SawxBlog

SawxBlog Poll Results #6

In review of our last poll it looks like Red Sox fans are most enamored with the man playing the hot corner, Mr. Mike Lowell. Over 660 SawxBlog readers voted (or re-voted) on the Red Sox player whom they felt had the biggest impact on the team thus far. It's really no suprise that Mike is leading the charge right now with the way he's been playing, however if we did this poll during spring training I gurantee that it would have went Beckett, Crisp, Loretta, Gonzo, & then Lowell.

Instead the top six vote getters breakdown like this; Lowell (266), Beckett (166), Loretta (115), Wily Mo (41), Crisp (22), and Mirabelli (20). Mike Lowell deserves the love he received with his votes, his bat has been solid all year long and his leather has been Gold Glove worthy yet again. Beckett hasn't been as dominating as some have hoped, but you have to remember he's adjusting to a new league, and esp. after watching the game last night, you gotta love this guy. Loretta has been amazing at second-base. He's been at or near .300 all year long and has been stellar in the field. He may very well be the new Bill Mueller of this team. After Mark, I thought the votes got a little strange. Wily Mo came out ahead of both Crisp and Gonzo which just seems strange. Wily was starting to get comfortable and I see him being a large part of our future, however I don't see why Gonzo didn't get some more love. The guy is a rock at SS and his bat is coming around now too. Crisp didn't get his just votes because he was out for so long, I think we all see his value now that he's back though.

What this poll shows me so far, is that as far as position players go, Theo and Company did a damn fine job in a lot of their pick-ups last off-season. Mike Lowell a liability? Ha! Beckett and blister health problems? Please. Gonzo folding like Edgar under Boston pressure? Nope. Everything has gone maybe even better then planned, and these not so new Red Sox (anymore) are looking like an elite team in the American League.

I'm Lovin' It - Lester and Sox Win Again, Sweep Away Nationals 9-3

Jon Lester reacts after ending the 6th. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Ladies & Gentleman, Boys & Girls, Welcome to the Jon Lester/Jon Papelbon era. Jon Lester dazzled last night against the Washington Nationals and helped lead the Red Sox to a 9-3 victory over Washington. Lester pitched 6.0 strong innings where he struckout 10, walked 2, and only gave up 1 ER. The Sox have now won a season high 6 games in a row, and they're really looking like they're starting to hit their stride.

What I love most about Lester is the confidence I have as a fan thus far when he takes the hill. Simply put, I feel a lot more confident when Lester takes the hill then when either Clement or Wells toed the rubber. I'm just saying...OK, I'll put my pom poms down now.

The Red Sox, going into this series, have played the least amount of games at home then any other team in MLB. So far the Sox are 21-10 in Fenway Park, and this home-stand is going to do nothing but good things for our boys. As the weather gets warmer, I'd expect to see our bats get warmer too.

We have the day off today (so I'll be wearing my stars and stripes to cheer on team USA in the North End) and then welcome the Phillies into Fenway Park over the weekend. Josh Beckett (8-3) will get the call against Ryan Madson (7-4) on Friday. Great victory though last night, and I hope the momentum carries over this weekend.

The 5th Dimension -- Red Sox Win Again

Tim Wakefield delivers the ball to the plate. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson)

Bad back?!? Tim Wakefield ain't got no stinking bad back! This is Timmy Knuckleball we're talking about here, c'mon people. *sigh* Well it was only about a week a go when you were being asked if you've seen your Sox, and my, how much can change in a week. The Sox have tied their season high with 5 wins in a row now as they look to go for their 2nd strait sweep in a row against the Washington Nationals tonight.

The Red Sox cruised to the victory behind yet another solid start from Tim Wakefield and a Sox lineup that's starting to be just as dangerous at #1 as it is at #9. Wake's ERA was lowered to 3.82 as he went 6 solid innings striking out 4 and giving up only 1 ER.

The player who's getting his just due as of late is Alex Cora. This guy has been a total professional this year and has, as John Tomase pointed out in yesterdays Herald, been making the most of his time. What the Red Sox have is a great problem with what we have in Alex Squared (Alex Gonzalez & Alex Cora). We have two professional defensive wizards who are both swinging their bat in a more then fine fashion in the past month. Gonzalez deserves to be the starter because he's been just phenomenal at short. You don't see him really dazzle you as much as you expect and that's because of his tremendous range and instincts. He doesn't have to dive or throw deep in the hole often because he's already where he's supposed to be. If he doesn't get a Gold Glove after this year then it's a total sham. It's great to know you can plug Cora at SS or 2B and not really lose much of anything on either side of the ball. I mean, he went 3/3 with an RBI, BB, & 3 runs.

The way this team has been built (at least on offense and defense) looks an awful lot like a Bellichek Patriots team. So many of our players are diverse and can play so many different positions. We have role players who do their job, know their role, and do it well and with pride. If Coach Bill was Manager Bill then he'd LOVE a guy like Youkilis. Youk could give two s**** where he's batting in the line-up, if he's playing 1B, 3B, or OF, he's just there for the team. And knowing we have a lot of guys like that is allowing me to really see these Sox, and I'm starting to like what I see.

The Wiggle Wins it All!

(SawxBlog Montage)

Much congratulations goes out to former Celtic All-Star, Antoine Walker (as well as Gary Payton), on winning his first NBA Championship last night. I always hoped he'd be a large part of #17 for the Celtics, but that's what Adam Morrison can be for! (Hey, a guy can dream right...I mean we do have the #7 pick!). I just can't wait to see him break out the wiggle during Miami's victory rally, him and Shaq may have to go at it on the dance floor! Congrat's 'Toine, I only wish you were hugging Paul and not Wade when the buzzer rang.

Honest Gabe & Tall Arroyo Get Job Done

(Michael Dwyer/AP)

Wow, what a freaking win last night. I have to be honest, the thought of the Red Sox winning crossed my mind yesterday before the game, but I really never entertained it hard enough to think that it'd actually happen. I mean we were having Kyle Snyder starting the game for us. This is a guy who had an ERA north of 22.00 and was cut by the lowest of lowly (The 19-49 Kansas City Royals) because he wasn't good enough to pitch for them!

Then when you take a step back (actually a few steps are needed, this guy is 6'8'') and you feel like you've entered some uber strange bizzaro world. If you took Bronson Arroyo (The Same Bronson Arroyo who threw a complete game last night), had him get in a few street fights, and then put him on one of those torture stretching racks you would then be handed a Mr. Kyle Snyder. Their delivery looks similar, their flapping hairs looks similar, and let's just pray to God that Kyle won't be covering 'Everlong' anytime too soon.

All kidding aside on Snyder, I was very impressed with him and how he handled himself last night. This was one of the "nothing to lose" games for him, where no-one's expecting much, and he out pitched expectations. I'm not getting too worked up on this though and will not be hailing him the next coming of Randy Johnson (1990's Randy Johnson mind you), but he did what he needed to do last night, and we'll bag and tag him with a "we'll see" a la David Pauley, and send him back down to the minors. 5 IP, 6 K's, and 0 BB's (ahem...Mr. Clement?) with only 3 ER was more then I could have dreamed for, and was a little disappointed when Tito yanked him after only 67 pitches.

The other feel good story of last night was the return of Gabe Kapler. Gabe finished the night going 2/4 with 1 R, and 1 RBI and played a solid defense in right. It'll be interesting to see how crowded the outfield gets when Wily Mo gets back, but again, this is a great problem to have. Awesome to see the Gabeino back though.

My old roommate (a physical therapist) worked with Gabe and even babysat his kids and said he's just a real chill cool guy. Her boss, Scott, worked directly with Kapler during his rehab these past few months, and apparently he's one of the hardest workers in the game and on the Sox, and that's just something you have to respect.

Speaking of Wily Mo, how nice is it to see him sitting on the front step in full uni during these games? Nice to know he's still part of the team, and isn't getting his pout on.

The Red Sox look to win their 5th game in a row tonight as Livan Hernandez takes on Timmy knuckle ball. First pitch is at 7:05pm.

The Tomahawk Sweep

(SawxBlog Illustration)

The Boston Red Sox won in a wild affair against the Atlanta Braves last night 10-7. The game started off rather nicely as a pitching duel pitting Curt Schilling against John Smoltz. Curt wasn't overpowering or dominating on the hill, however he once agin did enough to get the job done. I'd like to see him make it to the 7th inning, however 6 innings and 2 ER's is a pretty darn good outing.

After each teams resident ace left the mound it seemed that pure pandemonium broke loose on Turner Field. The starters of last night combined for 5 ER in a total of 13 IP. The "relief" pitchers for both teams gave up 12 ER in 5 IP. It took Jon Bon Papelbon to get into the game to end the madness that was happening in Atlanta. A fairly well played, well managed game turned into a Sunday beer league softball game, and it wasn't pretty.

What was pretty however was actually getting the 'W'. The Sox have now crept back into sole possession of first place and gained a game on everyone in the AL East last night. The Red Sox are back in Fenway Park tonight to take on the Washington Nationals, and thankfully, we don't have to listen to Joe Morgan or John Miller again. Sometimes you need a game announced like it was last night to really appreciate Orsillo and Remy.

Happy Fathers Day

25 year old Charles L. Hixon circa de 1928. (SawxBlog Photo)

I'd like to wish a very Happy Fathers Day to all SawxBlog readers out there today. There always has seemed to be a special connection between baseball and fathers to me. From having a catch on the street in front of your house, to attending little league games, to sitting in the family room on a Saturday afternoon to watch a game.

Baseball, and the Boston Red Sox, has been something that has been passed down to me from a few generations of Hixon's. The above photo is a picture of my grandfather, Charles L. Hixon, taken right before he was off to play in a ballgame with the Draper Corporation in Hopedale, MA circa de 1928. He was 25 years old at the time of the photo and grew up a huge Red Sox fan watching them win World Series after World Series in the teens. My grandfather's life was unfortunately cut short because of Polio and neither I nor my Father had the opportunity to meet him.

The above photo is one that I saw for the first time just a few weeks ago and it made me very happy to see. From all accounts I know that my grandfather was a baseball fanatic, there are even still some team pictures up with him around New England in random coffee shops and restaurants. To know that we both have that bond is almost enough reason to hope that there is a place like heaven. If you don't get choked up when you hear Ray Kinsella say, "You wanna have a catch?" then I don't know what would choke you up. And I very much hope that I can do that with him someday, some place.

Being a Red Sox fan is almost like having a dysfunctional Uncle in your family that everyone can't help but love. I can't think of any other team that has created such a generational bond. After the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004 that was the biggest story to come out of it. People trekking to cemeteries to lay down a Red Sox hat and light a candle, sons calling fathers, brothers and sisters rejoicing in the streets. My family and I all don't live near each other, but the Red Sox made us closer those two weeks then anything else could have, and when it was all over, I was happiest to know that my Mom and Dad finally got to see them win it all.

So on this day, if you're lucky enough to be able to, make sure to thank your Dad, and tell him you love him.

So thanks Dad. Thanks for playing catch with me on Miles Ave, and coaching my little league games, and attending every sporting event of mine in both high school and college. Thanks for making me a Red Sox fan, and thanks most of all, for being such a great Dad.

Leave it to Lester

(SawxBlog Illustration)

Jon Lester gained his first of hopefully many wins for the Boston Red Sox last night over the Atlanta Braves, 4-1. Lester went 5.0 innings and gave up 1 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, and with 5K's. Watching Jon pitch last night got me pretty excited about his potential future with us. He seemed much more composed then his previous start, and getting his first win against a weaker hitting NL team may be just what he needs to get his confidence boosted.

Jason Varitek had the key clutch 3 run double the Sox were lacking against the Twins, in what ended up being the difference in the game. Seeing Papelbon and Lester in the same game is something that Sox fans have been waiting to see for awhile now, and is most likely the future for the Sox.

The Sox need to right the ship and at least win this series against Atlanta, which has been struggling a bit so far this year. The key in this series is going to be getting to the Braves bullpen and working the starters. Either way, it was a great win for the Sox of now last night, and the Sox of the future.

No Comment...

(AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt)
I just have nothing to say on this team right now...pathetic.

Have you seen the Red Sox?

(SawxBlog Illustration)

I guess we can finally make this official, the Boston Red Sox our in the midst of their first real rut of the season. The Sox have lost 3 in a row now and if it wasn't for David Ortiz's 2-run walk off in the bottom of the 9th we'd be looking at 5 losses in a row. Thus far in June the Red Sox are 5-7 and are just not looking like a very strong team.

I understand that a lot of this revolves around the revolving door to the DL our pitching staff has been swinging around, but that's not an excuse. Every team has to deal with injury's and this June swoon has made watching the games a little frustrating.

Last nights game reminded me of the beginning of the season for the Sox. Opportunity to score early on (bases loaded 1 out top of first) but you don't capitalize, hang around for a bit, then the pitching implodes. I hate to be negative here, and I understand the marathon cliches, and that this happens to every team, but the sooner we can stop the bleeding, the better it will be for our Sox.