SOX TAKE THEIR TOKEN VICTORY FROM JAYS

The Sox knocked out 4 homers to beat Toronto 8-6 on Wednesday. Minor leaguer David Pauley spot started and pitched about as well as any Sox starter in the series going 4.1 innings allowing 6 earned. The much lamented middle reliever corps performed very well. The bullpen pitched 4.2 scoreless innings, keeping the Sox in the game.

The Sox finally got to Ted Lilly, knocking him out of the game after only 4 innings. We now have an off day before moving on to face the Detroit Tigers. The first place Detroit Tigers. This series will be a test for the Red Sox, who have had the benefit of feasting on the Blue Jays and Devil Rays for a good part of the season.

The Man of the Game is Alex Rios who went 3 for 4 with a double, 2 Runs, and a stolen base. We've got to figure out a way to get this guy out.

STILL CAN'T BEAT THE JAYS

The Red Sox are 4-7 against Toronto this year. Last season we had struggles with the Jays and they're even better this season. Their offense has beaten up our pitching, and their pitching has stymied our hitting. This road trip has started abysmally.

The Sox hit 3 homers on Monday, but fell 7-6. Clement's struggles continued as he only went 3.1 innings. The bullpen went well, allowing only 1 run, but that one run won the game for the Jays.

The Man of the Game is Alex Rios who got on ase 3 times, knocked in 2 runs, stole a base, and scored a run. He's hit us pretty well this season.

Here is the B*tch-Goat:
Clement: 8.0 - 3.1 IP, 6 ER
Nixon: 0.1 - 0 for 4, 4 LOB
Riske: 0.1 - 0.2 IP, ER

Tuesday's game wsn't as close. Beckett struggled, going 4.2 allowing 7 earned runs. We had 16 baserunners (8 hits, 8 walks, 1 HBP). The only extra basehit the Sox had was a solo homer from Nixon. The Sox fell behind early and couldn't muster enough offense to overcome the deficit.

The Man of the Game is Vernon Wells. He went 3 for 4 with 3 homers, 4 RBI, and a walk. He's killed us a lot this season. This is his 3rd MOTG this season, very impressive for a player on an opposing team.

Here is the B*tch-Goat:
Beckett: 0.8 - 4.2 IP, 7 ER
Cora: 0.1 - 1 for 4, 4 LOB
Varitek: 0.1 - 1 for 4, 6 LOB (3 in scoring position)

The Man of the Game for Sunday's win over Tampa is Wakefield who went 8 scoreless innings to earn his 4th win. He also had a pickoff. He's pitched well with his old catcher back in town.

SCHILLING GOES UP TO 200, WELLS GOES DOWN TO THE GROUND

The extended series between the Red Sox and (Devil) Rays has been a good one, overall. Schilling got his 200th career win on Saturday night. More on that later. Papelbon also tied a Red Sox record with 18 consecutive Saves to start a season. The Sox have also won all three games by a combined score of 18-9.

It hasn't been all good news out of Fenway Park. Friday night saw David Wells get nailed by a line drive up the middle. Unluckily, the ball struck Wells on his right knee, the same knee he has had such trouble with all year. Wells had been doing very well in only his second start of the season. He had thrown 4.1 innings, allowing a sole earned run. He was only 53 pitches deep and looked as though he could have gone at least 6 innings. Then he got hit. It was a freak thing.

The news on Wells is that he suffered a deep contusion in the knee. In other words, a bone bruise. This was the initial diagnosis and was confirmed by MRI. Wells hasn't been scratched from his next start on Wednesday in Toronto, but Francona described the possibilities of him making that start to be an "outside chance." Wells might be skipped over in the rotation and make a start in the Yankees series in the beginning of June.

CRISP RETURNS EARLY
Crisp will be in the lineup for Sunday's game against the (Devil) Rays. Crisp was 1 for 3 in his lone rehab start for AAA Pawtucket on Saturday. He also walked and had 2 RBI. The move is a surprise, Crisp was expected to be activated tomorrow at the outset of the road trip. However, Crisp's crispness in his rehab start, and some injury trouble in the outfield may have induced the early activation. Crisp will bat leadoff tonight.

WMP PLACED ON THE DL
Willy Mo Pena has been scratched from the lineup a few times as of late due to trouble with his wrist. The move coincides with Crisp's activation. Pena had been hitting well, although his fielding has never impressed the Fenway Faithful. He hit .354 in the month of May, including a very impressive .403 against righthanded pitching.

MOHR SENT DOWN TO AAA
When David Wells was activated off the 15 Day DL, Dustan Mohr was sent down to Pawtucket. Mohr never really did much for us. In 40 at-bats he was able to record 7 hits for a .175 average. He did knock out 2 homeruns, but only 3 total RBI.

SO WHAT THE HELL DOES OUR OUTFIELD LOOK LIKE?
The outfield right now will be Manny in left, Coco in center, and Trot in right. However, Manny reportedly has a sore back. We all know the history Manny has with injuries and suspicious missed playing time, so that is subject to change. At the moment, the 4th outfielder is Willie Harris. Harris has an average of .129 this season. Essentially, he is a pinch runner and a defensive replacement.

As a 5th outfielder, the Red Sox demonstrated a willingness to use Kevin Youkilis in left field. This might only be in Fenway Park, and this would also only occur in emergency situations such as last night when Pena and Manny were sitting. Cora could also be another possibility in the outfield.

I think we need to be carrying 5 outfielders, especially when one of them can't hit lefthanded pitching, one is coming off the DL, one is complaining of a sore back, and one can't even hit his own weight even though he is listed at 170.

The Sox might want to consider calling up Ron Calloway from AAA Pawtucket. The 30 year old lefty is batting .326 with the Paw Sox. He hasn't hit any homers, but he's stolen 6 bases. I think he might be a decent enough standby outfielder until Pena can come off the DL.

Another possibility a bit later in the season is Gabe Kapler. Gabe is rehabbing down in Fort Myers with the Sox. He might be a player the Sox add as a 4th or 5th outfielder later in the season. Kapler always seemed to contribute somehow when he was put in the lineup or out on the field.

WHAT DOES THE LINEUP LOOK LIKE?
Right now, the Red Sox lineup does not include Manny Ramirez. Here is today's lineup:

1. CF Coco Crisp
2. 2B Mark Loretta
3. DH David Ortiz
4. 1B Kevin Youkilis
5. 3B Mike Lowell
6. C Doug Mirabelli
7. RF Trot Nixon
8. SS Alex Gonzalez
9. LF Willie Harris

Not very intimidating. If we lose Manny or Ortiz for an extended period of time, our lineup takes a huge hit. Anyway, I think this is how the lineup SHOULD look when Manny is healthy:

1. CF Coco Crisp
2. 2B Mark Loretta
3. 1B Kevin Youkilis
4. DH David Ortiz
5. LF Manny Ramirez
6. RF Trot Nixon
7. 3B Mike Lowell
8. C Jason Varitek
9. SS Alex Gonzalez

I know it pushes back Ortiz and Ramirez, but Loretta, Youkilis, and Crisp combined would be phenomenal table setters. If one of them isn't hitting that well, they can be shuffled to the bottom of the order and Ortiz and Manny can move up a spot. The thing is, both Youkilis and Loretta are hitting well, and I think it'd be a shame to move one to the bottom of the lineup where their ability to get on base would be relatively wasted.

GAME SUMMARIES
Thursday's 4-1 win was a solid victory. In fact, it was a Flawless Victory with Jonathan "Fatality" Papelbon closing the door. We did leave 15 men on, but we also had 18 baserunners, so leaving men is inevitable.

The Man of the Game is Josh Beckett who went 6 scoreless, striking out 7 for his 4th straight win.

Friday's 8-4 win was not a Flawless Victory, but a win nonetheless. The Sox finally beat Scott Kazmir. The bullpen did their best to blow it, but the offense kept hitting.

The Man of the Game is Mike Lowell who was 3 for 4 with a double, a homer, 2 RBI and 2 Runs scored. He had his 29th extra basehit, and his 29th RBI. He's been quite a pickup.

Saturday's 6-4 win was closer than it should have been. The Sox missed a few big opportunities to have big innings. Schilling pitched well, but not stellarly, allowing 4 earned in 7 innings.

The Man of the Game is Kevin Youkilis who got on base 4 times going 2 for 3 with 2 singles and a pair of walks. He scored 3 times in what might have been his last start in the leadoff spot.

IS CURT SCHILLING A HALL OF FAMER?
Curt got his 200th career win on Saturday. He is now tied for 105th all time in wins. He's got a career record of 200-133 (.601 win %). He's got a 3.41 career ERA which is good considering the hitter's era he now pitches in. He's got a career WHIP of 1.126, which is pretty good. If he pitches next season, he might finish his career with about 220 to 230 wins and 3,000+ strikeouts. 230 wins would put him in the top 60 all-time, and 3,000 Ks would put him in a club with 9 Hall of Famers, and 4 future Hall of Famers. The only retired player with 3,000 or more strikeouts that isn't in the Hall of Fame is Bert Blylevin, who very well could be in the Hall with 287 career wins.

A big thing Curt has going for him is his post-season record. He is 7-2 in the playoffs, with one of those losses being Game 1 of the 2004 ALCS when he suffered the ankle injury. He has a 2.06 post-season ERA. In 15 starts, he's completed 4 games, and pitched 109.1 innings, or 7.1 per start. In World Series play, he is 2-1 with a 2.11 ERA. His starts include a complete game shutout. His post-season WHIP is 0.924. He won the NLCS MVP in 1993 with Philadelphia, and won the 2001 World Series MVP with Arizona. As we all know, he has two World Series rings.

Schilling's been an All-Star 6 times. He won the Lou Gehrig Award in 1995 (other winners include Musial, Spahn, Brooks Robinson, Banks, Rose, Aaron, Killebrew, Stargell, Bench, Sutton, Niekro, Schmidt, Brett, Ozzie Smith, Ripken Jr, Molitor, and Tony Gwynn). In 2001, Schilling won the Babe Ruth Award, the Branch Rickey Award, the Hutch Award, and the Roberto Clemente Award. He was named NL Pitcher of the Year by the Sporting News in 2001 and again in 2002.

Although Curt has never won a Cy Young, he has finished 2nd in the voting on 3 occasions, twice to teammate Randy Johnson. He has the 2nd best career WHIP amongst active players, behind only Pedro Martinez. He is also 34th all-time in WHIP. Fifteen of the players ahead of him are in the Hall. Schilling is also 7th all-time in strikeouts per 9 innings. He is 15th all-time in strikeouts. He has the 3rd best strikeout to walk ratio in history.

So is he a Hall of Famer? I think he is, but not a first ballot Hall of Famer. He has very good career numbers, and his post-season pitching should push him over the top, but the lack of Cy Youngs, of ERA titles, and the fact that for the best years in his career he has been a #2 pitcher behind Johnson or Martinez, might make voters think twice.

I think if he has one more good season and gets to 230 wins, and 3,100 strikeouts, he'll make it in. He does have an advantage (kind of) in that he pitches in the era of steroids and hitter's ballparks. This might cause voters to give him the benefit of the doubt, especially if they're staring at a ballot that has his name next to Rafael Palmeiro's name on it.

SOX DROP A PAIR OF CLOSE ONES TO YANKS

The good news is, Manny Ramirez is hitting the crap out of the ball. The bad news is, our pitchers are allowing our opponents to do the same thing. The Sox hitters were given sizeable deficits with which to overcome on Tuesday and Wednesday. Both times, they fell a little bit short.

On Tuesday, Wakefield got knocked around for 7 runs, 6 of which were earned. Meanwhile, the Red Sox were held scoreless by Jaret Wright, and didn't plate a run until the 6th inning. They scored 5 off the Yankee bullpen, but were eventually shut down by Rivera in the 9th.

The Sox had plenty of opportunity to score often in the game. They had 18 baserunners, but left 13 of them on base. They left 6 men in scoring position. A huge problem was Ortiz in the middle of the lineup going 0 for 4 with 5 men left on base.

The Man of the Game for Tuesday's 7-5 loss is Manny Ramirez. He went 3 for 5 with a homer, and a pair of singles. He knocked in 4 runs, but only scored once, which is a testament to the lack of clutch hitting behind him in the lineup on Tuesday night.

Here is the B*tch-Goat:
Wakefield: 0.6 - 6.2 IP, 7 R, 6 ER, 6 H, 5 BB, 2 HR
Ortiz: 0.2 - 0 for 4, 5 LOB
Harris: 0.1 - 0 for 2, K, 4 LOB
Mohr: 0.1 - 0 for 2, 2 K

Wednesday's game was a similar story. Manny hit, Ortiz didn't. The Sox pitchers gave up a lot of runs early and the hitters tried to come back, but fell two runs shy. It was like watching Sox in 2 on NESN.

The Sox had 12 hits and 15 total baserunners, but they couldn't muster much of a big inning.

We had an opportunity to get that big inning in the bottom of the 8th. Pena led off the inning with a single. Nixon popped out. Gonzalez lined a single to center and Pena reached 3rd. Harris came on to run for Gonzalez, and he stole 2nd base. Then Youkilis struck out swinging for the 2nd out. Loretta walked. The 4th ball got away from Stinnett, but Pena didn't even attempt to advance to score. Harris was already halfway to 3rd before noticing Pena hadn't moved from his lead off the bag. Nevertheless, the bases were loaded with Ortiz up at the plate. Papi went down looking on 6 pitches. Rivera sent the Red Sox down in order in the 9th.

The loss brings the Yankees a mere half game out of 1st place. This divisional race looks like it will shape up to be a very interesting one.

The Man of the Game is once again Manny Ramirez. He went 3 for 4 with 3 RBI, 3 runs, 2 homers, a double, and a walk.

Here is the B*tch-Goat:
Clement: 0.8 - 4.1 IP, 8 ER
Ortiz: 0.2 - 0 for 5, 4 K, 5 LOB

DINARDO DL'ED, VAN BUREN BACK UP
Lenny DiNardo has been placed on the 15 Day DL. He has been replaced on the roster by righthander Jermaine Van Buren, who is making his 2nd stint with the Red Sox. It probably will not be a long one. Because...

WELLS TO RETURN FRIDAY
Wells will be activated for Friday's game against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. I, and perhaps the Sox, would have preferred to give him another rehab start, but at this time there is no choice. DiNardo is on the DL, and we need a starting pitcher. Hopefully we can get something out of Wells because our rotation, as of late, has been susceptible, and suspect.

CRISP GOES DOWN TO FLORIDA
Here is the rehab plan for Coco Crisp. He will play two games in extended Spring Training down in Florida. He will then play a game in AAA for Pawtucket on Saturday. He will work out on Sunday at Fenway Park and could be back with us on Monday in Toronto against the Blue Jays. Crisp has already missed nearly a quarter of the season, but it seems as though he is on the verge of returning.

Beckett against Waechter tonight.

QUARTERLY REPORT

The Sox have played 42 games, over a quarter of the season completed. They've won 26 and lost 16. The Sox are on pace to win 100 games, and lose 62. This win total would most likely be enough for a playoff spot and probably a divisional title.

As a team, the Red Sox are 7th in the Majors in hitting with a team average of .278. The Sox are also 3rd in team OBP with .364. The Sox are also 7th in team Slugging at .449. But, they're only 9th in Runs scored with 231. Part of it might be the relative lack of homeruns, the Sox are 17th in baseball. Last year they were 1st in Runs, same with 2004. In 2004, the Sox were 5th in homers, and last year they were 6th.

We're on pace to score 891 runs, which is good, but not the type of offensive onslaught we're accustomed to producing.

A small problem has been a lack of production out of center-field. However, Pena has somewhat rectified that problem. Another problem is our lack of offense from short-stop. But we had that last season. Varitek hasn't been producing the same as he was last year. But he's on pace to score more runs than last year and knock in more runs than last year.

A major lack of production compared to last season has been Manny Ramirez. He's on pace to knock in 85 runs, compared to the 144 he knocked in last year. He's on pace to hit only about 30 homers compared to the 44 he's averaged the past two seasons. Manny has been hitting better lately, and we've seen him have slow starts before. He'll produce.

The Sox are 17th in baseball in team ERA at 4.57. We're 7th in team WHIP, but we've allowed 52 homers already. We're also 21st in Slugging allowed. That's why we're letting up so many runs, too many extra basehits given up.

The Sox only have 3 regular pitchers with ERAs below 4.00. Schilling is at 3.80, Papelbon is at 0.40 and Timlin is at 0.96. Beckett's at 4.17, and Wake is at a nice 4.19 for him. Having DiNardo in the rotation instead of a true starting pitcher also doesn't help. It also means we have to use more middle relievers. DiNardo's ERA is 7.11 and he's averaging less than 5 innings a start.

One thing that is impressive about the team is the defense. The Red Sox have the highest fielding percentage in baseball! WHAT?!? That's not supposed to happen. The Sox are supposed to be a team of lumbering DH types focusing more on hitting than anything else. We've only made 14 errors in 42 games. That's an error every 3 games, or a pace for 54 errors in the entire season. Last year we were 22nd in fielding with 109 errors. The year before, 22nd in fielding again with 129 errors. We're on pace to have a higher fielding percentage and a lower error total than the 1999 Mets, one of the best defensive teams in the history of baseball.

The Sox have a few contenders for Gold Glove awards. Mike Lowell won it in the NL last year and is contending with some sensational defense in the AL this year. Varitek won it last year and is having a solid year behind the plate. Gonzalez is also a contender for the short-stop Gold Glove. He has the highest field percentage of any regular AL short-stop.

If the Sox can get the #5 starter problem solved, maybe pick up a middle reliever or bring up some of the younger players from AAA and AA (Hansen is already in AAA, by the way), and the guys like Timlin and Papelbon still produce as well as they're producing thus far, and Manny starts to hit, we'll win a great deal of ball games.

STARS POWER SOX TO VICTORY

Curt Schilling went 8, allowing 1 run off 5 hits, and 0 walks, striking out 6. David Ortiz went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI. Manny Ramirez went 2 for 3 with 3 RBI and a homerun. The big stars all had big nights.

It wasn't just the big names that contributed. Alex Cora went 3 for 4 with an RBI and a Run. Willie Harris went 1 for 3 with an RBI and a Run. Youkilis also knocked in a run and scored twice. The Yankees only struck out one Red Sox batter.

The Man of the Game is Curt Schilling. As previously mentioned, he went 8 allowing only 1 earned run. It was really nice to see him have a great start after some of the struggles he's had lately. He probably could have gone the full 9, he only threw 99 pitches, 72 of which were strikes.

Wakefield against Jaret Wright tomorrow.

SOX DROP PHILLY FINALE

Lenny DiNardo is a hole in our rotation. It needs to be filled. He went 2 innings allowing 4 earned runs yesterday as part of a 10-5 loss to Philadelphia. Against bad teams like Tampa, Seattle and Baltimore, he can go 5 and keep the other team's offense at beatable levels. However, against good teams like Philly and Toronto, he has no chance to even give you 5 innings.

So what is the solution? David Wells is a possibility. He allowed 2 runs off 4 hits and a walk with AAA Pawtucket on Saturday. He threw 5 innings. But I don't think the Sox should activate him until he has another outing in AAA. Granted, his next scheduled start would be against the D-Rays, but as we have witnessed in games against Tampa this season, they aren't pushovers anymore.

Abe Alvarez is another possibility. He's been lights out in AAA, but yesterday in a relief appearance he didn't look too sharp. However, if he knows he's going to start and can thoroughly prepare himself for a start, he might be able to go. Another possibility would be Jon Lester, who is 2-4 with a 3.34 ERA in Pawtucket. Matt Ginter is another possibility, he is 2-4 with a 2.95 ERA.

It looks like we're stuck with no real solution until Wells comes back, or another old, former Yankee, former Blue Jay, pitcher possibly comes out of retirement and miraculously decides to pitch for us.

The Man of the Game for Sunday's loss is Bobby Abreu who went 3 for 3 with a single, a triple, and a homer. He knocked in 5 runs, and scored 2. He also walked twice.

Here is the B*tch-Goat:
DiNardo: 0.7 - 2 IP, 4 ER
Alvarez: 0.3 - 3 IP, 4 ER

Schilling vs. Wang tonight in Yankee Stadium.

Speaking of Boston and New York, I've just been made aware of a new t-shirt site that allows Sox fans to represent Red Sox Nation from Boston AND New York. Soon, they will have shirts that allow Sox fans to do it from Florida and California. Speaking as a Red Sox fan living within the confines of The Evil Empire, I can say that being able to rub my Red Sox Nationality in the faces of New Yorkers is one of the most pleasurable things one can do with one's clothes on. Here is a link to the site:

Fenway Faithful Tees

SOX OPEN INTERLEAGUE PLAY WITH BLASTS

David Ortiz, Alex Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, Mike Lowell, and Jason Varitek have all homered for the Red Sox against the Phillies. The Sox also took the first two of their three game series against bitter rival: the Philadelphia Phillies (sarcasm).

Beckett showed no signs of blister troubles, he went 7 innings against the Phillies and knocked out a homer. The Sox policy of signing pitchers with NL experience seems to be paying off with Clement's double and Beckett's homer. We got Schilling from Arizona, Wells from San Diego, Beckett from Florida, Clement after he was on the Cubs, and Wakefield from Pittsburgh. Having pitchers with NL experience, and having a former NL manager seems to help a great deal. Francona is 25-15 in interleague play with the Sox. 29-15 if you count the '04 World Series.

The Man of the Game for Saturday's 8-4 victory is Josh Beckett, he pitched 7 innings, and although he allowed 4 earned runs, he also went 2 for 4 at the plate with an RBI single in the 6th that touched off a 4 run 6th inning rally. He also had a solo homer in the 7th. Two runs, and 2 RBI are pretty dam good for a pitcher.

Friday night, the Sox won a typical National League game 5-3 thanks to the longball. Lowell had his 5th shot of the year, Tek his 4th, and Ortiz his 14th. Clement pitched solidly with a 6.2 inning outing allowing 3 earned runs. Foulke pitched a poor third of an inning allowing 2 inherited runners to score. Timlin pitched a perfect 8th for his 11th Hold, Papelbon pitched a perfect 9th for his 15th Save. Timlin only needed 10 pitches, and Papelbon only 11. We're not in first place without those two guys, that's for sure. Timlin's ERA is now 0.96, and Papelbon's is 0.40.

The Man of the Game is Mike Lowell who went 3 for 3 with a homer and 2 RBI. He also walked.

The Man of the Game for Thursday's 4-3 loss to Baltimore is Eric Bedard who went 7 innings allowing just 1 earned run.

The Sox bats didn't support Wakefield yet again. Wake went 7, allowing 4 runs. This should be good enough to win on most nights. The Sox only had 8 base runners. They left three of them, and one was eliminated on a double play.

Here is the B*tch-Goat:
Ramirez: 0.1 - 1 for 4, 3 Ks
Lowell: 0.1 - 0 for 4
Nixon: 0.1 - 0 for 3
Mirabelli: 0.1 - 0 for 3
Gonzalez: 0.1 - 0 for 2
Wakefield: 0.5 - 7 IP, 4 ER

Lenny DiNardo against former Athletic Cory Lidle tomorrow as the Sox look for the sweep.

Also, Abe Alvarez was promoted from AAA Pawtucket as Mike Holtz was placed on the 15 Day DL. Alvarez was 5-0 in 7 starts with a sub 3.00 ERA. He hasn't allowed more than 3 runs in any of his starts. The Sox will probably use him as a longman and might even utilize him as a starter the next time DiNardo's spot in the rotation comes up.