MORE ON MOSS

The Red Sox are 16-8, have taken 5 of 6 from New York, and have built a 3.5 game cushion in the division. But everyone's talking about the Patriots.

Just to put the Moss trade in perspective here. The Dolphins picked injured OSU receiver Ted Ginn Jr. with the 9th overall pick in the draft. We used the 110th overall pick to land Randy Moss.

Moss has agreed to reduce his salary from just under $10M to around $3M. This reduces the cap hit the Pats take in signing him. Oakland will absorb the cap hit from the signing bonus.

There's been some fallout regarding this move, mostly from the Boston sports media. Flipping through the channels, I came upon Around the Horn, a show I normally avoid watching because Woody Paige is a tool, as is Jay Mariotti. However, the only person maligning the Moss trade was the Globe's Jackie McMullen. She called it "arrogant."

We really do have some negative and/or myopic sports writers in Boston.

Arrogance is not a word I associate with Bill Belichick. But some people do. This is probably because he's not media friendly, and comes off as being very distant.

I don't think Belichick and Pioli were sitting in Foxborough thinking "We'll show the NFL, we'll take on Randy Moss and turn him into a star again. (insert evil laugh)." I'm pretty sure they were thinking "We can get Randy Moss for a 4th round pick. If he works out, we potentially have the best group of receivers in the NFL. If he doesn't, we don't lose much."

Also, let's look at the WRs that were drafted after the 110th pick.

Aundrae Allison, East Carolina, 146th pick
Dallas Baker, Florida, 227th pick
Steve Breaston, Michigan, 142nd pick
John Broussard, San Jose State, 229th pick
David Clowney, Virginia Tech, 157th pick
Chris David, Florida State, 128th pick
Joel Filani, Texas Tech, 188th pick
Roy Hall, Ohio State, 169th pick
Johnathan Holland, Louisiana Tech, 254th pick
Jordan Kent, Oregon, 210th
Legedu Naanee, Boise State, 172nd pick
Ryne Robinson, Miami (OH), 118th pick
Derek Stanley, Wisconsin-Whitewater, 249th pick
Syndric Steptoe, Arizona, 234th pick
Chansi Stuckey, Clemson, 235th pick
Courtney Taylor, Auburn, 197th pick
Chandler Williams, Florida International, 233rd pick

Not exactly a list of household names, even for hardcore college football fans. Ryne Robinson was close to equivalent value of a 110th pick for receivers in this year's draft. He's 5' 8", 178 pounds (generously). Moss is 6' 4", 210 pounds. Robinson has 0 career NFL receptions for 0 yards. Moss has 676 for 10,700.

If this year's NFL Draft was of all the eligible amateur players, with Randy Moss thrown into the mix, getting him at 110th would be an absolute steal.

But the high and mighty writers in New England don't like it. For years now, we've all been sticking our noses up at other NFL teams. Something like the Minnesota Sex Boat would never happen with the Patriots. Nor would we have multiple players arrested like the Bengals. No steroids or performance enhancement in Foxborough, either. We in New England have been the snobs of the NFL. We claim the success of the team is due to character, and chemistry. We're the self-proclaimed gentlemen of the NFL.

But the Moss deal defies all of that. He's been arrested for possession of marijuana (CRUCIFY HIM!), he once hit a meter maid with his car, and he even took plays off! Certainly a man such as this is unfit for the high society of the elite New England Patriots. The same goes for the legally packing Brandon Meriweather. They don't belong with our Golden Boy Tom Brady, or our workhorse Troy Brown, or our tough guy Tedy Bruschi, or our gentle giant Vince Wilfork, or any of "our boys."

But here's the thing. We've won Super Bowls, not because of character, but because WE PLAYED WELL. We weren't the most talented team, but character doesn't mean shit if you don't play well.

The Patriots have taken on so-called "projects" before. Remember Rodney Harrison when he was a Charger? How about Corey Dillon when he was a Bengal? It hasn't always worked out, either. Just ask Bethel Johnson, Terry Glenn, and Doug Gabriel. Hell, this is a team that had no problem letting go of Adam Vinatieri, Corey Dillon, Deion Branch, David Givens, Ty Law, Willie McGinist, and a host of others. Does anyone really think they'll have any difficulty giving Moss his walking papers if he isn't helping the team? You either play well for the Patriots, or you don't play for the Patriots. It's pretty simple.

Shaughnessey had a particularly horrible column in the Globe. Just a few excerpts:

The Patriots look like they're going to the Super Bowl in Arizona in February. They came within a few plays of making it to their fourth ubergame in six years in January and they have addressed all their major needs in one of the most active offseasons ever.

But at what price? What happened to the sanctimonious standards they've set? For years they've been preaching team above self and telling us how proud they are of the fine young men who wear their uniform. And then in 24 hours they drafted a gun-toting cheap-shot artist last seen stomping on a prone opponent during a disgraceful brawl . . . only to drop the bombshell of the draft by trading for Randy "I play when I want to play" Moss.

Sanctimonious standards? I honestly hope Shank is being sarcastic here. IT'S FOOTBALL! NOT THE CHURCH! MOSS WILL BE PLAYING WIDE RECEIVER, NOT RUNNING FOR POPE!!!

The Patriots have never "preached" anything but WINNING.

Maybe it's me, but Shaughnessey's column and the reaction to Meriweather has just a hint of racism to it. Just imagine a white football player (one who had a teammate who was shot in the back and killed) who has a registered handgun, and defends his roommate by opening fire on someone. Suddenly, the image doesn't seem so bad, does it? Now he's not gun-toting, he's borderline heroic, defending his buddy like that. Hell, you could make a movie about it!

And as far as the Florida International incident goes, how many of us actually watched that entire game? I know that I have no idea how or why that brawl started. All most of us saw were the highlights, which focused on the All-American Brandon Meriweather, stomping on an FIU player. Didn't somebody by the name of Richard Seymour step on someone's hand in a game? Doesn't Rodney Harrison get fined by the NFL on a regular basis? Newsflash, people. Football players, even Patriots players, are human beings. They get mad, they lose their temper, they make bad decisions. Get over it.

In this spirit, it's assumed Moss will drink the Gillette water, see the light, and become a humble, quiet, and selfless team guy. There's some arrogance to this -- the same arrogance that assumes the other 31 NFL head coaches and front offices are clowns and jokers.

Dan, have you seen what these other NFL teams do to build their teams? They do things like draft Ted Ginn Jr. with the 9th overall pick. They mortgage their future to get Brady Quinn. They draft failed QB after failed QB. They draft Eric Crouch as a DB. They trade their entire draft for Ricky Williams. Are you telling me Al Davis isn't a clown? That Jerry Jones isn't a maniacal despot? That the Dolphins, Bills, Cardinals, Lions, and other teams are run well and are going places?

This isn't arrogance. This isn't the Patriots taking a chance with someone no other team wanted to take a chance on. In order to make any deal work, Moss would pretty much have to restructure his contract. He was willing to do so for the Patriots. That's how we got him. It wasn't that nobody wanted him. If nobody wanted him, we wouldn't have given up the pick for him, we would have waited for Oakland to cut him.

While we're on the topic of fibbing, here's this whopper from Bob Kraft (as told to the Globe's Mike Reiss): "I don't think we've changed our philosophy."

I don't think the Patriots have changed their philosophy one bit. We win by constructing teams with great players who play great. We don't try to win popularity contests, and we don't try to win character contests. We win football games.

Say goodbye to that high moral ground, Bob. The Patriots this weekend put their standards on the shelf in the quest for victory. They might be the best team in football, but the Patriots are no longer "different" from all the other NFL organizations.

Doesn't being the best make you different from the rest? Do the Seahawks have any character issues? How about the 49ers? The Chiefs? The Bills? The Jets? How come they're not on pedestals?

Winning is the standard that matters. Nobody on the Patriots is a saint. There's probably some real assholes in that locker room, too. But everything always comes out peachy if you're winning. And we win.

SOX END APRIL WITH BANGS

Solo homerun by Ortiz, 2 run shot by Cora, and a 2 run bomb from Manny. Couple that with a nice start by Tavarez, a few extra RBI sprinkled in by Cora and Lugo, a 2 inning Okajima hold, and a Papelbon save, and you've got yourself a win. You've also got yourself a 16-8 April, with a 4 game lead in the division.

One thing I really like about the Sox this season is the internationality of this team. Just look at today's big contributors. Julio Lugo, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, and Julian Tavarez, all Dominicans, all contribute. Alex Cora, from Puerto Rico has a big 3 RBI game. Hideki Okajima, from Japan, has a 4 strikeout performance, and Papelbon, an American, finishes it off.

Anyway, this start was very nice to see from Tavarez. His only major mistake was to Mientkiewicz, who hit the 3 rub homer. Julian only allowed 3 hits. I still think he's headed for the bullpen when Lester returns, but I also still think he's a good pitcher that can contribute a great deal to this team.

Huge news story: Papelbon gave up his second hit of the season.

I think it might be time to make second base a full platoon situation, at least for now. Cora is hitting right handed pitchers really well, and Pedroia is doing terribly against them.

Speaking of Cora, he was the Man of the Game with a 2 for 4 outing. He hit a 2 run homer and a triple. He knocked in 3 and scored twice. All three of his RBI came with 2 outs.

Honorable Mentions:
Hideki Okajima: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
David Ortiz: 2/4, HR
Manny Ramirez: 2/4, HR

Red Sox end April with an off day tomorrow, then return to Fenway to play Oakland twice, and Seattle once in a makeup game.

PATRIOTS STEAL RANDY MOSS

In a stunning move, the Patriots used a 4th round pick to trade for WR Randy Moss of the Oakland Raiders. A 4th round pick for one of the most talented receivers of our generation. A 4th round pick for a guy who can come in and be a #1 receiver. A 4th round pick for a guy who can come in and improve a receiver corps that already includes Donte Stallworth.

This deal is amazing. The best part of it is that we don't NEED Randy Moss in order to be a winning team. Unlike Minnesota, who depended a great deal on Moss, and Oakland, which was a horribly run team to begin with, if Randy Moss doesn't perform to our expectations, he's gone, no sweat. And if he does perform up to expectations, holy friggin crap.

We're looking at a potential WR position with Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker, Reche Caldwell, Jabbar Gaffney, and Kelley Washington. This is all a tremendous improvement on a team that went 14-5, and was one score away from making the Super Bowl.

Moss has expressed a willingness to restructure/reduce his contract in order to reduce the salary cap hit the Patriots would take. The 4th round pick he's been traded for was the 110th overall.

The Patriots also traded their 91st pick (their 3rd round pick) to Oakland in a deal yesterday for Oakland's 2008 3rd round pick and a 7th round pick in this year's draft. Obviously, the Patriots haven't seen much desirable quality in this year's draft, but they're still making moves to improve the team. We've only selected one player midway through the 4th round, and I think the Patriots are having one of the best draft days in the NFL, simply with the future picks they've acquired, and the acquisition of Randy Moss.

YANKEES + BRUCE FROEMMING 3, RED SOX 1

"The Yankees have a lot of fans"
-Pedro Martinez

I love that quote from Pedro. I forget what year he said it, but I know it was a few seasons ago when he pitched great, got squeezed by the home plate umpire, and wound up losing a close game. Apparently, home plate umpire Bruce Froemming is one of those Yankee fans Pedro was referring to.

I don't think you can ever really blame umpires or officials for losing a game, and I'm not doing that right now. The Red Sox lost this game and have nobody to blame but themselves. However, it was easier for them to lose this game because of some horrible home plate umpiring from Bruce Froemming.

Wakefield got squeezed big time. I know with the knuckleball, it's more difficult to judge where the ball is when it crosses the plate. Sometimes, Mirabelli might catch the ball off a hop, even after it crossed the plate at the belt. But there were numerous instances when Wakefield would throw a ball that hit a corner of the strike zone, but the pitches were called balls.

In the bottom of the 4th, the count was 3-2 on Matsui with nobody on and 1 out. Wakefield's first pitch looked like it nipped the outside corner, but it was called a ball. Then the final pitch of the at-bat was at the knees, right on the outside edge of the plate, but Froemming called it a ball. Next batter, Posada, hits a two run homer into the upper deck. Blame Wakefield for the homerun, blame Froemming for that fact that it was a 2 run shot.

Leading off the bottom of the 6th, Jorge Posada up. Similar situation, 3-2 count. Wakefield throws a pitch about knee high on the inside edge of the plate, called ball 4. Posada would advance to 2nd on a groundout, and score on a weakly hit ground rule double. The ground rule double was bad luck/allowing a hitter to make contact, Posada got to second because Wakefield double clutched, but he got on base because of Bruce fucking Froemming.

Apparently, Bruce doesn't believe that on 2 strikes, hitters should be defending the plate. Apparently, he's going to give hitters the benefit of the doubt on 2 strike pitches. Wakefield wasn't getting the knees called, nor the belt called, nor the corners called. And it led to runs for the Yankees.

All of this wouldn't be a big deal if Kei Igawa and the Yankees pitchers were receiving similar treatment. BUT THEY WEREN'T! Kei was getting everything called for him, even when he missed Posada's targets by half a foot!

Then there was Coco Crisp's at-bat in the 8th. Jesus Fucking Christ! The first pitch was a ball. None of the ball crossed the plate. But it crossed right next to the plate, so it was close. The second pitch was a very nice strike by Farnsworth. Then there were three obvious balls in a row, the third of which was called strike three. Absolutely horrific call. Crisp, disgusted, slammed his bat and helmet down, and I can't blame him. Hell, I think he showed remarkable restraint considering he didn't bitch slap Bruce Froemming in the face. I mean, what could have Crisp done with that pitch if he swung and made contact? Hit a chopper to the ball attendant? That pitch was nowhere near a strike, and it ended the inning and the rally.

Crisp very well may have struck out or flew out or grounded out on the next pitch. Nevertheless, he deserved to SEE a next pitch because he didn't swing at a ball. Instead, he got punished for having a good batting eye on that pitch. Fuckig bullshit.

Anyway, another good start for Wakefield, another weak supporting cast, and another loss. Ortiz, Ramirez, and Drew went a combined 0 for 9 with 4 strikeouts, and 10 men left on base. Ortiz grounded into two huge double plays, almost in identical places on the field.

When Karstens got hit by a line drive on the first pitch, I felt as though that was a good thing for New York. Kei Igawa had been slated to pitch today. The Sox had already seen Karstens and lit him up. We had yet to face Igawa, and we hadn't prepared to face him, either.

This was a bad loss, but it isn't the end of the world. The Yankees got some fortunate calls, some fortunate hits, and we didn't get any. Derek Jeter had the softest 3 for 5 I've ever seen in my life.

The Man of the Game was Igawa who went 6 innings in relief, allowing only 2 hits and 0 runs.

Honorable Mentions:
Brian Bruney: IP, 0 H, 0 BB, K
Tim Wakefield: 5.1 IP, 3 ER
Kevin Youkilis: 2/4, BB, run

The Bitch-Goat:
Tim Wakefield: 0.2 - 3 ER
Bruce Froemming: 0.2 - horrible umpiring
David Ortiz: 0.3 - 0/3, 2 GIDP, 3 LOB
JD Drew: 0.2 - 0 for 4, 2 K, 5 LOB
Manny Ramirez: 0.1 - 0 for 2, 2 K, 2 LOB

PATS GET A SAFETY, AND MAKE A MOVE

The Patriots used their first 1st round pick to select Safety Brandon Meriweather out of the University of Miami (FL). Meriweather had a great junior year, but his senior year fell short of expectations. Many people felt as though he was a second round pick, at best. Another thing that hurt Brandon was the incident between the Hurricanes and Florida International, during which Meriweather, and others, stomped on an FIU player lying on the ground. A second potential red flag went up when Meriweather was involved in a shooting in which he fired at a man.

But here's the thing. The ENTIRE Miami football team was involved in the incident against Florida International. And the shooting incident? The police ruled that Meriweather used his gun legally. The gun was properly registered, and Brandon fired at a man who had fired on his roommate. No bad judgement there, just a man in a situation in which his friend is in danger, and he stuck up for him.

Meriweather is a good athlete and a good football player. He's also very versatile. Rodney Harrison and Eugene Wilson have both missed games due to injury in the past few seasons. Harrison is also getting up there in years. The status of Asante Samuel is in doubt, and Ellis Hobbs was exposed several times in the playoffs. Meriweather can be a nickelback, as well as a safety. No, not a shitty music making Nickelback, but a 5th DB kind of nickelback. He can back up Harrison, and possibly allow Wilson to move back to cornerback.

I would have preferred that the Patriots drafted a cornerback, but none deserving of the 24th overall pick were available. The Jets traded their 1st, 2nd, and 5th round picks to move up and get CB Darrelle Revis with the 14th pick. I wouldn't be surprised if the Patriots had been in discussions for that pick, but the price New York paid was WAY too high, in my opinion, and I'm glad we didn't pay it.

The Patriots traded their second pick in the 1st round to San Francisco. In return, they got a 4th round pick in this year's draft, and a 1st round pick from the 49ers in next year's draft. I LOVE this trade! There really wasn't anybody worth taking for the Patriots with this pick, so why spend a 1st round signing bonus for a guy you don't really need on your team when you can get a 1st round in next year's draft. This trade shows some of the differences between the Patriots and other teams. The Browns used their 1st round pick to get Brady Quinn, and the Jets gave up a lot to get Revis. Neither pick was all that bad, but they gave up some opportunities to improve their entire teams for the sake of sole individual players that they coveted.

The funniest part of the first round was the Miami Dolphins. The Jets fans acting like morons and chanting the war cry of their mediocre team over and over and over was a very close second. But Miami, in desperate need of so much, including a QB, passes on Brady Quinn and decides to take Ted Ginn Jr. with the 9th overall pick. Wow!

THE YANKEES REALLY DO SUCK

The feeling of desperation in the Evil Empire is palpable. The fact that Yankee fans cheered their 4 run 4th inning rally as if it were Game 7 of the World Series was laughable and pathetic. It feels good to be a Red Sox fan in the state of New York right now.

The Yankees have lost their last 7 games. The last time they lost 7 in a row was in 2000 (which also was the last time they won a World Series, so let's not get too excited about New York's horrendous play). The last time they lost 7 straight in April was in 1989, when they finished 74-87, and 5th in the 7 team AL East. The Yankees are the only team in baseball who do not have a save. They've had 7 save opportunities as a team, and blown them all. Reliever Sean Henn has the 3rd most innings pitched on the team. The Yankees already have 3 pitchers with 14 appearances, 5 with more than 10, and 7 with 8 or more. They're 5 games below .500, dead last in the AL East, a game behind Tampa Bay, 2 games behind Baltimore, 2.5 games behind Toronto, and 6.5 games behind Boston. They're one of 4 teams in MLB with a winning percentage below .400. Only Kansas City and Washington have worse records.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox are off to a great start. No team in baseball has more wins or a higher winning percentage. The Sox are 4 games up in the AL East. The next largest deficit between a 1st and 2nd place team is the difference between Milwaukee and Pittsburgh in the NL Central: 2.5 games.

But the New York Yankees aren't THAT bad. In their 7 game losing streak, they haven't been blown out very often. The Yankees have scored the most runs in baseball, 124 in 21 games, which is 5.90 per game. But the Red Sox are 4th on that list at 117 (in 22 games, 5.32 runs per game). The Red Sox also have the 3rd best team ERA at 3.25. New York has the 27th best at 5.12. The Red Sox have allowed 77 runs (3.50 a game), the Yankees have allowed 117 (5.57 a game).

As of this moment, the New York Yankees SUCK. It's only the end of April and there's about 140 games left to play, so things may very well change. Nevertheless, enjoy it Red Sox Nation. Your team is good, and the Empire is crumbling.

Last night, the Red Sox outplayed New York. The Yankees took a 4-2 lead in a tough inning for Matsuzaka, but Dice-K was able to settle down and pitch 2 more good innings to hold the Yankees to 4 runs.

The Sox had a very good response inning in the top of the 5th against Pettitte. Lugo walked with 1 out, then stole second. Youkilis hit a single to move Lugo to 3rd. Ortiz hit a single to score Lugo. Manny walked to load the bases. Drew struck out, but Lowell drew a walk that tied the game at 4-4. Pettitte threw a wild pitch to Varitek that allowed Ortiz to score, and the Sox retook the lead for good.

The entire inning, Pettitte laboured. He shook off Posada countless times, and asked Posada to go through signs over and over again. Could you imagine a pitcher having to do that with Varitek behind the dish?

The parade of Yankee relievers began, as did the Red Sox hit parade. Daisuke didn't allow a run for the rest of his outing. Lugo hit a solo shot in the 6th to make it 6-4 Sox. Timlin pitched a scoreless 7th for his 2nd hold of the season. Lugo knocked in Pedroia with an RBI double in the 8th to make it 7-4. Okajima pitched a scoreless 8th for his 4th hold of the year. In the 9th, the Sox sealed the game and saved Papelbon from pitching the 9th with a 4 run inning. Rivera came in and the Sox had 3 consecutive singles off him. Then Myers came in and allowed some more offense. Pineiro mopped up the game in the 9th.

The Red Sox had 40 at-bats in this game and reached base 20 times.

The Man of the Game is Julio Lugo who went 3 for 5 with an RBI double, an RBI single, and a solo homerun. He was a triple shy of the cycle, and an RBI triple shy of some sort of Super Cycle. He also walked twice, scored three times, and stole 2 bases. He did make a fielding error, but when you get on base 5 times, knock in 3 runs, and score 3 runs, you can make an error and still have an amazing game.

Honorable Mentions:
Kevin Youkilis: 2/5, HR, 3 RBI, 2 runs, BB
David Ortiz: 2/4, 2 RBI, run, 2 BB
Daisuke Matsuzaka: 6 IP, 4 ER, 5 scoreless innings, and 1 bad inning

Wakefield vs. Karstens this afternoon. Wakefield is the only Sox starter who is 4 for 4 in Quality Starts (6 IP or more, 3 ER or fewer), despite his 2-2 record. Karstens was lit up for 7 runs in his 4.1 inning start against us last weekend.

SWEEPS WEEK

The Red Sox had a sweeping week in which they were swept by Toronto, then went to Baltimore and beat the Orioles in 2 in the first meeting between the two teams.

On Monday, the Sox fell to the Jays 7-3. Wakefield pitched well enough to win, but once again found his supporting cast was lacking. The Sox only managed to put up 3 runs, made 2 errors behind Tim (which resulted in an unearned run), and the bullpen allowed 3 more Blue Jays scores.

The Sox managed 8 hits and 4 walks, but only one of those hits was for extra bases. The Sox left 10 men on base, 6 of whom were in scoring position. Lugo, Youkilis, Ortiz, and Ramirez went a combined 1 for 19.

The Man of the Game for Monday's 7-3 loss was Aaron Hill. He went 4 for 5 with a pair of doubles, a game sealing 2 run homer, 2 RBI, and 3 runs scored.

Honorable Mentions go to:
Vernon Wells: 2/4, 2B, 3B, BB, 3 runs, SB
Frank Thomas: 2/4, HR, 2 RBI, run, BB
Jason Frasor: 1.1 IP, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, K

The Bitch-Goat shall be divided thusly:
Wakefield: 0.2 - 6 IP, 3 ER, 4 R
Pineiro: 0.1 - 1.1 IP, 3 H, ER
Romero: 0.1 - inherited runner scored
Timlin: 0.1 - IP, 2 ER
Lugo: 0.2 - 0 for 5, 6 LOB, K
Youkilis: 0.1 - 1 for 5, 4 LOB (3 in scoring position with 2 outs)
Ortiz: 0.1 - 0 for 4
Ramirez: 0.1 - 0 for 5, 2 K

The Sox looked even worse on Tuesday night in a 10-3 pounding. This was probably the worst game the Sox have played this year. We only managed 5 baserunners, and although 3 of them scored, we still had fewer baserunners than the Blue Jays had runs. Also, Toronto managed to get 17 men on base.

Tavarez once again was the weakest link in our rotation. He allowed 7 hits and 6 runs in 4.2 IP. Two of those hits were doubles, one was a homer. Julian also walked a batter and hit a batter.

Five Red Sox starters went hitless at the plate. We only managed 5 hits, and Lowell's solo homer was the only extra base hit. We also saw the first errors of the season from Manny, Pena, Varitek, and Hinske.

Just an absolutely abysmal loss. Bad pitching, bad offense, bad defense. A good team loss with blame spread all around.

The Man of the Game was Vernon Wells who went 4 for 5 with a homer, 3 RBI, 4 runs scored, and a stolen base. He's become a Sox nemesis these past few years.

Honorable Mentions:
Roy Halladay: 8 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 0 BB, 10 K
Frank Thomas: 2/4, 2B, 3 RBI
Julio Lugo: 2/3, 2 runs, 2 SB

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeere's the Bitch-Goat:
Tavarez: 0.4 - 4.2 IP, 6 ER, 7 H
Pena: 0.2 - 0 for 3, 2 K, Error
Ramirez: 0.1 - 0 for 4, 2 LOB
Drew: 0.1 - 0 for 4
Varitek: 0.2 - 0 for 3, 3 LOB, Error

The Sox flew down to Baltimore to play the 2nd place Orioles. Weird saying that so deep into the season.

Schilling was coming off a less than stellar outing against New York, but he was able to give us one of the best performances of the season. Thanks to poor pitching, the Sox were able to get 19 men on base. Although 12 of them were left stranded, 6 of them came home, which was enough to win the game.

Some controversy emerged from this game as Gary Thorne, a broadcaster for Mid-Atlantic Sports Network and a broadcaster for many NHL games in the past, claimed that Doug Mirabelli told him that Schilling's stockings in the 2004 ALCS and World Series were painted red, not turned red by blood seeping out of Curt's ankle.

This story was particularly interesting to me because I'd have to change the name of my blog to Boston Paint Sox.

Doug Mirabelli politely denied this allegation by saying:

"What? Are you kidding me? He's fucking lying."

Theo Epstein had an equally priceless quote regarding the bloody sock fiasco:

"I couldn't give two shits about what was on his sock, I care that we won the game. The rest, and Gary Thorne, is just noise."

Schilling, being Schilling, threw a nutty on his blog and ripped apart Thorne. Thorne, to his credit, said he talked to Mirabelli the next day and admitted that he misheard/misinterpreted something that was said in jest. But, of course, Curt can't let ANYTHING go and is probably still grumbling about this right now in New York.

Anyway, back to the game. The Sox had a good team effort and won. One interesting point to mention is that Manny Ramirez had a 1 for 4 night, which RAISED his average to .200. When will it be time to worry about Manny not hitting? When/If we start losing, people will start noticing this and talking about it more.

The Man of the Game was Curt "DuPont Red 47" Schilling who allowed 1 earned run in 7 innings.

Honorable Mentions:
Kevin Youkilis: 3/4, 2B, 3 runs scored, BB
Alex Cora: 2/4 HR
David Ortiz: 2/3, 2 BB, 2 runs, RBI

The Sox offense was less impressive in Thursday's 5-2 win over Baltimore. Despite Beckett's brilliant pitching, the team was down 2-1 until the 8th inning. They had squandered many opportunities and it appeared as though we were headed toward a very disappointing loss.

but, the Sox had gotten Adam Loewen's pitch count up and gotten him out of the game after 6 innings of work. The Orioles have an expensive bullpen that looks very good on paper. They have Chris Ray, who recorded 33 saves last season. Danys Baez, who has 111 career saves, 38 career holds, and a 3.78 career ERA. Jamie "Dynomite" Walker who had a great year with Detroit last season. Former Athletic Chad Bradford who has a 3.35 career ERA. They have an impressive bullpen. But the Sox got to it.

Manny led off the top of the 8th with a walk. Drew flew out, then closer Chris Ray came in for an attempt at a long save. Lowell hit a ground rule double to put the tying run on 3rd and the go ahead run at 2nd. Varitek was intentionally walked to load the bases. Then Wilfredo Modesto Pena, who had hit the ball very well in the game, stepped to the plate.

Wily Mo is Pedro Cerano from Major League. He can slam a fastball, can't hit breaking pitches. So it's imperative that Pena gets ahead of the count to get fastballs. He took a slider to begin the at-bat, then checked his swing on a called strike. He then took another slider for a ball. Ray had given Pena three pitches, all low and away. But the count was 2-1. With the bases loaded, Ray didn't want to fall behind to 3-1 so he threw a fastball over the heart of the plate. Pena didn't miss it at all. The ball was crushed to left-center and landed in the Red Sox bullpen (which is behind the Orioles pen) for a grand slam.

Beckett pitched the bottom of the inning, then Papelbon pitched a hitless 9th. Beckett probably could have gone the full 9 innings. His pitch count was at 100 when he left. If Curt Schilling was at 100 pitches after 8, Francona would probably let him take the mound for the 9th. Rather, Curt Schilling would DEMAND to take the mound for the 9th. but Papelbon did need some work, so it worked out.

Man of the Game was Josh Beckett who went 8 innings, allowing 2 runs, scattering 8 hits, and walking none. He hasn't been walking too many batters this season, nor has he allowed too many homeruns. He is MLB's first 5 game winner of the year.

Honorable Mentions:
Wily Mo Pena: 2/4, 2B, Grand Slam, 4 RBI, also had a hard hit out
Adam Loewen: 6 IP, ER

The Sox left Baltimore with a 3 game lead in the division.

HISTORY MADE

Famous result in Fenway. The Red Sox swept a 3 game series against the Yankees in Boston for the first time since 1990. The Red Sox hit back-to-back-to-back-to-back homeruns for the first time in their history. This also tied a MLB record for consecutive homeruns (only the 5th time ever), and was only the 2nd time in history a team has hit four homers in a row off the same pitcher. When the Dodgers hit 4 in a row in 2006, JD Drew was the second of the 4 homerun hitters, just like tonight. When the Indians did it in 1963, Terry Francona's dad was one of the hitters.

This series was important to sweep. New York is very weak right now, and it was important to take full advantage of that weakness. We fought hard, as did New York, but we just fought a little harder. Our starting pitchers weren't as good as they've been in previous starts, but our bullpen and offense performed very well and we were able to earn some victories against a divisional opponent.

The strange thing about this game is that we only scored 7 runs. We had 11 hits, 9 walks, 3 doubles, and 5 homeruns, but were only able to plate 7. We squandered some opportunities early on, and left 12 men on base, 8 of which were in scoring position.

Chase Wright escaped demolition a few ties early in the game, hanging curveballs and walking guys, but he finally paid for his pitching sins in the 3rd when Manny, Drew, Lowell, and Tek took him deep. The Sox bats were silenced by bean and Pettitte, but Scott Proctor woke them up.

Okajima was asked to pitch 3 days in a row, which demonstrates the lack of reliable depth in the Sox pen. Then Donneley was brought into a bases loaded situation and only allowed 1 of the runners to score. Papelbon was simply Papelbon and retired the side in the 9th for the win.

Something about this series kind of bugged me. Yesterday, Francona went with Beckett to start the 7th inning, and tonight, he went with Matsuzaka to start the 8th. We really do lack bullpen depth, and it forces Francona to do things like try to extend starters into games. Maybe, if Lester returns, and Tavarez goes to the pen, we'll get some more depth in there. And we're winning right now, but in terms of a 162 game season, things like this can turn into major problems.

Man of the Game is Mike Lowell, who went 2 for 4 with a pair of homeruns, 4 RBI, 2 runs scored, and a walk.

Honorable Mentions:
Brendan Donnelly: 0.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 of 3 inherited runners scored
JD Drew: 2/4, HR, double, RBI, 2 runs, walk
Jason Giambi*: 2/4, double, 3 RBI

The Sox continue their short homestand as the Blue Jays come to town. Toronto has been playing pretty poorly and just got swept by Baltimore. The Orioles are actually in 2nd right now, a mere game behind us. Wakefield against Ohka, then Tavarez against Halladay.