CONVINCING WIN

The two wins the Red Sox had against Cincinatti coming into last night's game were not very convincing to me. Two pitchers with ERAs above 7 started for the Reds and the Sox were able to hit off them. The two hottest pitchers we had were able to shut down Cincinatti's offense. This 6-1 win, however, was very convincing. The Red Sox were able to score off a good young pitcher and a struggling starter was able to shut down the Reds' offense.

The middle of the order is clicking. Ortiz, Manny, Nixon, and Millar are all hitting. This means that Renteria and Damon need only to get on base. Then guys in the bottom of the order like Varitek and Mueller can knock in the big hitters as well.

The Man of the Game is Bronson Arroyo who went 7 innings and allowed only 1 earned run. He struck out 8 on his way to recording his 5th win of the season. If he, Wells, and Clement continue to pitch like this, our rotation suddenly doesn't look so bad.

The Red Sox will welcome the Pittsburgh Pirates to Fenway Park for the first time ever this weekend. The Pirates lost to the Yankees tonight but they should have won. The Yankees were the beneficiary of a bad call on a fielder's choice that should have been a game ending double play. Instead, the 9th inning was kept alive, the Yankees tied the game, and then won it off a Steroid Shot by Jason Giambi. The Red Sox will send Miller, Wake, and Clement to the mound this weekend against Pittsburgh.

ONE HIT WONDER

Ever since the 1st inning at Yankee Staidum a few weeks ago, Wells has been nearly solid. The Reds have a pretty good offense and Wells was able to combine with Timlin and Foulke to allow only 1 hit.

Predictably, the Red Sox were able to hit off the Reds staff last night and the night before. Things may change tonight as the Sox face Aaron Harang. Only two guys on the Sox have faced him alot. Olerud is 3 for 10 against him with a double. Renteria is 1 for 8. Manny is 1 for 3 but that 1 hit is a homerun. Manny could be 2 for 3 off him but Terrence Long robbed him of a homer a few years back. The Sox usually struggle against guys we haven't seen that much of and this is a guy we haven't seen that much of. Our starters only have 20 combined ABs against him.

The Man of the Game for Monday's 10-3 victory is Manny Ramirez who went 2 for 5 with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. He had a double and a homer.

The Man of the Game for Tuesday's 7-0 win is David Wells who went 7 scoreless, one-hit innings. He did uncharacteristically walk 2 men but I think we should let that slide.

FISK'S FOUL POLE?
When I first heard about this story, I was a little confused. It seemed kind of silly to officially name something with a name that no-one uses. Peskey's Pole and the Green Monster weren't officially named. The nicknames developed naturally. A few people started calling them these things and it caught on. This whole pole business is another story. I think the ownership is trying to create more mystique at Fenway Park than there really is. I doubt they would be doing this if they were still unclear as to whether or not they were staying at Fenway,

Don't you think it's kind of sad to be honoring a man who hit a homerun in a World Series in which we choked horribly to lose? Nothing against Fisk, but the 1975 Red Sox choked and lost Game 7 of the series. I don't think we should be remembering this fondly.

THE RICH WILL GET RICHER
The New York Yankees are going to have their own new stadium. It will have three times as many luxury boxes as Yankee Stadium. The city will be building larger parking facilities, a new train station, and a ferry terminal. The way the Yankees are paying for the stadium will result in lower revenue sharing payments to MLB. The Yankees will no longer have to cut the city of New York in on staidum revenues. The Yankees will be able to sell state-of-the art luxury boxes at very high prices. They're going to be able to spend alot more money. The luxury boxes alone will bring them millions of dollars more each year. Meanwhile, we'll be in Fenway and the ownership will be trying to scrounge another $50,000 by adding rows of seats right up to the catcher and umpire.

62 DOWN, 100 TO GO

The Red Sox have played their first 62 games, going 33-29. The start of the season is officially over. These are the dog days. They will soon be followed by the make-or-break days of late August and September.

In order for the Red Sox to even have a shot at making the playoffs, either through the division or the wild card, they'll need to win at least 90 games. This means going 57-43 over the next 100. Realistically, they'll need to win more than 95 games to have a good shot at a playoff spot. This means a 62-38 clip for the last 100. In order to assure themselves a playoff spot, the Sox will need to win 100 games. This would require a 67-33 pace. This team is capable of all these things. They're also capable of going 50-50.

The Sox have 55 home games left and 45 road games. They have 13 left with Tampa Bay, and 10 left with the Yankees, Orioles, and Blue Jays. They have 7 left with the White Sox and Angels. They have 6 with Texas, Cleveland, Kansas City, Minnesota, and Detroit. They have 4 left with Oakland. They have 3 more against Philly, Cincy, and Pittsburgh.

The way I figure it, the Red Sox should be able to win up to 73 of these games. That is what I say their maximum would be.

1975 WORLD SERIES REMATCH
The last time the Reds were at Fenway was Game 7 of the 1975 World Series. It is amazing how little attention this game gets. It seems like everyone knows everything about Game 6, but few people know that this game was pretty painful. The Sox got to Cincinatti starter Don Gullett for 3 in the 3rd inning. However, much like Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS, the Sox couldn't add to their lead against their opponent's bullpen and their opponent was able to gradually chip away. Tony Perez hit a 2 run shot off Bill Lee in the 6th. Roger Moret releived Lee in the 7th, allowing a hit and 2 walks in only 0.1 IP. After 7, the game was tied 3-3. Ken Griffey walked in the 9th, got sacrificed to 2nd, and then moved to 3rd on a groundout. Pete Rose was walked but Joe Morgan got an RBI basehit to give the Reds a 4-3 lead. The Red Sox went down in order in the 9th to end the game and the series, losing both 4-3. This game seems as painful as the 1978 playoff, or 2003's game 7, yet it doesn't get any publicity.

Here's a weird thing about the interleague schedule this year. Every team the Red Sox have played, except Atlanta, have been World Series opponents in the past. The Sox played the Cardinals in 1946, 1967, and 2004. They played the Cubs in 1918. They played Cincinatti in 1975. They played Pittsburgh in 1903. They played Philadelphia in1915.

Here are the matchups for the series:
Monday: Eric Milton vs. Matt Clement
Tuesday: Luke Hudson vs. David Wells
Wednesday: Aaron Harang vs. Bronson Arroyo

The Red Sox should win the first two games with ease as both pitchers have ERAs above 7. Plus, Clement has pitched well except for his last start and Wells has been the ace of the staff lately. The final game should be difficult. If Arroyo gets back to where he was in April, it should be a fine pitcher's duel. Harang is perhaps their best pitcher. Plus, he's the type of young pitcher that domiantes us for some reason. I think we'll win the first two with ease, then lose a close one to end the series.

THE LINEUP LAST NIGHT
During the ESPN broadcast, Joe Morgan was whining and complaining about the Red Sox using 4 non-starters in the lineup last night. If you ask me, these replacements weren't that bad to use. Mueller hasn't had a day off in a while despite coming off knee surgeries and Youkilis has shown he can hit. Ortiz isn't exactly a great first baseman and Millar has a .417 average against Rusch and being in an NL ballpark, Francona could only use 1 of them. Then Payton plays for Nixon against the lefthander Glendon Rusch. Finally, Mirabelli returns to his role as backup catcher. I know I've given Francona flak for replacing people in the lineup but none of these moves really bothers me. And look at the results. Combined they went 9 for 18 with 6 singles, a double and a homerun. They scored 5 of the Red Sox 8 runs.

The problem with the team isn't Francona. He's made some questionable moves but given what he has to work with in the bullpen, the inconsistencies in the rotation, and the inconsistencies in the lineup, I'd say he has done a decent job thus far.

WE STILL HAVE THE PATRIOTS

Nice stuff.

WAKE UP CALL

As bad as this roadtrip was, it easily could have been worse. This was the first time in a long time that Wakefield has looked this good. Hopefully he'll be able to go on a tear like he has in years past.

A few good things that it was nice seeing, apart from a solid Wakefield:

Johnny Damon hit for power with a double and a homer. Last year he had 20 homeruns and this year he only had 2 going into the 62nd game.

Kevin Youkilis getting some playing time. He went 3 for 5 with his first homer and a double. Good to see the arm hasn't been affected by Reyes...yet.

Good to see Kevin Millar not looking like a fool.

Seeing Manny Ramirez hit a homerun after a long drought.

Doug Mirabelli back on the team. He is an improvement over Wooten and Shoppach and he allows Varitek to stay fresh.

Seeing the bullpen go 2 scoreless innings allowing only one hit.

The Man of the Game is Wakefield who went 7, allowed only a run and only 4 hits. He went 1 for 4 at the plate with an RBI. He didn't walk anybody and only threw 86 pitches. Had the score been tighter, he probably could have gone 9.

Interleague play continues as the Sox host the Reds and Pirates. They should win 5 of these games. They should be doing alot of things though.

BOSOX BLOW IN CHICAGO

This game was simply pathetic. The Sox go up 4-0 early. Then Miller gives up 3 in the 2nd, then 1 in the 4th. Meanwhile, the Red Sox haven't added to their lead. Miller gives up the lead in the 6th. Then the pen comes in after Miller went 7. The bullpen, Mantei really, gives up two more runs. The Red Sox rally in the 9th, kind of, but the 1 run they score isn't enough.

Renteria, Ortiz, and Ramirez went a combined 0 for 10. This team cannot win games with a gaping hole in the middle of the lineup. We simply don't have the pitching or the bottom of the lineup hitting to do so with any consistency.

This article on RedSox.com really pisses me off. How could it not be time to panic? This team cannot win on the road. This team hasn't won three straight games since the 11th of May when they swept the Oakland Pathetics at Fenway. The team is 4.5 behind Baltimore, 1 ahead of Toronto, and only 2 ahead of the struggling Yankees. So what should happen? What moves can the team make to improve itself?

The team has had a few injuries, but it hasn't been as plagued as the Cubs team that has beaten us twice. Losing Schilling hurts, but there are so many other flaws. Our $10M shortstop isn't doing anything. Our $20M left fielder is in a slump and hasn't hit for average all year. Our $13M Ace hasn't pitched a quality game for us. The bullpen, except for Timlin and Myers, has been consistently bad. The bench is nowhere near as good as last season. Bellhorn and Mueller haven't been producing as much as they did last season. And Millar has been a laughable player all year.

The Red Sox could theoretically make some moves. If they traded for Mike Sweeney, I think they would have a solid 5th hitter and a productive first baseman that isn't a defensive liability. Although the move itself would benefit the team, it wouldn't put us into position to win it all. We'd still lack bullpen pitching and a bench. And we'd have to spend alot on Sweeney. The move might also irritate Francona who seems to be in love with Millar.

The Red Sox seem to have a crop of good prospects that are nearly on the verge of breaking into the majors. Youkilis has already proven he can play. Shoppach has been putting up big numbers in AAA. Ramirez and Pedroia are doing well in AA. In a few years, the Red Sox may have a team with young, developed players. I don't think we should abandon this, trade all our prospects, just for a slim chance at winning it all. The players we already have, perhaps with a new reliever added, will have to do it on their own.

The Man of the Game for Saturday's 7-5 loss is Todd Walker who went 3 for 4 with a triple, 3 runs scored and an RBI.

The Bitch-Goat shall be divided thusly:
Miller: 0.3 - 7 IP, 5 ER
Mantei: 0.4 - IP, ER, Inherited runner scored
Renteria: 0.1 - 0 for 3, 3 LOB
Ramirez: 0.1 - 0 for 4, 2 Ks
Ortiz: 0.1 - 0 for 3

Wakefield is set to blow up Sunday and the Red Sox will be swept in their first ever series at Wrigley.

CUBS GET REVENGE FOR 1918 LOSS

The Cardinals won their rematch of the 2005 World Series earlier this week. The Cubs were the losers the last time the Red Sox won the Series and they won Friday afternoon. The Sox beat their 1912 opponents (now the San Francisco Giants) in their first rematch last season. Boston also won their rematch against their 1915 opponents the Philadelphia Phillies in 1997. The Sox also beat the Dodgers in their first meeting since the 1916 Series. In 2003, the Sox and Pirates played for the first time since the 1903 World Series and the Red Sox won. Weirdly enough, all but one of these rematch series have been on the road.

Anyway, this game was not gonna be easy to win against Massux who improved to 5-0 in his career against us. Nevertheless, allowing 14 runs is simply inexcusable. And what the hell has happened to Bronson Arroyo? He started the season and looked like he could be a solid #2 starter. Now he is on the same undependable level of Tim Wakefield.

The bullpen also continued to sruggle. Francona didn't bring in a dependable pitcher in Timlin until the 8th inning when it was 14-3 in favor of Chicago. Theo has got to go out and get something to help the bullpen. Theoretically it might improve once Schilling returns but God knows if Schilling will even be effective. With Schilling returning, there will be more demand for middle releif. We need to get a guy who can pitch alot of innings and have an ERA under 4.70.

The Man of the Game is Greg Maddux who went 6 and two thirds allowing three runs. He also hit a homerun off John Halama.

Here's the Bitch-Goat:
Arroyo: 0.7 - 4 IP, 7 ER
Halama: 0.3 - 2 IP, 4 ER

WELLS WORTH THE WAIT

The Red Sox have gone through three periods this year. Each of these periods have been marked by a different leader in the pitching staff. Different Ace dynasties. At first it was Arroyo. Then it was Clement. Now it is Wells. This was David's third start that was solid or better.

Wells went 8 innings allowing only 4 hits (would have been 3 if not for Millar's lack of ability in left field), 0 runs, 0 walks, and 0 extra base hits besides the double that should have been a flyout. He threw 94 pitches, 74 of which were strikes. That's 78.7%. 8 out of 10 pitches thrown were strikes. And he wasn't exactly getting a wide strike zone.

How many times in baseball history has the game been shorter than the rain delay?

Renteria had a homerun that must have been satisfying to hit. Ortiz had a big homerun. Tek went 2 for 4 with a 2 run double. Bill Mueller was 1 for 3 but he made a pair of amazing plays at 3rd.

Foulke continued the pattern we've seen all year. He'll look amazing and then all of a sudden will look very beatable. He got 2 very quick outs, getting ahead in the count, and getting outs. He then lost it, falling behind in the count, and giving up hits. He settled down inducing Edmonds to fly out to center.

For some reason, Francona sat down Manny Ramirez and played Kevin Millar. I don't know what it is between Millar and Francona. I know Manny hasn't hit a homerun in about 50 at-bats, but if Francona can give Millar 180 at-bats to get out of a slump, how come he can't give Manny 50? If Francona was going to sit anyone down, he should have sat down Damon who has poor numbers against Carpenter in his career. Before the game he was 5 for 32 I believe.

The Man of the Game is David Wells. He went 8 scoreless and probably could have gone 9. He threw 94 pitches, 74 of which were strikes. If he had a real outfielder playing behind him in left, he would have allowed a mere three singles.

The Sox have a day off for the arduous 300 mile journey up I-55 to Chicago. The schedule makers this year are really doing a bad job if you ask me. Here are the pitching matchups:

Game 1. Friday 2:20 PM: Arroyo vs. Maddux
Game 2. Saturday 3:05 PM: Miller vs. Zambrano
Game 3. Sunday 8:05 PM: Wakefield vs. TBD

We're somewhat lucky that Prior and Wood are on the DL among with a number of other Cubbies.

SOX CRASH ON MEMORY LANE

Tim Wakefield is deifnately the worst pitcher in the rotation at the moment. Right now I think he is on the bubble of the rotation and will be the guy to go to the pen when Schilling returns.

The Red Sox were outplayed both Monday and Tuesday. Small things adding up together. The Cardinals stole 3 bases, took extra bases when they could, and never made a defensive misplay. Meanwhile, the Sox played their typical station-to-station baseball, Renteria made an error, and Varitek allowed a passed ball.

The Man of the Game for Monday is Matt Morriss who went all 9 allowing only 1 run off 4 hits. He only walked one batter. He threw a mere 101 pitches. He also knocked in a run.

The Bitch-Goat shall be divided thusly:
Wakefield: 0.5 - 5.2 IP, 4 ER
Renteria: 0.2 - 0 for 4, 2 LOB, 2 GIDP, Error
Nixon: 0.1 - 0 for 3, LOB
Payton: 0.1 - 0 for 3, LOB
Mueller: 0.1 - 0 for 3, LOB

Tuesday's game was even more an example of a few little things combining to make a blowout victory. The Cardinals won this game in the 2nd, and the Red Sox lost it in the 6th.

After a pair of quick flyouts in the 2nd, Clement walked #8 hitter Yadier Molina on 5 pitches. Walking the eighth hitter in NL ball is not a good thing with 2 outs. It allows the pitcher to come up in that inning instead of leading off the next. Suppan, who isn't that good of a hitting pitcher, took 2 balls. Dave Wallace then came out to talk to Clement. Suppan knew the next pitch would be a strike and he lined it into left field. Had Ramirez been playing slightly more shallow or had more range, the inning would have been over. Instead it continued. Eckstein hit a gorunder into left field for a single. The slow footed Molina tried to score. He hit third base when Ramirez had the ball in his glove. All Manny had to do was make an average throw to end the inning and keep the game 2-1. Instead he threw a double bouncer and Varitek couldn't tag Molina. Clement gave up a 1 run single and a 2 run double before striking out Edmonds.

The Sox were down 7-2 in the 6th and began to rally only to have it crushed quickly. Renteria his a single, as did Ortiz. Manny then hit into a devastating 6-4-3 double play. Nixon popped out. The game was effectively over.

The whole beanball war was interesting because it started over nothing. Halama didn't seem to hit Walker with any intent but Tony LaRussa is known as one of those "hit my guy and we'll retaliate even if you didn't mean it." So Al Reyes hits Varitek, the next best thing to hitting the pitcher. Mantei then hits Grudzelanik, and Walker getting ejected along with Francona. Neither one seemed inentional, especially the second one. Then Al Reyes takes it to a completely classless level hitting Youkilis in the arms. Reyes, you may or may not remember, is the same guy that hit Nomar on the wrist, permanently altering his career. That injury took a long time to become apparent and God only knows what might be wrong with Youkilis after that pitch.

I thought National League baseball was supposed to be free of beanballs.

The Man of the Game is Varitek who went 3 for 3 with a homerun.

The Bitch-Goat shall be divided thusly:
Nixon: 0.1 - 0 for 3, 2 LOB
Mueller: 0.1 - 0 for 3, 2 LOB
Renteria: 0.1 - 1 for 4, 2 GIDP, 2 LOB
Ramirez: 0.1 - 0 for 2, LOB, GIDP
Clement: 0.6 - 4 IP, 7 ER

The first day of basbeall's draft was today. With the 26th pick the Red Sox selected Jacob Ellsbury, an outfielder from Oregon State. Here's what ESPN and Baseball America said about him:

Ellsbury has few holes in his game and is capable of beating teams in a lot of ways. He has excellent makeup and instincts. His best tool is his speed, and it's evident both on the bases and in center field, where he catches everything hit his way. He has been clocked in 6.55 seconds over 60 yards. He has become more patient, rarely swings and misses and is comfortable hitting with two strikes. His style of play and physical appearance have drawn comparisons to Johnny Damon at a similar age, but scouts say Ellsbury has a better swing. They question whether he'll grow into the same power, though.

With the 26th overrall pick, the Sox got righthander Craig Hansen out of St. John's:

Hansen pounds the strike zone with a fastball that has been clocked consistently in the mid-90s and tops out at 97 mph. The velocity on his slider has been even more impressive, sitting at 85-86 mph with a high of 90. Though his fastball command wavers, he has an excellent approach to pitching and isn't afraid to go right at hitters. He should be even more effective against wood bats. He's suited to be a closer because of his temperament, short arm stroke and full-effort delivery.

A 90 MPH slider? DAMN! With the 42nd pick the Sox got an outfielder from Angelina College. With the 45th pick, they got Jed Lowrie, a second baseman out of Stanford. With the 47th pick they got a high school pitcher. They got a high school catcher in the 2nd round, a high school pitcher in the 4th, a high school outfielder in the 5th, an outfielder from UFA in the 6th, an outfielder from Florida International in the 7th, a pitcher in the 8th, a catcher in the 9th, a pitcher in the 10th, a pitcher in the 11th and 12th, an outfielder in the 13th, a shortstop in the 14th, a pitcher in the 15th, third baseman in the 16th, a shortstop in the 17th, and a catcher in the 18th. Definately an emphasis on outfielders.