SawxBlog

Bizzarro World - Sox Lose, Ray's in First

Red Sox have been freefallin' as of late. (AP Photo)

All I have to say is that it's May 14th and the Red Sox are in second place a half game behind the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Wake me up when this is over.

Twins Takes Series Over Sox, Cavs Tie Celtics

Terry Francona hasn't liked what he's been seeing recently or last night. (AP Photo)

Things got off to a good start for the Red Sox last night, however things quickly turned sour as Clay Buchholz didn't hold up to his end of the bargain. Staked out to a first inning 3-0 lead Clay couldn't hold back the Twin bats as they had their way with him. Clay's stat line was pretty bad last night as he gave up 7 ER in 4.1 IP while giving up 5 BB.

The pitching staff in general has been pretty shaky as of late, and it makes me wonder if the 10 game road trip is starting to wear on the team. The one bright spot to last night was Manny cranking his 498th HR of his career to RF. Manny's now two away from 500, and the Alien Atari produced/composed song (A SawxBlog Exclusive) "MoMannyMoneyMix" is set to drop after he hits his 500th, and trust me, the song's awesome. Be sure to check back when he cranks #500 for the free tune.

Speaking of road woes, the Celtics took a pretty tough loss to the chin from Lebron James and the Cavs last night. The Celtics are now 0-5 on the road in the playoffs and are a team of epic Jekyll and Hyde proportions. I honestly thought they played a tough road playoff game last night, however they did a complete disappearing act in the fourth quarter. Towards the end of the game, when I'd normally change the channel in frustration, I just sat and stared. It was complete shock and awe, and watching that dunk (which will be forever famous, especially if the Cavs pull off the upset) by Lebron felt like an uppercut to an unready stomach.

The Celtics have to win another crucial Game 5 this Wednesday at home to hold court and gain control back of the series. I don't know though, losing how they did put a pretty bad taste in mouth...

Papelblown Strikes Again, Sox Lose

(AP Photo)

For numerous reasons I haven't been able to catch too much of the Sox games recently (Main Culprits for this include the NBA Playoffs, job changes, and the acquisition of an HD TV), and after seeing how the last few games have ended up I'm thinking maybe that's a good thing. Or maybe it's because I haven't been watching they've been losing? hmmmmm....

Either way, I'm definitely watching both the Red Sox & Celtic games tonight, however you have to lean more towards the Ceez, it is after all, the playoffs. Odd seeing Papelbon of all people blowing it over the last few games, these stretches happen though, and braving these storms is never too hard, they never seem to last too long.

Go Soxtics.

Two For Tuesday - Red Sox & Celtics Take Care Of Business

Manny and K.G. both did their part to make it a good night in Boston. (AP Photos)

Every time Tim Wakefield takes the mound and I talk to my Dad he always has a certain amount of trepidation about Timmy Knuckleball. Despite the long service Tim's put in with the Red Sox, 2008 being the fourteenth year Wakefield's been with the club, and despite him being third all-time in the Red Sox win column, I can't help but agree with my Dad a bit here. Maybe I'm just ignorant to nuances of the knuckleball, but it is nerve racking as a fan when he's on the mound because you have the anticipation that every ball he throws is going to get jacked deep out of the park.

Last night that wasn't the case. Timmy Knuckleball was controlling his knuckle like a finally honed whiffle ball and was keeping batters off balance and often looking silly. Last night was another brilliant case of a Red Sox starter going deep and looking good, and it makes me extra excited to realize that Curt Schilling and Bartolo Colon may be waiting in the wings. Deep may be an understatement there when it  comes to our pitching in '08.

Our hitting is still rolling too with Kevin "Thank God Mirabelli is No Longer on the team" Cash leading the way with three hits. Seeing Manny and Ortiz go back to back too is also always a great sign. Coincidence that Mike "The Factor" Lowell is back in the line-up and the Sox are scoring runs.....?  I'll leave that up to you to decide.

In the other game last night the Celtics outlasted Cleveland in a defensive struggle that Kevin "MVP" Garnett shined in. I'd be concerned if I were a Cavs fan here, because yeah Lebron didn't do anything, but neither did Pierce or Allen and the Celtics still came out on top. Thursday's game is going to be very interesting to see how each team adjusts, and I'd be shocked to see those three stars struggle like they did Tuesday. Big props also to Sam Cassel, games like he had last night are the reason we picked him up, and help get us one step closer to number 17.

My prediction, Celtics in 6, maybe in 5.

Iron Mike Lowell & Big Papi Lead Sox to Fourth Strait

Iron Mike Lowell is Back, and back with a vengeance. (SawxBlog Illustration)

Seeing Iron Mike Lowell back in the lineup makes me beyond happy, and the fact that I picked him up off of waivers only a week ago in my fantasy league is just a cherry on the top for me. The 2007 World Series MVP looks like he's starting to reach form once again after suffering an early season thumb injury, and you can see first hand how he offensively and defensively sparks the Red Sox. Manny and Papi now have their protection back, and with Drew and Lugo swinging better bats this year our offense has a lot of formidable power.

I guess that's why I was so frustrated last week when it seemed like a struggle for the Sox to push even one run across the plate. The beast seems have been awoken though, and with Lowell in the middle of it all, I couldn't be happier. On the other side of the ball Dice-K continues to baffle on the mound. Dice-K's individual numbers are actually pretty fricken decent so far in 2008. He's now 5-0 with an ERA of 2.43. Matsuzaka has given up only 22 hits in 40.2 innings however where you start to scratch your head is how early his pitch count reaches high numbers.

This is due to his reluctance to throw strikes in fastball counts which leads to his high BB total. He had 8 walks alone last night which just isn't acceptable. He somehow managed to walk between the raindrops without getting wet, but living on the edge like that won't last long in this league. He already has 27 BB's to his 33 K's, and in order for him to raise to the next level of pitcher, he absolutely needs to figure out how to get outs on less pitches with fewer walks.

All that said, this was an important first win to grab on this road trip as Wakefield looks to take advantage of the large foul territory that's now in Detroit tonight.

PS - Go Celtics!

Youkilis & Lester Help Sweep Away Rays

Kevin Youkilis high fives his teammates as he walks back into the dugout (AP Photo)

Kevin Youkilis had a career high tying day at the plate yesterday afternoon with four RBI as he and his Red Sox teammates completed a three game sweep of the Rays. It was just last weekend that Tampa Bay swept Boston, and the Sox were kind enough to return the favor in Fenway this weekend.

The Red Sox now embark on a ten day road trip, and hopefully the momentum of this weekend along with their revived bats can carry into their first series in Detroit. The Red Sox became the second team in the AL to reach the 20 win plateau and now sit seven games over .500 at 20-13. Lefty Jon Lester had another strong outing for the Sox going 6.0 IP and giving up only 1 ER.

Jon Lester has already shown me a lot in this young season. His start of the season was shaky and his control seemed to be missing, however he's really hunkered down and has been throwing a lot of different pitches well. He also stepped up when the Sox needed him to and pitched on three days rest earlier when the killer flu of flu's was ravaging the Sox clubhouse. Jon Lester, maybe more then the other young guns the Sox have (By the way, Papelbon is no longer considered a young gun), is integral in the Sox success. He's the only left handed starting pitcher the Sox currently have, and I think he's an essential cog to our team success.

Lester has now dropped his ERA to 3.94 and as his pitches seem to be gaining a nasty bite with every start he makes. All good signs for both Lester and the Sox, and hopefully yesterday was a performance to be built upon.

Tigers tonight at 7:05. It's a four game set, and realistically I'd be thrilled if the Sox can take three of the four to set the right tone for this road trip.

Celtic's and their Pride Roll Into Round Two, CRUSH Hawks

Kevin Garnett & Crew took care of business in Game 7 - (AP Photo)

Game 7 pretty much unfolded to script if you're a Celtic fan as the C's sent a strong message to the rest of the league. "We may be having early difficulties on the road, but you DO NOT want to play us in the Garden". This game was over as the second half started as the Celtics won by playing their absolutely suffocating defense and they didn't allow the Hawks to even sniff the possibility of a victory.

Game 7 was a thorough and professional effort through and through from top to bottom for the Celtics, and they sent a strong message to the rest of the Eastern Conference and League. One thing that I really thought shined on Sunday was how much of a leader the captain Paul Pierce still is. The offense literally runs through him, and when he's hustling and being aggressive good things are bound to follow for Boston. KG may be the heart of the defense, but the offense (no offense Ray Ray) beats best to the drum of Pierce and his physical and strong drives to the hoop.

Seeing this Celtic team take on Lebron James and old friend Delonte West in round two is going to be very fun to watch, and is going to most likely go six to seven games again. No one said the pursuit of number 17 was going to be easy, and the Hawks proved to be more then a valiant opponent, and hopefully they helped harden the Celtics and their pride into hearts of champions. Only time will tell, today though, they sure looked like the best team in the NBA.

Sox Explode on Rays, Big Papi Over Mendoza Line

Manny Ramirez led the charge for the offense last night. (AP Photo)

Now last night is exactly what I was looking for from a Red Sox game. Some solid pitching, and some explosive offense. The Red Sox scored in every inning except the fourth and the seventh last night and every starter in the lineup received at least one hit. Great news for Sox fans too is that David Ortiz is starting to swing the stick well as he had three hits in five at bats and finally charged past the mendoza line.

Big Papi's now hitting .216 and has been on a steady rise with his average. Despite the low average, Ortiz has still been pushing runs across the plate and is now tied for third in the AL with RBI at 24. The other great story (which in reality is a continuing story) was Josh Beckett. Although Beckett didn't pitch a perfect game, he pitched well enough, and more importantly deep into the game (8.0 IP). Josh is now 3-2 on the year and has pitched a total of 34.1 IP. In those 34.1 Beckett has had 34 K's and has eaten some needed innings for the Red Sox and their bullpen.

The Red Sox go for the sweep today, however from the looks of the wet Walk For Hunger participants outside my apartment door, the chances of a ballgame don't look so hot. However this Sunday isn't a baseball day, it's a basketball day, a game 7 day, a Boston Celtic day.

The Big Three really need to step it up and carry the deserved Celtics into the second round today. The Garden will most certainly be rocking this afternoon and despite all the questions about their ability to win on the road in the playoffs, today is solely about one and one thing only, survival. And survive I hope they do, Let's Go Ceez!

The Big Three have one thing on their mind, survival. (SawxBlog Illustration)

Red Sox Offense Sparked Alive Win in Late Game

Clay Buchholz had another solid outing to lead the Red Sox to victory (AP Photo)

After a 2 hour and 27 minutes rain delay the Red Sox game finally got started and they (at last) found some offense, as they put up a seven spot to defeat the Rays 7-3. Clay Buchholz continued the trend of Red Sox starting pitchers with a decent outing and went 5.1 IP with 6 K's and gave up only 1 ER. Given the circumstances of the delay, not a bad stat line at all.

From there the Red Sox bats took over the game and were led by Dustin Pedroia's 3 RBI as they cruised on to a late night victory (12:58am was when the game ended) and gave the city of Boston at least one win last night (I'm not writing about the Celtics yet). For all the troubles and negative trends the Sox have been having, they are currently tied for the best record in the AL, so you just hope they can play to their potential and string together a few wins to start developing a cushion for them heading into the warm summer months.

Either way, it was great to see them push some runs across the plate again, and is hopefully something we'll see happen the rest of the weekend, weather permitting of course.

Red Sox Offense Missing Again, Lose to Jays 3-0

The Red Sox offense has gone missing over the last five games.  (SawxBlog Illustration)

It's official, the Red Sox bats as a collective whole are in a pretty big slump. During the last five games the Red Sox have scored a total of three measly runs. The saddest part about that statistic is that our starting pitching and bullpen have been phenomenal. During that same stretch our pitching staff has given up a total of 11 runs. Breaking it down that's a total of 0.6 runs per game by the Sox and 2.2 for our competition. All the Sox would have needed was to score three runs per game to be in the midst of a five game winning streak. Instead, we've lost two out of three games to inferior AL East opponents thus making the race very tight, and not allotting for any breathing room for the Sox.

I don't want to hear about the cold weather, I definitely don't want to hear about travel or Japan anymore, I just want to see the Red Sox do their job, score some runs, and support the pitching staff. If you don't remember it was the Red Sox hot start last year and their subsequent stockpiling of wins that helped them stave off the Yankees for the AL East crown in 2007. And don't be fooled, this is still a two man race in the AL East. Yeah the Orioles and Rays have been playing well, but I honestly don't see them being able to sustain throughout the course of a 162 game schedule.

And as great as it's been to see the Yankees lose games and players, you know that they'll be making their push eventually, and with all that's gone wrong for them, they're only three games back in the standings. So now we again face the "tough young" Tampa Bay pitching staff in (believe it or not) what will be a series battle for first place in the AL East, and yes it does say May on your calender. Just last weekend we were swept out of Florida by the Rays, lets hope the Sox can do the favor, and maybe by scoring more then a run or two, and maybe a little sooner then the ninth inning.

PS - Go Celtics!