Toxic Sox Beat Marlins

The Sox started their 9 game homestand with a 7-5 win over the Marlins. It was exactly how they needed to start this stretch of 16 games against mediocre teams.

Buchholz wasn't great, but he worked through some mistakes. He allowed 9 hits in 6 innings, and walked 1. The Marlins scored 5 times off him. A 2 run homer in the 1st and a 2 run double in the 5th were the big hits he allowed. It wasn't a pretty start, but it was enough.

The offense gave Buchholz plenty of support. David Ortiz hit a 2 run homer in the 1st, Kelly Shoppach hit a 2 run shot in the 2nd. Cody Ross returned to the lineup and hit a solo homer.

Adrian Gonzalez hit a sac-fly in the 6th to give the Sox a 6-5 lead. While that's not technically a clutch hit, it was a clutch out. Middlebrooks added an RBI double in the 6th.

The bullpen did a great job to hang on to the win for Buchholz. Albers, Miller, and Aceves were all perfect. Padilla allowed a basehit in his inning of work.

It was a solid win. This season we've seen the various parts of the Red Sox undermine the good performances of their teammates. The lineup might get 2 hits and waste a good start. Or the bullpen might blow a 2 run lead. But last night the starter struggled and was picked up by his teammates. The offense scored for Buchholz, and the bullpen finished the game for him.

By the way, how lucky has Buchholz been this season? He's pitched well lately but his 8-2 record is based mostly on run support.

After the "toxicity" talk, it was good for the Sox to just win. Winning and clubhouse chemistry are vicious cycles of each other. Chemistry can cause winning, and winning causes chemistry.

Unfortunately, Dustin Pedroia left the game after an at-bat in the 7th. He apparently re-aggravated his right thumb injury. He hasn't been hitting well since returning to the lineup, although he was 1 for 3 last night with a double. The Sox say that today they'll know much more about how severe the re-aggravation is.

The Sox need to build on this tonight. Doubront faces Ricky Nolasco. Doubront was great against the Marlins last week. And the Sox were able to score off Nolasco. Hopefully that repeats tonight.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Roger Clemens Acquitted

Roger Clemens was found not guilty in his perjury trial. And I don't care. I didn't need or want the Federal Government to punish Clemens. I didn't need or want the Government involved involved in the steroid issue at all. Although it did give Congress less time to screw up the country.

It would have been hilarious for Roger Clemens to go to jail. He did lie to Congress when he denied using PEDs. And that's inexcusable. As much as I disagree with Congress poking their noses into sports, that doesn't give Clemens the right to lie to them.

Clemens is a scumbag. And a fraud. That's his punishment for taking PEDs, and it's well deserved.

His rebirth in Toronto was due to his violating the rules. All the adulation, all the ESPN ball-washing he got from 1997 to 2007 was ill-gotten. He's paying for that now as his reputation is tarnished, his Cy Youngs are tainted, and his Hall of Fame credentials are questionable.

Clemens was great in the late 80's and early 90's. He won three Cy Young Awards with the Sox. He also won an MVP. But he started to slide, both on the mound and in terms of his physical shape. In 1993 he was 11-14 with a 4.46 ERA. In strike-shortened 1994, he was 9-7. He was 10-5 in '95, then 10-13 in '96. The Rocket seemed out of gas. Or maybe it was too heavy to take off.

Dan Duquette famously said Clemens was in "the twilight of his career."

He signed with the Blue Jays in 1996. He seemed motivated to make Duquette eat his words. We all thought that Clemens' much improved physical shape was a result of this motivation. Little did we know.

Clemens won the Cy Young twice in Toronto. He was traded to the Yankees. He won the World Series there in '99 and 2000. Then he won another Cy Young in 2001. He was 38 years old, and was in much better shape than he was at 28. We all thought it was due to his extreme training regimen.

He had another career rebirth in Houston. He won his 7th Cy Young with the Astros. He was 41. He pitched until he was 44.

Steroids and PEDs do more than just help players build raw muscle-mass. They help the body recover from injury. Which allows an athlete to train harder and spend less time recovering.

In some ways, steroids can help a pitcher more than a hitter. Throwing 100 pitches is a form of injury. And it typically takes 4 days to recover from it. A pitcher on steroids will be able to recover more quickly and more strongly than normal. Especially an older pitcher.

Steroids make exercise easy. I once had to take them for my eyes, and found myself on an exercise bike for 90 minutes at a time, close to 20 miles. And I wouldn't even feel tired. I'd have to tell myself to stop. It was a breeze.

I can't even imagine the effect of steroids and PEDs specifically designed to enhance athletic training.

It's probably a good thing Clemens didn't wind up in jail over this. As much as I dislike the bastard, I never wanted him in prison for cheating, even for lying about cheating. Maybe for having an affair with a 15 year old country music singer, but not for this.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

A Great Chance for the Sox to Win

There are 96 games left on the schedule. And if the Red Sox want to play more than 96 games, they need to win now.

Yes I know they they're enduring more than their share of injuries. They're missing an MVP candidate in the outfield, a starting pitcher who is capable of brilliance, a closer, more outfielders than there are outfield spots, and so on.

There's also been reports of strife and division within the clubhouse. There are coaches who weren't appointed by the manager, a manager who wasn't appointed by the GM, owners who use the media to manipulate popular opinion. There are trade rumors, there is fracturing between pitchers and hitters, between Francona supporters and those loyal to Bobby V.

And there are excuses. Umpires, the wind, the schedule.

The excuses and explanations must stop. This is a time for them to stop whining and start winning.

The Red Sox are starting a 16 game stretch against some of the weakest opposition in the Majors. Three against Miami (33-33 and 4th in the NL East), three against Atlanta (35-32, 3rd place), three against Toronto (34-32, 4th in AL East), four against Seattle (29-39, 4th in AL West), and three against Oakland (31-36, 3rd place).

They can and should win most of these games.

With Beckett out of the rotation, Lester and Buchholz need to pitch well every start. Buchholz has been doing that lately. Lester's been good but he needs to be great. The Sox need these two guys to be at their best.

Matsuzaka needs to continue what he did after the 2nd inning on Friday. And Doubront needs to be as solid as he's been.

Offensively, the stars of the lineup need to play like stars. I keep getting emails from the Red Sox urging their fans to vote for Pedroia to be in the All-Star Game. He's hitting .160 in June. The whole "relax" attitude he has shown is cute and funny, but he needs to hit. Now.

Youkilis also needs to hit. He's on a .128 clip this month.

And Adrian Gonzalez is hitting .232 in June. He only has 5 extra-base hits.

The stars on this team aren't playing like stars. The second-tier talent has carried them. And without those contributions from the second-tier talent, the Sox would be well below .500.

In the next 16 games, the Sox have an opportunity to do some damage. The injuries hurt, but what's killing them is their best players not playing like their best players.

After this stretch, the schedule gets tough. They face the Yankees, Rays, and White Sox. If they don't take advantage of the lesser opponents they have now, they might be out of the playoff race this time next month.

Huge Crash at Le Mans

I don't consider auto racing a sport. It's an extremely difficult, high-risk competition. These drivers have some serious stones. This was at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France on Saturday. The driver of the car/airplane (Anthony Davidson from Britain) was hospitalized with two fractured vertebrae. He then sent a few Tweets from his hospital bed.

Can Earnhardt Jr. Win the Sprint Cup Championship?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. broke a winless drought yesterday by cruising to the checkered flag at Michigan. It was his first victory in 143 races. As an Earnhardt Jr. fan, it was a great moment. And appropriately, he won the race on Father's Day, giving the late Dale Sr. a great gift.

In that 143 race drought, Earnhardt Jr. rarely showed frustration. Quite the opposite. He seems to have learned patience and consistency. Something which was lacking in the earlier stages of his career.

His average finish this season is 7.9. Last year it was 14.5. The year before it was 18.6. And before that it was 23.2. Four straight years of improvement. Earlier in his career he fluctuated up and down. He peaked in 2003 and 2004, finishing in the top 5 in points both years. But the occasional bad finish (or lack of finish) undermined his championship efforts.

In 2004, he won 6 races. Only Jimmie Johnson won more (8). But Junior wound up 5th in points. He won 2 races in the Chase, but also failed to finish 2 times.

This year, he's finished every race. He hasn't finished out of the top 20. He's had cars good enough to win, didn't get the win, but still secured a good finish. He's had cars not good enough to win, and has still managed to get a solid result. He's completed every lap this season.

So what are the chances of him winning the Cup? As good as any other contender. Maybe a bit better.

He sits 2nd in points, only 4 behind Matt Kenseth. He's grabbed that elusive win. The team isn't missing steps. Most importantly, there's no other driver or team that seems to have a better chance. There have been 11 winners in 15 races.

The door to the 2012 Sprint Cup Championship is wide open to a number of drivers. And one standing near the front of the line is Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Euro 2012 Update*

Euro 2012 has been full of surprises already. Four teams are in the quarterfinals, not all of them expected to be there. Four teams have been eliminated. Some of them anticipated longer stays in Poland and the Ukraine.

One thing I really like is that teams are winning their way into the quarterfinals. There were no draws this weekend, no tie-breakers needed. Teams that won advanced, teams that lost were eliminated.

Czech Republic 1, Poland 0

When the Czechs are expected to do well, they fail. When they're expected to fail, they do well. It's not a complete shock that they advanced to the quarterfinals, but it is a surprise that they won their group. They'll play Portugal on Thursday.

Greece 1, Russia 0

The good news for Polish police is that the Russians are leaving. No more marches through Warsaw. Greece was in 4th at the start of this match, and needed to win to advance. That's what they did. It's amazing what happens when people have to work to get by. Maybe the Greek people will learn what a work ethic is. They'll play Germany on Friday.

Portugal 2, Netherlands 1

The Group of Death was a confused mess before Sunday's games. The permutations were too complicated for even the most advanced supercomputers to calculate. But the teams knew their jobs: win. Cristiano Ronaldo did his job: score. He netted both goals for Portugal, silencing his critics. I picked the Netherlands to win this tournament, and now they exit having lost all 3 of their games.

Germany 2, Denmark 1

The Germans won all 3 of their group games for the first time ever in this tournament. What's kind of scary is that they never played to the absolute best of their ability. Guys like Thomas Müller are still struggling to find their form. And if they do, Achtung! (warning).

Germany faces Greece on Friday in a battle between creditor and debtor. North Sea vs. Mediterranean. Work ethic vs. vacation 8 weeks a year.

Today's games:
Croatia vs. Spain
Italy vs. Ireland

Italy should beat the Irish, which would give them 5 points. Croatia and Spain each have 4 points, so a draw would give each of them 1 point. With the tie-breakers, a 2-2 draw between Spain and Croatia will see both teams advance. Both teams should and probably will play for the win. And Spain should win.

That being said, if it's 2-2 between them with 15 minutes left, don't expect to see either team take any chances. And don't write off the Irish, who could make Spain and Croatia very happy by drawing with Italy.

Red Sox Suck Less Than Cubs

I like Terry Francona, but I've never considered him funny. The giggling by the ESPN announcers last night was close to insufferable. If Francona and John Gruden jointly broadcast something with an ESPN play-by-play guy in the booth, the Guinness World Record for giggling by sports commentators would be shattered.

Franklin Morales pitched pretty well. He struck out 9 in 5 innings, allowing only 2 runs off 4 hits. He didn't walk anybody. An impressive 65 of the 80 pitches he threw were strikes. He threw more than 4 times as many strikes as balls.

That being said, the Cubs have the 4th worst offense in baseball. And they play in a hitter's park. They're 22nd in batting average, 27th in OBP, 24th in slugging, 26th in OPS. It's great that Morales shut them down, but they seem to frequently shut themselves down.

So the Sox did what they're supposed to do. They took 2 of 3 from a team that has a .333 winning percentage. If you want to build hopes on the results of this series, be my guest. But I'd hold off. The Cubs average 2 losses every 3 games. And the Sox beat them 2 of 3.

It was nice to see Morales do well as a spot-starter. And Pedroia swung well last night. If he gets hot, the Sox offense improves dramatically. Those are some positives to build on.

One thing that bugs me about the Red Sox is their frequent neglect at the fundamentals. It's as if they feel like they're too talented to concern themselves with the little things in the game. They're good enough to win just on talent, unless the win or the umpires or the schedule interferes.

In the 6th, the Sox committed two errors, and it allowed the Cubs to tie the game at 3-3. The worst was by Mike Aviles. With a runner on 1st, Pedroia was supposed to over 2nd in case the runner went. The runner went, the ball was chopped to Morales, but Aviles was charging to back Morales up. Aviles then tried to cover 2nd, even though Pedroia was already there. The ensuing drop allowed the Cubs to score, and eliminated a potential double-play.

The next half-inning, Saltalamacchia did the worst thing any baserunner can do: he assumed something. After hitting a single to right, he assumed the throw would go to home. So he decided to try to get to 2nd base. But the throw was cut off. Had it been handled cleanly, Saltalamacchia would have been thrown out. Thankfully, the Cubs suck and it was dropped.

Anyway, the Sox are back to .500 at 33-33. They're 7.5 behind the Yankees in the division, but only 4 out of the second Wild Card.

They have tonight off, then the Marlins come to town. Buchholz faces Mark Buehrle.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

BU to Join Patriot League

Boston University will leave the America East Conference and join the Patriot League, effective on July 1, 2013. The men's and women's hockey teams will remain in the hockey-only Hockey East Conference.

BU has done well in America East recently. In the last 7 years, they've won 40 conference titles in 14 sports. Most notably, they won the America East basketball tournament in 2011.

The Patriot League is slightly more competitive than America East. It's also less New York/New England centric. BU will join Holy Cross as the only other New England member. Colgate and Army are in New York. Lehigh, Lafayette, and Bucknell are in Pennsylvania. American University is in Washington, DC. And the Naval Academy is in Maryland.

Fordham and Georgetown are football-only members of the Patriot League. Army and Navy are independents in Division I-A. American does not have a football team.

So maybe, just maybe, BU might consider playing football again. I know that's doubtful, and pure speculation on my part. But it'd be nice.

Anyway, BU is now in a broader-based conference. They'll be playing across the northeast. They're in a better basketball conference. Seems like a solid move.