Red Sox @ Blue Jays Preview

So the Red Sox blew another chance to be .500, and now they have Lackey on the hill. Great, this should be fun.

Lackey started the year terrible letting up a total of 15 runs in two games (Yanks, Rangers), but then had 3 good games. On a close look those three teams were shit (Oak, Seattle, LAA), and then he turned around and got lit up by the Angles. So, what do I think of Lackey? I think he fucking blows, and I am sick of his stupid face. I defended the signing of him, and I feel sick to my stomach that I did. DP was right, this guy is shit and is turning into my Red Sox Troy Murphy, except he actually plays (which might make him worse).

The Jays are going with Jesse Litsch tonight. He has had a decent comeback after being out all last year (3-2 4.04 ERA). Litsch is coming off his best start of the year, allowing 1 run, 4 hits, while strikingout 9 in 6 1/3 innings of a 7-4 victory over the Tigers.

The good news for the Sox is that their offense does seem to be rolling. The Jays are not a great an offense team, so the Sox should win this game, but Lackey does have a way of making even bad teams look great.

Sox win 9-7
Player of the Game: Gonzalez
Game starts at 7:07pm

Red Sox 6 Blue Jays 7

The Red Sox once again blew the chance to be .500. This game was really odd. It started with Ellsbury getting picked off at 2nd base in the top of the 1st. Then in the bottom of the inning Lester had control problems walking 3 batter including walking a guy home. The Sox had a chance to get out of the inning, but couldn't turn a double play, and Gonzalez dropped an seemingly easy ball to catch. All of this put the Sox down 3-0 early, and Lester was furious punching the wall in the dugout.

Lester had a right to be pissed. Yes, he had control problems, but he was really getting squeezed by the umpire. It looked for awhile that Lester was going to boil over, and even had to be held back by Pedroia, but he was able to calm himself down. Even after the first Lester wasn't himself letting up 5 runs over 5 1/3 innings walking a season high 5 batters, letting up 7 hits and strikingout 5.

It was really too bad, because the Red Sox offense came to play last night. Gonzalez had 2 HRs and 3 RBIs, which puts him tied for the lead in the AL for RBIs (with Konerko and Beltre). Ortiz also went deep, and has looked great at the plate.

The problem once again for the Sox was mistakes. They just aren't playing good baseball. Crawford got thrown out at the plate in the 4th inning. It seemed to me that he went a little wide with his turn, but I really question why he was even sent in the first place, because it really wasn't even that close. We already went over their mistakes in the first inning, but the worst came near the end of the game. Tek/Albers let Rajai Davis steal 2nd and 3rd, which is just pointing out a glaring problem with this team. The Sox flat out can't throw anyone out, and on top of that Salty was being criticized during the game for bad glove placement. I don't know much about what a catcher should be doing with a pitcher, but Gregg Zaun was ripping him all game for how he was handling the pitchers all game.

There are some thing to be excited about with this team. Crawford is getting going, Ellsbury looks like he is going to be good all year, Gonzalez is as good as advertised, Ortiz is hitting and usually get even better as it gets warmer. On top of that Beckett seems to be back to form, but its the little mistakes like getting picked off for no reason, fielding errors, base running errors, not turning double plays, and so on are going that are killing this team.

With the loss the Sox are 4 1/2 games back of the Yankees in the AL East.

Red Sox @ Blue Jays Preview

Here we are again. The Red Sox within one game of being .500. Can they do it?

I can't believe that's what I'll be rejoicing about, but hey it could be worse. Carl Crawford was once again the Hero last night, and things seemed to be lined up well for the Sox to be back at .500 with Lester on the hill.

Lester has been awesome this year going 4-1 with a 2.33 ERA and 46 Ks in 46 1/3 innings and only 15 walks. He has been pretty damn good in his career against the Blue Jays as well going 8-4 with a 3.30 ERA. Plus, he is catching the Jays at a great time since they 2-9 in their last 11 games.

Going against Lester is youngster Kyle Drabek who started really hot, but has dropped his last 2 games. Overall his numbers are good for a rookie (2-2 4.50 ERA), but he really needs to stay away from the walks as he has 25 walks in 38 innings (28 Ks). That could be bad news against a very patient Red Sox lineup.

This will be the first time the Red Sox are going against Drabek, so I think their bats will be quiet in the first couple innings, but the 2nd time through the lineup they will figure him out and I don't see him lasting more then 5 innings.

Red Sox win 6-1
Player of the Game: Lester
Game starts at 7:07pm

9 Blue Jays, 3 Red Sox

I really wish the reverse happened in this picture and Nick Adenhart was morning John Lackey's death because he is the worst thing that ever happened to Boston sports and maybe even Boston in general.

Lackey pitched 6.2 innings, gave up his typical 9 earned runs in a 9-3 Red Sox loss. He has given up 17 earned runs in his passed 2 starts. Let that marinate in everyone's head for a while 17 earned runs in his passed 2 starts.

Let me sum up the game for you:

Everyone on the Blue Jays did well and John Lackey pitched.

Box Score At Your Own Risk

9 Red Sox, 1 Blue Jays

Ladies and Gentlemen I want to re introduce to you the best pitcher on the Boston Red Sox. Dice K aka Ace K tore up the Blue Jays and pitched 7 innings with 1 hit, 1 walk and 3 Ks. He was hitting his spots, not listening to Jason Varitek and only pitched 89 pitches in those 7 innings. To be honest I think Francona should have let him go the distance as he retired 16 batters in a row and was rolling. Dice K got ahead of 70% of the hitters he faced and it was overall another magical performance by Dice.

But some credit has to go to the offense and the offensive juggernaut known as Jed Lowrie who went 4-for-5, with a homer and 4 RBI. Jed is now hitting just a mere .516 this season. But he isn't the only one as Jacoby Ellsbury hit another homer and Youk hit his 2nd. Carl Crawford finally got a hit as he hit the wall for an RBI double. People were booing him all game for the slow start. It's good to see him make solid contact.

The Sox got 3 of 4 against Toronto and now are off to Oakland. Just 5 games away from .500.

Blue Jays @ Red Sox Preview

Some interesting moves by the Red Sox today. First off they sent Felix Doubront back to the minors, and brought back Hideki Okajima . Okajima has actually been pitching well in the minors (0 runs, 0 BBs, 5 Ks in 5 2/3 innings). Hopefully this means he can give the Sox something in the bullpen, but I'm not holding my breathe. I am a big Doubront fan, so I am kind of disappointed by this, but I guess they could send him down to stretch him out in case Dice-K and/or Lackey continue to falter.

Speaking of Dice-K he is on the hill today vs. Ricky Romero. I hate this matchup, it is the 3rd straight lefty the Sox are facing, and Dice-K has looked terrible. With the lefty on the hill the Sox once again mixed up their lineup moving JD Drew to the leadoff spot, because he has .450 average, and .560 OBP vs. Romero, so I guess I'm fine with it. Here is the rest of the lineup...

Drew, RF
Pedroia, 2B
Gonzalez, 1B
Youkilis, 3B
Ortiz, DH
Lowrie, SS
Crawford, LF
Varitek, C
Ellsbury, CF

I wish I could say the Sox are going to continue their winning streak, but Dice-K has shown me nothing to give me confidence, and Romero has been awesome (21.1 innings, 1.66 ERA, 20 Ks, only 4 walks).

Blue Jays win 7-3
Player of the Game: Aaron Hill
Game starts at 11:05am

Sox Starting to Click

Winning becomes so easy when the starting pitcher does well. The pressure eases off the offense. The bullpen has less responsibility. All the hitters have to do is compile a few consecutive hits. It's really simple.

Josh Beckett looks pretty good. I'm still not sold on him yet, as he had brilliant starts in '09 and still finished with a decent but disappointing 3.86 ERA. So far, though, he's been excellent. His fastball is up to 95, and he's challenging hitters with it. The changeup is fooling batters, and the curveball is biting. He's getting strikeouts, and when hitters make contact, they get under or over the ball. That leads to pop ups and ground outs. It's once again fun to watch him pitch.

Lester had another Quality Start on Sunday. He was aided by some double plays, as he scattered 3 walks and 6 hits. He didn't give up the big hit though. It was his first win of the season, but his third straight Quality Start.

Buchholz has me worried. We all assumed that this 26 year old with 25 good starts under his belt was going to be a sure thing for 17-20 wins and an ERA under 3.00. We forgot who he was in '09 and '08. His confidence rises and falls with each start, and right now he's on a downswing.

The offense is still gradually getting better. I'm sick of seeing Crawford leading off games though. Lowrie is red hot and should be at leadoff until either he cools, or Crawford gets his average over .150.

It's funny/sad that taking 2 games from Toronto has become worthy of celebration.

Another tough lefty (how much do we miss Victor Martinez?) faces the Sox as Ricky Romero opposes Daisuke Matsuzaka at 11 AM today.

-The Commodore

Blue Jays @ Red Sox Preview

The Red Sox are 2-9 and have the highest ERA in baseball. Last year Clay Buchholz was unbelievable, but many thought he was "lucky", so far they seem to be right. In the 2 games he has pitched Buchholz has an ERA of 7.20 and a record of 0-2. Of the guys on the staff I am not as worried about him as I am Dice-K or Lackey, since his two losses are against the Yankees and Rangers. Saying that, Buchholz is giving up the long ball again, whichis something that used to hurt him early in his career.

The Blue Jays come to Fenway with a 6-6 record. Yet, I really like thier team. They have good hitters, and a very young and up incoming pitching staff, which isn't fully healthy yet as they wait for Morrow to return. Tonight they have Cecil on the hill, he isn't anything special but is very solid. Right now he has the same ERA as Buchholz, but he is one of those guys that can get you a solid 12 wins every year.

I see Boston winning tonight, and I think Buccholz is going to have a very strong game. The Red Sox have had a couple days to get away from the tragedy that is their season thus far, and that might be just what they need.

Red Sox win 6-3
Player of the Game: Pedroia
Game starts at 7:10pm