm still intact
Lopez	1/3/H	one batter wonder

A decent series for the Sox out in sunny San Diego as the best team in baseball took a pair from the best team in the National League in their own (unique) park.

Dice got a nice win despite some scary moments and Beckett earned his 11th win on the strength of a dominating performance over Padre ace Jake Peavy yesterday.

In between Wakefield laid an egg all over the field as the Pads rocked him for three longballs, and Chris Young smoked 11 Ks in securing San Diego's lone win of the weekend.

Plenty of sunshine, Red Sox fans and a series win is just what the Doctor ordered for the Sox, who must head further (north) West to take on the Mariners for three games before heading back home (finally) for the weekend.

Yes, it's been a long trip, but an 11 game lead over the Stanks and a win over the best pitcher in the NL under their belts should make the flight a little more enjoyable!

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