WHAT A "HOLD" REALLY IS

I'm just watching the Red Sox game, and they're talking about Holds, which are statistics for middle-relief pitchers. But Don Orsillo got the definition wrong. Holds are rewarded to relief pitchers who enter a game in a save situation, record at least one out, all without surrendering the lead.

So if it's a 4-1 game in the 7th, and Hideki Okajima gets 2 outs, keeping it a 4-1 game, he'll get a Hold.

So it's a Save, just without finishing the game.

SOX GO FISHING

Is Tim Wakefield an All-Star? He certainly helped his case in that argument last night with win #9 of the season. It wasn't Ace-like - 6 innings, 2 earned runs, 6 hits, 4 strikeouts - but he's gotten the job done this season. He's probably been the most consistent pitcher in the Red Sox' rotation, and I for one would like to see his efforts rewarded with an All-Star selection.

David Ortiz had another great night. He pulled a shot over the bullpen in the 4th. Later in the same inning he hit a 2 run single. He's got 4 homeruns and 10 RBI in June and we're only halfway through the month. He had 1 HR and 18 RBI in April and May combined.

Brad Penny faces Andrew Miller tonight. It will be the 500th straight sellout at Fenway Park, which is quite an achievement by the fans of Boston, as well as a testament to the quality of the on-field product we've seen here the past few seasons.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credits:
AP Photo/Elise Amendola

MID INNING MELTDOWN

Things were looking pretty good thru 4 innings. The Sox were up 4-1, Beckett was dealing. Then it all went to hell. Beckett gave up 4 runs and the lead in the 5th. But he himself tied things up again with a homer in the top of the 6th. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to settle down, and he and the pen let up 6 runs in the 7th.

It was an unfortunate way to end what has been a tremendous stretch of baseball. Facing four straight 1st place teams, the Sox went 9-3. It doesn't get better than that. And despite this afternoon's woes, there's still plenty about this team to be impressed with.

Man of the Game:
Jimmy Rollins

Bitch-Goat:
Beckett: 0.7
Bard: 0.3

The Sox have a day off before the Marlins come to town. Tim Wakefield faces Chris Volstad Tuesday night.

John Smoltz will pitch on Thursday. But whether he'll pitch in Boston against the Marlins or in Pawtucket against the Charlotte Knights.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Tom Mihalek

THIS TEAM LOOKS SO FREAKIN GOOD

The Sox are looking insanely good these days. Jon Lester and Josh Beckett have been unstoppable. Ortiz is hitting. Drew is hitting. And the bullpen is deeper than Salvador Dali preaching on acid.

Lester struck out 11 in 7 innings of work. He was robbed of his 6th win, but I don't think he minds much. In his last three starts, he's tossed 22 innings, and allowed only 3 earned (1.23 ERA).

Razor Ramon Ramirez did allow that atomic shot off Ryan Howard's bat. But Howard's victimized 18 other pitchers this season, so nothing to be ashamed of there. Ramirez did settle down and keep it a 2-2 game.

Then the depth of the Sox pen became apparent. Remember, this was a night off for Papelbon, and the Sox pen still came through. Masterson for 7 outs, Saito for 2, then Bard for the last 3. Bard struck out the side in the 13th for his first Major League save.

This is the 4th straight series the Sox have had against a division leading team (at the start of the series). So far in that stretch, Boston is 8-2. Very impressive stuff.

Saturday night Daisuke faces my favorite player in the universe: Antonio BASTARDO! But seriously, Bastardo is 2-0 with a 2.95 ERA.



Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Tom Mihalek

SWEEPSTAKES

The Red Sox were not supposed to win this game. Brad Penny against CC Sabathia? Yet Brad Penny outdueled Sabathia with 6 shutout innings. Then Delcarmen craps the bed and the Yankees lead 3-1. So game over, right? Wrong. A magnificent 8th inning rally flipped a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead.

Dustin Pedroia's at-bat in the 8th was monstrous. Not only did he work a walk, but he did it by making Sabathia throw 10 pitches, ensuring that JD Drew would be the last batter he faced.

David Ortiz's homerun in the 2nd was the most encouraging of his 4. He hit it over the Monster, and hit it off a tough lefty who was on his A-Game. Without a doubt his most impressive homer of the season. His 2 for 3 night launched his average over the .200 mark for the first time since May 23.

Brad Penny may have saved his spot in the rotation. Or perhaps he's raised his pricetag on the trade market. If all the Sox get for him is some minor league short-stop, I'll be very disappointed.

This was a stolen victory, plain and simple. Some excellent defensive plays, taking full advantage of a shoddy bullpen, and a late inning comeback. Good teams steal wins like this one, and over the course of a 162 game season, they add up.

Man of the Game:
Brad Penny - 6 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K

Another big series starts Friday night as the Sox travel to Philadelphia. The defending champs are leading the NL East by 4 games this season. Jon Lester faces Joe Blanton.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

LUCKY NUMBER 7

The Red Sox are 7-0 against the Yankees this season. Which is probably a partial product of playing them 5 times in Fenway (where the Sox have the 2nd best home record in baseball) and only twice in Yankee Stadium (the Sox have the 12th best road record in baseball).

But 7-0 is 7-0 is 7-0.

Chien-Ming Wang is atrocious this season. His 2.2 inning, 4 run outing actually lowered his ERA to 14.34. As a starter, he has a 21.60 ERA, and opponents are hitting .507 off him.

Hideki Okajima saved this game. Ramon Ramirez was struggling, but Francona utilized the depth he has in the bullpen. Which is yet another reason why a 6 man rotation is moronic. The Sox have a deep bullpen, why strain it when guys like Wakefield, Smoltz, Penny, and Matsuzaka are 5 to 6 inning pitchers at best?

Wakefield was solid, and he improved to 8-3 on the year. But let's not get too hard about it. 6 innings and 3 earned runs is nice, and that's it.

David Ortiz's hit streak was snapped at 7 games. It had been perhaps the most intensely followed 7 game hit streak in Boston baseball history. He was 0 for 2 with a pair of walks. The Ortiz Optimists will point to his 410 foot flyball out to centerfield as another sign of his impending comeback. The Papi Pessimists (like myself) will observe that when he hits the ball hard, he's hitting it to center. He's not pulling it to right.

The Sox go for the sweep tonight, but it's a bit of a mismatch. Sabathia faces Penny. And Penny might be pitching to stay in a Red Sox uniform, because Smoltz is making his final rehab start tonight in Syracuse.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Winslow Townson

SOX CRUSH YANKS 7-0

Not to sound too pessimistic, but it's a very good thing the Sox beat the Yankees in the sole pitching matchup of the series that favors Boston. Wakefield vs. Wang is a bit of a toss-up tonight, but I can just see a classic Wakefield vs. New York performance of 4 innings and 6 earned runs. Then Penny vs. Sabathia tomorrow night is an obvious mismatch.

Josh Beckett is on a killer hot streak. To Lou Merloni and the other idiots who're clamoring for a 6 man rotation, do you really want to mess with a guy pitching this well just so Brad Penny can get a few extra innings in before he's traded? 1 earned run allowed in Beckett's last 31 innings. That's a 0.29 ERA folks. 7 Quality Starts in a row, and he's 5-0 since the start of May.

David Ortiz was 1 for 4 with a homerun. Once again, I'm going to be annoyingly pessimistic. Ortiz's homer came off a pitcher having a lousy night. 5 hits, 5 walks for AJ Burnett in 2.2 innings. And as good as it was to see him hit a 450 footer to dead center, to me, that still means he's being late on the ball.

When David Ortiz is on his A Game, the homeruns are bombs over the Monster, and screeching line drives over the bullpen in right. I'm not criticizing him for hitting a homerun, but let's not get all excited about him hitting the ball straight instead of pulling it.

That being said, Ortiz is still a Yankee killer. He's hitting .304 against them with a .988 OPS. 7 of his 24 RBI have come off the Yanks, as have 5 of his 18 extra basehits.

Overall, he's 8 for his last 29 (.276). A few days ago, I declared that he needed to hit .250+ for a stretch of 5 games, and he's doing that. By doing so, he's continuing to earn his spot in the lineup.

The Man of the Game:
Nick Green - 2/4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R

Wakefield vs. Wang tonight.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Winslow Townson

LESTER BEFUDDLES RANGERS

Nothing but good news from Fenway Park last night. Jon Lester was simply dazzling. He started the game with 6.1 perfect innings, and finished with a complete game 2 hitter. He struck out 11 batters, 10 in the first 6 innings. And this Rangers lineup is hardly a bunch of pushovers and easy outs.

Even more good news: David Ortiz was 2 for 3 with a homerun. He actually has a 5 game hit streak going, and he's batting .285 in that stretch. It's hardly time to declare him out of his funk, but perhaps like the economy, he's getting worse at a better rate.

That being said, Ortiz's 2 homeruns this year both came against poor pitching in blowout victories.

Daisuke pitches this afternoon against the Padilla Flotilla.

The Red Sox passed the Yankees for 1st place as New York lost to Tampa Bay.

Man of the Game:
Jon Lester - 9 IP, CG, 2 H, 2 BB, 11 K, 1 ER

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Mary Schwalm