DIDN'T YOU MISS JEFF WEAVER?

The Sox may have missed Jeff Weaver, but they didn't miss many of his pitches this afternoon.

I have a feeling that the expression "offensive onslaught" will rarely be used to describe Sox wins, so let's just enjoy it now.

Offensive

Onslaught

Sounds good, right?

Four runs in the 1st, 3 more in the 2nd, 1 in the 3rd, 3 in the 4th, 2 in the 5th, and 1 more in the 7th. As a team, the Sox went 14 for 36 (.389), with 7 walks. Seven of the hits were doubles, and one was a 2 run homer by JD Drew. The only Sox starter not to get a hit was Pedroia.

Beckett, once again, pitched brilliantly. He went 7, but probably could have gone the full 9 if needed. He definitely could have gone 8. He only threw 84 pitches, 61 of which were strikes. If it weren't for the 14-1 lead, he probably would have started the 8th inning. He allowed 2 hits, both in the 3rd inning, which eventually produced a run for Seattle. He struck out 8 batters. Most impressively, he allowed 0 walks.

Timlin made his 2007 debut. He replaced Javier Lopez on the roster when he was activated off the DL. He didn't look good, but this was mop up work, a good chance to give him an inning to pitch.

The reasoning behind sending down Lopez is probably that he is the only reliever with minor league options, all other pitchers would have to clear waivers.

Flawless Victory for the Sox.

Man of the Game: Josh Beckett - 7 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, 0 HR

Honorable Mentions:
Jason Varitek - 3/4, 2B, 3 RBI, R, BB
Kevin Youkilis - 3/5, 2 2B, RBI, 2 R
JD Drew - 1/2 HR, Sac-Fly, 3 RBI, 2 R

Daisuke tomorrow night. First batter for Seattle: Ichiro. Japan will be watching this game.

Maybe this video from a few years ago is a preview of tomorrow.

A BIT MORE ON JD DURBIN

JD Durbin has a MySpace page. His user name is somewhat odd, but whatever. The dude likes George Strait, nothing wrong with that.

El Guapo's Ghost makes a pretty good case for how to use Papelbon. You should read his full post on it (it's not nearly as long winded as my posts). But basically, he says that Papelbon should be used in tough save situations only, not those 3 run, just pitch the 9th inning saves. This would allow him more rest to come in and make 4 out, 5 out, and 6 out saves. We could use Timlin or Donnely to get those easy 3 out saves. I think it's a good idea.

Still no word yet on whether Timlin will be activated, or if JD Durbin will be on the 25 man roster today.

Here are the probable pitchers for the series with Seattle. The Mariners had their rotation "adjusted" by snow in Cleveland. I wonder if there was any retractable roof talk on northern Ohio sports radio this weekend.

Today, Josh Beckett goes against former Yankee Jeff Weaver. This is Weaver's first start of the season.

Felix Hernandez goes against Daisuke Matsuzaka on Wednesday. Hernandez is coming off an 8 inning, 3 hit, shutout gem against Oakland.

Jarrod Washburn goes against Tim Wakefield on Friday.