Sox send Rays to 10th straight loss

Sox 7, Tampa Bay 5
WP: Wakefield (9-8)
LP: Jackson (1-9)
SV: Papelbon (20)
HRs: BOS-Lowell (13); TB-Casanova (4)

Nothing beats the pomp & pagentry of a July 4th baseball game--it's the freaking American way! (Globe/AP photo)

SUMMARY
The Boston bats really exploded today as the Sox slammed six extra base hits and ran out to a six-run lead before the Rays made it a game late.

After Wake tired in the 7th and Lopez allowed three runs to score, Jonathan Papelbon came on in the 9th to close the door on save No. 20 and put a wrap on Boston's third consecutive victory.

#1 STUNNER J.D. Drew 2-4, R, RBI, 2-2Bs
Not only did Drew have a nice game at the dish, but his awesome stop of a Carl Crawford shot down the rightfield line in the third held CC to a single and prevented the speedy All Star from taking two or three extra bases when the game was still tied at one apiece.

PAN'S FAUN Edwin Jackson 5IP, 9H, 7ER, 1BB, 5K, HR
Despite the linescore it's not like Jackson pitched that poorly, but when a guy's 1-9 and his ERA is over 7.00, I don't think the manager should say things like (from)"what I saw today...you could project this young man to be a member of a championship starting rotation."

In what, the Mexican league?!

RECAP
Nothing like a series against the struggling Devil Rays to cure what ails a slumping team, now is there?

For the second consecutive game Boston bats got healthy on Tampa Bay pitching, and if not for a late-game swoon by Wakefield and Lopez, this game could have been a lot uglier than the final score indicates.

That's because for six+ innings the Sox were coasting, building on a first inning lead by posting back-to-back three-run spots in the fourth & fifth, while Wakefield's knuckler was dancing and dazzling most of the dumbfounded Rays hitters.

The Sox hung a run on the board not long after the pregame flyover and Independence Day festivities subsided when Coco led off the first with a triple deep in the rightfield corner and Cora squeezed him home with a "bunt" to the pitcher.

Unfortunately that lead didn't last long, as fourth string catcher Raul I am not your Casanova pumped a two-out, two-strike homer into the Monster seats off wake to tie the game and give the Rays hope that they might break their wretched 9-game losing streak today.

That feeling went away shortly thereafter.

Jackson actually settled down and threw two straight 1-2-3 innings in the second & third, but by the fourth he was back to being the pitcher who has been a frustrating mystery since arriving in Tampa as part of the Dany Baez/Lance Carter trade in 2006.

The Sox wrapped singles by Papi (1-3, R) & Lowell around strikouts from Drew and Hinske, and with the bottom of the order due up it looked as if Jackson would escape the frame without any damage done.

Wrong.

Instant fan favorite Jacoby Ellsbury, taking Manny's place in left today, worked the count to 2-2 before driving a double to center that scored Ortiz with the go-ahead run and set up runners at second & third for Doug Mirabelli, he of the .174 average coming in. Uh oh.

But these are the D-Rays, with the pitching staff that makes sub-Mendoza hitters look like the second coming of George Brett, and wouldn't you know Dougie Boy laced his first hit in more that two weeks, a single to deep right that scored Lowell and Ellsbury with ease to make it 4-1 Boston and gave Wake a bit more breathing room to work with.

Didn't really matter that Lugo (0-3) flied out to end the inning.

What did matter was that Boston put up another three runs in the fifth, because little did we know at the time, as it turns out two of those three would be very integral to this victory.

Cora (1-3, R, BI) started the winning rally when he stroked a one-out double to right, and after Papi flied out, Cora took third on a wild pitch by Jackson, then waltzed home on an opposite field double off the Monster by Drew. That ran the score to 5-1 and had Jackson on the verge of being run from the game.

Rays manager Joe Maddon should've had reliever Jason Hammel make a premature entrance from the bullpen right then, because two pitches later All Star Mike Lowell (2-4, 2R, 2BI) ripped a two-run Monster shot to make the score a rout, 7-1, and after escaping the inning with no more damage done, Jackson would get the rest of the day off.

Too bad because he missed a heck of a comeback by his teammates. By the seventh Wake was tiring (he is 40 for crying out loud), and when he gave up singles to Ty Wigginton, Casanova, and Aki Iwamura (1-5, R) in the inning it was time for Wakefield to join Jackson in the showers.

Not like that, sick fucks.

Javier Lopez (.1IP, 2H, R, K) came on to relieve Wake and stop the bleeding, but all he ended up doing was slicing the wound wide open.

Crawford (3-5, R, 2BI) ripped a 2-0 pitch from Javier for a two-run double to cut the lead to 7-3, and after Brendan Harris whiffed, old friend (and new Sox killer) Carlos Pena scorched a single to center that scored Iwamura and Crawford and turned what was a laffer into a tight, two-run contest.

Oh boy.

That's when Tito went to his new bullpen weapon, the rapidly emerging Manny Delcarmen, and all the local kid did was fan pinch hitter Jonny Gomes on four pitches, catching the slugger looking at a gorgeous inside cutter for called strike three.

Delcarmen would go on to strike out two more rays in the 8th, and then it was time for All Star closer Papelbon to come in and do his thing.

Which for Paps would include retiring the Rays in order on nine pitches, including fanning Iwamura swinging to open the inning and Harris looking at a sizzling high fastball to end the game.

And just like that Boston is on a mini-winning streak and should enjoy a sizable lead heading into the break, while the Rays have lost 10 in a row for the first time in two years.

Oh yeah, and they face All Star (starter?) Josh Beckett tomorrow.

Thanks for coming, guys.

QUOTES

"Obviously, our offense made it a whole lot easier to pitch."--Wake. Ah, yup.

"He is getting some pretty big outs in pretty big situations. ... I look forward to seeing some more exciting stuff out of him in the second half."--Tito on Delcarmen.

"I just didn't put people away when I had to."--Jackson, a.k.a. Captain Understatement

RECORD: 52-31
AL EAST: Up 11.5 on TOR
STREAK: W-3
LAST 10: 5-5
UP NEXT: Thu vs. TB 7:05

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Back to life, back to reality...Sox win again

Sox 4, Tampa Bay 1
WP: Matsuzaka (10-5)
LP: Kazmir (5-5)
HRs: TB-Pena (19)

SUMMARY
Nothing like a visit by the D-rays to get everyone in the nation to start feeling warm & fuzzy again.

Daisuke Matsuzaka continued his streak of quality starts, and he got all the run support he would need from--of all people-- slumping Julio Lugo, who did in his former mates with a clutch 2-run single in the second.

#1 STUNNER Dice-K 8IP, 4H, 0R, 1BB, 9K
The rookie has reached 10 victories midway through his first MLB season, and he has now fanned at least 8 batters in six consecutive starts.

PAN's FAUN Wily Mo 0-4, 4Ks
Dude has now struck out in a staggering 40% of his at bats this season (44Ks, 111ABs); just call him Wily Mo Windmill.

RECAP
I know in my preview I went on and on about how these two teams always play rough & tumble, crazy, highlight-reel games against each other, so wouldn't you know in this first meeting of 2007 between them it was just a straight-up domination by a hot pitcher over a struggling team.

Ho hum.

The reeling Rays, losers of nine straight games, came into Fenway not having played any games against its testiest division rival for the first time ever this late in the season, but Boston may be catching the once-respectable Rays at just the right time.

After getting swept at home by the White Sox despite striking out at least 10 batters in all four games, the Rays went to Cleveland and got poleaxed by the Tribe, losing four more by a combined score of 23-11 to fall a season-low 16 games under .500.

Despite these clouds of negative energy trailing the team from city to city, Tampa Bay did have reason to be optimistic tonight--starter Scott Kazmir has fared well in his brief career vs. the Sox, and last season the Rays won 9 of 19 games against Boston, including an 11-0 pasting at Fenway last Sept. 27th in Josh Beckett's final start of the season.

Ah, too bad this is 2007.

The Sox got to Kazmir (6IPp, 6H, 4R, 3ER, 3BB, 6K) right away, throwing a three-spot on the board in the second inning while only registering one hit. That's cause Kaz is the King of Walks, and the ML leader added to his total when he issued free passes to Manny, Youk and Lowell to start the frame.

Tek followed with an RBI groundout that put the first run on the board, but after Wily Mo whiffed for the first of his four times on the night, all hope of adding on to the lead looked lost when Lugo stepped to the plate, dragging his 0-33 streak behind him.

But there's something about the power of playing against your ex-teammates that gets the old adrenaline flowing like no other regular season game, and wouldn't you know even a man in the depths of a god awful, season-long slump isn't immune to that kind of karma.

Lugo took the first pitch he saw from Kazmir and lined it into center for a slump-busting base hit, but not only did he finally get off the schneid, his hit drove in two key runs for a pitcher who had only been averaging two runs of support a game for the past month.

The crowd was still buzzing and cheering when Coco flied out to end the frame, because the faithful had finally witnessed someone from their team do to another like many ex-Sox had done to them.

The score would remain 3-0 for a few innings as Kaz settled down and Matsuzaka was plowing through the Rays with the ease and precision of a Ginsu.

How dominating was he? No Rays batter reached second base until the sixth inning and only two did so in the game against him; only one batter reached third; and Tampa Bay got the leadoff batter on base in just one inning, and he was erased on a double play one pitch later.

At one point, from the beginning of the third through the top of the sixth, Dice set down 9 of 10 Rays hitters, five by way of strikeout.

And when the 11th batter, fellow Japan league vet Akinori Iwamura, the Rays talented third baseman, reached second base on single and an error by Pedroia, Matsuzaka got Carl Crawford to line out to first and then deftly snagged Brendan Harris' wicked liner back to the box as he walked off the mound like the cat who caught the canary.

Boston would put an unearned run on the board in the sixth when Youk singled, Lowell followed with a single and Iwamura threw wide of first allowing both runners to advance, then Tek hit a sac fly to right to score Youk with the sox final run of the night.

Uncharacteristically, the horrid Rays pen held the fort after Kazmir exited following the sixth, while it was Boston's normally unflappable closer who came in and blew the shutout for the Sox.

After Dice escaped a mini-jam in the eighth, getting Iwamura to strike out with Jonny Gomes on third, Jonathan Papelbon took over in the 9th just to get some action; with all the losses and deficits Boston has had lately, Paps has only pitched three times in the last nine days.

Perhaps that explained why Carlos Pena, a member of the Sox briefly last season, curled a 2-0 offering from Papelbon deep into the rightfield seats for his 19th homer of the season that disappointed the crowd who were longing to see another shutout.

Alas they had to settle for the win, and with two in a row under their belts and a couple of favorable pitching matchups on tap for the next two games, it looks like the boys could be headed into the break with a healthy division lead and a team that should be 100% healthy soon after the break.

Now that's a scary thought for the rest of the league.

NOTES

• No more Lugo-fer: not only did Lugo notch his first hit since June 14th in the second, he also leadoff the seventh with a single but was cut down trying to steal for the second time in a row (we all remember the first time) after 20 straight successful attempts
• Coco comeback: Crisp returned the the lineup and his center field position after sitting out four games to rest his bruised thumb and went 1-3 with a double; he also assumed his leadoff spot, with Lugo dropping back to 9th
• Manny & Papi combined to go 0-7 with a run, a walk and three Ks; Ramirez fanned twice, once looking to end the seventh with two men on base
• Iwamura was 1-3 with a double against his former JL adversary, where he was 2-8 against Dice-K in his brief career
• Youk also returned after his quad strain kept him on the bench for a couple of games; he went 1-3 with a walk and two runs scored
• Pena's homer gave him as many as he had in the last two season combined (18 in 2005, 1 in 2006)
• There was some comic relief in the sixth when Kazmir was briefly injured covering first base and reliever Jason Hammel, who had been warming up, thought he had been called in; upon realizing his services were not yet needed, Hammel high-tailed it back to the pen, much to the delight of the bleacher creatures behind the bully; even Hammel couldn't suppress a smile at his own expense on that odd play

QUOTES

"I don't think that it's complete, but I do feel like I'm getting back to a good spot." --Dice-K; I'd have to say that 'good spot' is damn near great

"You can't not think about things like that. They've been very supportive, especially Manny."--Lugo on "The Slump" (note another player saying what a great teammate Manny is, often the unheralded aspect of MBM)

"Take away the second inning and it'd be a whole different ballgame."--Kazmir; yeah, and take away that iceberg and the Titanic is a floating museum off the coast of Dubai

RECORD: 51-31
AL EAST: Up 11 on TOR
STREAK: W-2
LAST 10: 4-6
UP NEXT: Wed vs TB 1:05

Happy July 4th!

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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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Nifty 50: Sox bats explode (finally) in win #50

Sox 7, Texas 3
WP: Gabbard (2-0)
LP: McCarthy (4-5)
HRs: TEX-Wilkerson (10)

SUMMARY
The Bosox bats finally busted out of their weeklong slumber with a 10-hit, 7-run performance, and it was a total team effort that featured a number of big hits in the clutch (for a change.)

Kason Gabbard pitched well enough for the win and four relievers combined to stymie the hot Texans as Boston notched its 50th win of the season.

#1 STUNNER Jacoby Ellsbury 2-2, 2R, 2BB, SB
This could have gone to Hinske, whose 3-run triple sealed the win, but it was the heady play of the speedy young rookie that made the biggest impression on this Sox fan tonight.

After beating out another infield hit with his blazing speed in the third, the 24-year-old center fielder laced a conventional single to right in the fifth, stole second, and then came around to score the winning run on a wild pitch minutes later. From second base.

Way to go, kid, and welcome to the Show.

PAN's FAUN Texas pitchers McCarthy & Eyre
I had to include both these clowns because their numbers were almost identically pathetic.

Starter Brandon McCarthy lasted just 3 2/3, tossing 81 pitches while allowing six hits, four walks and four earned runs; his successor, Willie Eyre, threw 83 pitches in his 3 1/3 of work, surrendering three runs on three hits and five free passes in that time.

That's what I call equal opportunity suckage.

RECAP
All together now: FINAL-FUCKING-LY!

I'm sure that's what most of the Nation was thinking and/or yelling after the Sox pulled off one of the, shall we say, most important wins of the first half of the season.

I know it's tough to classify a mid-season victory over a mediocre team by a club that has 50 wins and a winning percentage over .600 as a 'must-win', but the way the team had been spiraling downward recently amidst a rash of freak injuries, spotty pitching and inability to score, this one ranks right up there as a huge victory for Boston.

And the greatest part about the whole thing was the boys dispensed of all the recent 'can't come through with a big hit in the clutch' negative mojo it had incurred in losing six of its last eight games almost right away tonight...

...well, not right away. As I peruse backwards in my notes I do recall that Boston blew another golden scoring opp in the very first inning, when Lugo (who actually led off again; of course he didn't get a hit) walked and Ortiz singled after Pedroia struck out.

So with men on first and second and only one out against a guy making his first start since coming off the DL, what does Manny do? He grounds into a double play, that's what.

It was at this point in my scribbles that I wrote in large, jagged letters "will somebody please get a friggin timely hit with men on base?!"

And like a gift from the baseball gods, two innings later my chicken scratch prayers were answered.

Eric Hinske (2-4, R, 3RBI) led the inning off with a bloop single to center, and Ellsbury followed with his second hit of his career and second infield hit after the ball bounced high between the pitcher and second basemen and neither one had a chance to throw out the speedster.

After Lugo (0-2, 2BB) sacrificed the runners over, which brought a cheer from the suddenly softening Fenway Faithful, Dustin Pedroia (1-5, 2R, BI) stepped in with his Little Man's Syndrome and socket-dislocating swing and roped a double deep down the rightfield line that easily scored both runners and give Boston a much-needed early lead.

And the Nation all went "whhhheeeeeewwww!"

A groundout by Ortiz (1-5) got Pedroia over to third, and when Manny followed with a booming double high off the centerfield wall that brought Pedroia home, the three run cushion truly seemed like a gift from heaven.

With the way a more relaxed Gabbard was throwing (5.2IP, 3H, 3ER, 4BB, 5K, HR), it hardly seemed like a big deal when the Sox added a fourth run to their lead in the bottom of the fourth inning, but as it turns out that run would be the most important one of the game.

This inning started off innocently enough with Tek grounding out to open it and Hinske popping out to short after that. But that's when The Kid stepped up to the plate and began the trip that would enter him in Sox lore forever.

Ellsbury took the first pitch he saw from McCarthy and deposited it in right field for his first hit out of the infield in three games. Not content to settle for sitting at first base with two outs, after a couple of throw overs and a pitch out, he took off for second and made it easily for his first career stolen base.

But what happened next will live forever in the minds of hardcore, diehard Sox fans, cause we know it's the little things that sometimes make the biggest impact in a game.

After walking Lugo again (how do you walk a .190 hitter twice in four innings?), McCarthy was done and Eyre came in to stop the threat before the game got out of hand. Except he made a little mistake--he threw the fifth pitch to Pedroia in the dirt and it skidded away to the left of catcher Gerald Laird, allowing the runners to advance a base.

Well, it doesn't have to be one base.

Ellsbury, who was just a blinding blur of arms & legs, glided around third and headed for home without ever breaking stride, and by the time he crossed home plate with the Sox fourth run of the game, the Rangers were stunned, the Nation was ecstatic, and the first Navajo American to play in the major leagues had just ran his way into history.

Okay, so maybe it wasn't historical, but it sure was fucking sweet!

The good times were tempered a bit (and the Nation Nausea momentarily returned) when Gabbard had his only bad inning of the night in the fifth when he allowed a walk to Marlon Byrd, a single to Laird and then a three-run bomb to Brad Wilkerson to slice the lead to 4-3.

However Boston would quickly relieve the upset stomachs of their fans in the bottom of the frame when part-timer Eric Hinske delivered yet another big hit despite his low average and limited playing time.

The consummate veteran has played in just 39 games this season and has only 17 hits in 77 at bats (.218), but he's also scored 17 runs and driven in 11, and of those 17 hits, 10 (5-2Bs, 2-3Bs, 3-HRs) have gone for extra bases.

So it should have come as no surprise when Hinske, playing for Youk (quad strain), followed walks to Drew and Manny and an infield single by Tek with a towering triple to deep center just over Kenny Lofton's head that cleared the bases and created a large enough, late-enough lead that had even the most cynical Sox fan thinking this win was in the books.

Although both teams would have more scoring chances the actual scoring was over, and by the time potential All Star Hideki Okajima got Travis Metcalf to fly out to (appropriately) Ellsbury to end the game, the 600-lb gorilla was off Boston's back and the team finally had reason to celebrate it's and five All Star selections, plus its 50th victory to boot.

Once again, can I get a FINAL-FUCKING-LY?!

Amen.

NOTES

• Boston batters had 10 hits and walked eight times, and six players reached base at least twice
• Four players had two hits (Manny, Tek, Hinske, Ellsbury) and three batters walked at least twice (Lugo, Drew, Ellsbury); Lowell (0-4) was the only starter to go hitless
• Despite not registering a hit Lugo in his last 31 at bats, Tito threw Lugo back into the leadoff spot; he went 0-2 but did walk three times, and he was cheered for executing a sac bunt and before he grounded out with two on to end the seventh; a kinder, gentler Nation?
• Drew (0-2, R) was issued three free passes on the night and has now walked 10 times in his last six games--talk about having an amazing eye at the plate
• Lofton was held hitless for the first time in the series
• Timlin (1IP, 1H), Lopez (1/3IP), Snyder (1IP, 1H) and Oki (1IP, 1K) combined to shut down the Texas offense that had been raking Boston pitching up till that point
• Although Gabbard looked much better than he did in Seattle and ran his record to 2-0, he's now walked 10 batters in his last two starts covering nine innings-yikes
• Boston had 50 wins at the halfway point last season as well (this was Game #81), and we all know how that turned out-shhhhh!
• New Celtics guard and future injury list regular Ray Allen threw out the first pitch and was a guest in the booth with Rem & Don (once agin, my thoughts on the deal: love the guy, hate the trade)

QUOTES

"I had my mind made up early. I saw the wild pitch early and I saw De Marlo waving me as I was almost by him."--Ellsbury describing his Welcome to the Nation moment

"I didn't feel comfortable from moment one."--McCarthy, cranking up the excuse machine

"I was told during batting practice. I just tried to get prepared as I always do."--Hinske, on his late addition to the lineup. Told you he's a consummate pro.

RECORD: 50-31
AL EAST: Up 10
STREAK: W-1
LAST 10: 5-5
UP NEXT: Tue vs. TB (!) 7:05

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Game Preview: Texas @ Sox GM4

McCarthy (4-4) vs. Gabbard (1-0, 6.48)
Fenway Park 7:05

With thoughts of sweeping the lowly Rangers long since put to rest, Boston hopes to merely manage a split of the wraparound four game set when they send youngster Kason Gabbard to the mound for his third start of the season and second in place of Curt Schilling.

Gabbard is coming off an atrocious start in Seattle in which he walked four and hit a batter in the first inning alone, and wound up issuing six free passes and six hits in 3 1/3 innings of what would be a 9-4 Boston loss.

His opponent will be highly-touted but yet-to-deliver young righty Brandon McCarthy, who was shelled by the Sox back in late May when he allowed four hits, four walks and four runs in 2 1/3 innings of a 10-6 Texas loss on May 25th. This will be McCarthy's first start since spending 15 days on the DL with a blister problem (hmm, sounds familiar.)

Wouldn't you know it, he's another in a growing list of long & lanky (6' 7") starters to oppose Boston this season and second in a row after teammate Kameron Loe.

Despite who's starting (it doesn't matter at this point) all I know is that the many all-stars on this roster better start playing like it, and if they lose another low-scoring, one-run game I'm going to start watching Premiere League soccer in order to see some real high-scoring teams.

Go Sox!

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All Star roster full of Sox

ALL STAR STARTERS:
POS: AL/ NL
C: I. Rodriguez, DET/ R. Martin, LAD
1B: Papi/ P. Fielder, MIL
2B: Polanco, DET/ Utley, PHI
3B: A-Rod/ D. Wright, NYM
SS: Jeter/ Reyes, NYM
OF: Vlad/ C. Beltran, NYM
OF: M. Ordonez, DET/ Griffey
OF: Ichiro/ Bonds

At least five Red Sox players will be present for this years MLB All Star game, tying the most in baseball, and if Hideki Okajima wins the fans write-in vote that number could jump to a league-leading six.

That pitchers Josh Beckett (11-2) and Jonathan Papelbon (18 saves) were selected came as no surprise to anyone, nor did the inclusion of Bosox boppers (who currently aren't bopping) David Ortiz, the lone starter for Boston, and Manny Ramirez, a couple of fan and player faves who are perennial locks for the team.

The semi-surprising choice was to include third baseman Mike Lowell, who won the right to back up leading vote getter Alex Rodriguez thanks to his superb season (.297/12HRs/55RBIs) so far.

Not that Lowell didn't deserve the honor, his fourth selection to the game and first in the AL, but with some other worthy candidates felling the snub, such as cross-diamond teammate Kevin Youkilis, the selection was a mild surprise.

But Youk can thank his teammate Big Papi for him not getting chosen to his first Mid Summer classic; that's because Ortiz, the full-time DH and part-time first baseman, took a spot away from a "regular" first baseman due to the game being played in an NL stadium, San Francisco's AT&T Park.

Other than Youk some other notable AL omissions include old friend Orlando Cabrera at short, Detroit's Gary Sheffield and Twins catcher Joe Mauer.

In the NL the biggest surprise wasn't an omission but an inclusion; Barry Bonds surprisingly made the squad when just a few days ago he was lagging behind in fourth place among outfielders and it looked like he was going to have to rely on his peers to vote him in, an unlikely proposition at best.

Suddenly within the last week Bonds leaped into third place and will get the start in his own home park just as he is on the verge of breaking one of the most hallowed record in sports. Right or wrong, the game is an entertainment event for the fans, and love him or hate him Bonds deserves to be present in this game.

Just like Josh Beckett will deserve to start it if he wins his next start against the D-Rays on Thursday.

Hopefully Boston will have found its offensive groove by then.

Meanwhile, don't forget to log onto MLB.com and vote for Oki for the Fan Monster Vote, whatever the fuck that is!

Congrats to the five Boston All Stars, and please go out there and contribute and try to win the thing so we'll get the homefield when we make it to the World Series in October.

Well, except you Manny--we know you won't be attending.

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Another day, another disheartening loss

Texas 2, Sox 1
WP: Loe (5-6)
LP: Tavarez (5-6)
SV: Gagne (10)
HRs: None


SUMMARY
The Sox lost yet another one-run game as Julian Tavarez turned in a quality start, but the Boston offense continues to be stuck in neutral; the team has scored just eight runs in its last four games.

#1 STUNNER Kam Loe 6IP, 6H, 1ER, 2BB, 1K
Add Loe's name to the pile of pitchers who have gone from obscurity to All Star abilty against the Sox. To his credit, Loe has now won four straight after a putrid 1-6 start.

PAN's FAUN the whole Boston team
No one person is to blame for this current crop of god-awful games. From poor defense (two errors and a number of sloppy plays) to an uncanny knack for leaving a ton of men on base (11 more yesterday), this team is struggling in a big way right now.

Thankfully they have that large division lead to soften the severity of the problems.

RECAP
After a few hours of playing video games (XBOX 360's The Darkness-RENT!), watering the lawn & garden and watching a terrible movie ("The Messengers"-don't rent!), my perspective has returned and I find I'm able to rationally discuss the game and what has happened to our once awesome Sox.

Nothing like playing a video game that has a demon-possessed mafioso traipsing around NYC on a bloodthirsty, murderous rampage, devouring the hearts of all the goons and goombahs who dare challenge him to clear the head after a loss like that.

The Sox sudden inability to put runs on the board, and consequently win some of these close games they have been involved in over the past few weeks, may have reached Level Orange with today's loss to the (not so lowly) Rangers.

Stop me if you've heard this before: a struggling/no name pitcher shuts down the potent Sox offense, while the Boston starter does a good enough job to get the win but the lack of run support makes it virtually impossible to do so.

Sound like a broken record? That's because of the 27 games Boston played in June, an astonishing 12 of them were one run affairs, and of those dozen the Sox won only half.

Not exactly a stellar percentage for a championship-caliber club.

Even more amazing is the fact that they have been involved in two 1-0 games (won both), one 2-0 game (won) and five 2-1 contests (3-2.)

That's a lot of low-scoring close games to be involved in in one month, especially for a team that supposedly possesses one of the best offenses in the majors.

Right now anyone would be hard pressed to believe that this team has a better offense than the D-Rays as once again a slew of missed scoring opportunities doomed the Sox on Sunday afternoon.

Tavarez (5.2IP, 7H, 2R, 1ER, 3BB, 2K), coming off a nightmare outing in Seattle, gave his team every chance to pull this one out by holding the high-powered offense to just one earned run (2 runs) through 5 2/3 innings.

The first run Texas scored was no fault of Julie's though, as Texas scored once in the fourth thanks to a single and two Boston errors.

Saturday night's hero Sammy Sosa started the inning with a single to right, and then Sox nemesis Frankie Cat reached on a throwing error by Alex Cora, starting in place of Who?-lio Lugo again.

Another Saturday stud, Marlon Byrd, then muscled a Tavarez offering into right that crossed up J.D. Drew and young CF Jacoby Ellsbury, and as Drew glanced to avoid Ellsbury the ball glanced off his glove, and Sosa raced home with a gift-wrapped run.

Tavarez limited the damage when he induced a DP later, but with the way the Sox have been playing, one run feels like friggin 10!

Boston would overcome the huge deficit when they strung together singles by Cora, Pedroia and then RBI machine Youk drove in the tying run in the fifth, but much to the crowd's dismay, Loe would retire Papi on a long flyball to the Monster and Manny on a groundout, and two men were left standing on base, wondering what it would be like to touch home plate.

Unfortunately the warm & fuzzy feeling of scoring a run and tying the game would not last long, because in the top of the sixth Texas would take the lead for good when the Cat (dam him!) led off with a walk and Brad Wilkerson doubled him in with a shot high of the monster.

The fact that he was allowed to take third on a couple of piss-poor relay throws didn't really a matter much at that point, nor did the fact that Julie would exit the game after two more batters.

Because at 2-1 the damage was done, and all that was left was for Boston to strand almost a half a dozen more runners, including two in the seventh when Papi whiffed against Frankie Francisco, two in the eigth when Cora grounded out against Eric Gagne, and one more in the ninth as Gagne got Ortiz to meekly pop out to the infield with pinch runner Lugo standing on first base to end it.

And so it will now be up to the youngster Kason Gabbard to stop the bleeding tomorrow night, but who's kidding who? Even if he throws a 1-hit shutout, the way things are going for this team, they'll still find a way to lose.

I'll say it again--thank Christ for that 10-game bulge!

NOTES

• Boston had nine hits, six (2 each) from Tek, Youk and Pedroia
• Varitek hurt his ankle when Akinori Otsuka stepped on his ankle on a play at first in the 8th. Otsuka would leave the game, and Gagne was summoned before the 9th inning for the first time in three years
• Paging Eric Gagne: when Gagne was called to replace Otsuka, he did not want to come to the mound to warm up, per rules when a pitcher leaves due to injury. Despite jeers from the fans and the pleading of his bullpen coach and umpires, it took the Seth Rogen lookalike a good four minutes to enter the field
• Lugo got his third night off in a row, one day after his boneheaded baserunning blunder cost Boston a potential tying run
• Cora went 1-4 in his absence and made a spectacular play behind second in the second inning, but then made two or three horrible plays later. Must be the position
• Drew extended his hitting streak to nine games with a single in the 8th and in that time he's batting .444 (12-27) to raise his average from .236 to .260
• Captain Clutch? Papi latest homerless streak has reached nine games and he's hit just two longballs in his last 20 games. Plus, according to the Globe, he's a less-than-spectacular 7-28 in late innings of close games, with no homers and just one ribbie. Yikes
• Youk played third while Lowell had the night off and had a pair of hits; his RBI was his ninth in the last eight games. Hinske took first base
• Kenny Lofton continues his audition for a mid-season trade to a contender as the 40-year-old speedster had another pair of hist and he is now 8-13 in the series, though he hasn't scored a run-hmmm.

QUOTES

"If our starting pitching continues to perform like it has, there's light at the end of the tunnel." -- Rangers manager Ron Washington; if they keep playing Boston, there is!

"You go through times when it seems like you're whacking it all over the ballpark. We'll straighten it up and we'll put a bunch up."--The Power of Positive Thinking by Tito Francona

RECORD: 49-31
AL EAST: Up 10.5 on TOR
STREAK: L-2
LAST 10: 4-6
UP NEXT: Mon vs. TEX 7:05

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Sox day consists of little good, plenty of bad & ugly

Boston loses another frustrating game, while five players named to All Star team

The game just ended and once again I cannot believe what I just saw (sorry, Jack Buck.)

Boston played shoddy defense, left another eight men on base, and got good-but-not-good-enough starting pitching as they were defeated by an inferior pitcher and team for the umpteenth time this season.

I'm so sick and upset right now that I can't even do my usual recap of the game. I'm going to go pass a couple of hours by playing video games, maybe watch a movie, do some yardwork, anything other than think about the latest installment in a disturbing string of bewildering losses that have plagued this team in the last week.

Oh yeah, the good news: Manny, Papi, Beckett, Papelbon and Lowell all made the squad for the All Star game next week.

But with all these ridiculous losses lately, I don't think anybody really feels like celebrating right now.

More later...

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Game Preview: Texas @ Sox GM3

Loe (4-6, 6.02) vs. Tavarez (5-5, 4.60)
Fenway Park 2:05

Plays like this baffler from Julio Lugo last night have caused the Sox to swoon at the end of June

The weight of Red Sox Nation rests on the scrawny shoulders of psychotic Julian Tavarez today as the Sox need to establish some kind of winning streak before the All Star break begins one week from tonight.

With losses in five of its last seven games, the team ended the month of June with a losing record, so Boston had better put together a string of wins over Texas and Tampa Bay, because after those two series the Sox head to Detroit for a three-gamer with the smokin' hot Tigers to close out the first half.

The problems the team has had since departing San Diego have been both obvious and disheartening: a devastating mix of poor pitching and non-clutch hitting combined with mental & physical breakdowns have plagued Boston in losing four of five games this week.

Tavarez started the streak off with a horrid outing against Seattle on Monday in which he allowed six hits and six runs (three earned) in 4 1/3 innings of a 9-4 loss. Prior to that he had won four consecutive decisions, but that's the problem with Julie Gump--you never know what you're gonna get.

Today his mound opponent will be Texas' lanky righthander Kameron Loe, who has turned it around in June after dropping to 1-6 to start to the season.

The 6'7" Loe has won three straight starts, allowing just five earned runs in 21.2 innings over that time while lowering his ERA from 7.40 to 6.02. Lefties are hitting a scalding .338 off him, though, so look for Papi, Drew and or Tek to possibly have good games today.

Loe also joins the lengthening list of lengthy hurlers whom the Sox have faced this season, forming a formidable trio that includes Randy Johnson (6'11") and Chris Young (6'10".)

With Donnelly, Schilling and now Pineiro now on the DL, Coco possibly headed there from another finger injury and Julio Lugo playing like a man without a clue, times are a little bit tough for our team right now.

Luckily we still enjoy a double-digit division lead, otr it would really be time to panic.

But it's nothing a little five game winning streak to start July won't cure.


**UPDATE: The Stanks are already losing 8-0 after two innings to the Oakland A's, one day after Chad Gaudin held them to one hit in a 7-0 Oakland victory; so we got that going for us.**

GO SOX!

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