DRAMATIC DEADLINE WEEKEND

Well acquiring Jarrod Saltalamacchia is hardly stop-the-presses news, but the Sox more than made up for their lack of transaction thrills with some exciting late inning action. Think about how close the Sox were to three straight walkoff wins. This weekend, the Sox scored 10 of their 14 runs in the 7th inning or later.

Having Clay Buchholz back in the rotation has been a huge lift for this team. An 8 inning, 2 run performance should have given Buchholz his 12th Win of the season, if not for Papelbon blowing his 5th Save.

The Major League debut of Ryan Kalish was another storyline of the weekend. He was 2 for 4 on Saturday, and had an RBI both Saturday and Sunday. He showed good patience and discipline at the plate.

The Sox welcome a crappy Cleveland team (aren't all of Cleveland's teams now crappy?), which actually has me a bit nervous. The Sox are 2-2 against the Indians, and 14-13 against the AL's sub-.500 teams.

Lackey faces Carmona tonight.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

SOX BEAT LA (OF ANAHEIM)

The Red Sox improved to 7-0 against the Angels on the season, and still have 3 games remaining against that charitable team. Someone tell Mike Scioscia to hit-and-run, or try a squeeze play or something.

Beckett had to work his way through this one, but improved as the game progressed. That's a really good sign. This is similar to how Buchholz performed the other day. He finished with 3 earned runs in 7 innings. It's nothing short of remarkable how the Sox have done so well considering this only their 2nd win from Beckett, and only his 4th Quality Start.

The offense eventually broke through against the Angels' array of relievers (Scot Shields had to start as Pinerio was scratched). Scutaro had the big game, going 3 for 4 with the big Grand Slam in the 8th. He was 7/14 in the series with 4 runs and 4 RBI.

Eric Patterson was a homerun shy of the cycle.

The Sox were still only 2 for 14 with runners in scoring position, and left 13 men. Scutaro's Grand Slam made up for this inadequacy, but it still wasn't a great day for the Sox' bats against a series of middle-relievers.

But pitching is how this team will either win or lose. And Beckett's back to form. Maybe. We'll see 2 starts from now how consistent he is. Buchholz is back. Lackey's apparently turned a corner.

I'm not going to get too giddy. The Angels are mediocre at best. And remember the weekend? When the Sox split 4 with the godawful M's?

The Sox have an off-day then host the Tigers. Lester opposes Armando Galarraga Friday night.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

SOX STILL OWN ANGELS

An inspired start by John Lackey, and some late inning offense gave the Sox' their 6th straight win over the Angels. Lackey went 7.1 innings, allowing 2 runs off 7 hits, finally securing that elusive 10th win. He's been stellar in his last 3 starts, all against AL West opponents. He has a 1.61 ERA over that stretch.

It probably should have been a 7 inning, 1 earned run start by Lackey. Francona tried him in the 8th inning, and it didn't work. I understand the desire to keep Bard fresh, but Lackey's pitch-count was up there, the game was very tight, and the Sox can't afford to lose games at this stage because they're afraid of losing games in September.

The Sox got their production from some relatively unlikely sources. Scutaro was 3 for 5 with a double and 2 runs. Lowrie was 2 for 5 with a pair of doubles and 2 RBI. His big hit in the 7th turned the game to the Sox' favor.

The Sox look for the sweep this afternoon at 3:35 as Beckett faces Joel Pineiro.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

SOX GET A REFRESHING WIN

I hate the term "must-win," especially if it's used for a baseball team in July. However, last night was as close to a must-win scenarios as you can get this time of year. The Rays won, the Yankees won, and the Sox were fresh off a 2-2 split in Seattle.

The Sox won't be acquiring any big name players at the deadline, but they did add All-Star catcher Victor Martinez last night. And he immediately contributed, hitting an RBI single in the 2nd.

But the two big stories were Clay Buchholz and the collective performance by the Sox' 3-4-5 hitters. Buchholz navigated his way around danger - including a 0 out, bases loaded situation in the 2nd - and went 7 solid innings. During that bases loaded jam, his body language got all flustered, by he bore down and did his job. He's come a long way in the confidence department. He couldn't do that last year. His outing was almost spoiled by a wretched Scott Atchison appearance.

I think the Sox should invest in either one good middle-reliever, or two decent middle-relievers at the deadline. Okajima, Delcarmen, Atchison, and Ramirez are all dreadful. They've leaned on Bard all season, and I hate seeing them forced to use Papelbon to get more than 3 outs.

Back to the positives from last night, the 3-4-5 hitters (Youkilis-Ortiz-Beltre) were stupendous, combining to go 7 for 12, scoring 5 runs, knocking in 3. Ortiz hit a pair of homers, Beltre a triple.

The Sox will strive to make it 6-0 against the Angels tonight, as Lackey faces 9-2 Jared Weaver.

SOX FIND MORE WAYS TO LOSE

The Sox now find themselves 8 games behind New York, and 5 behind Tampa Bay, thanks in no small part to an unfortunate weekend in Seattle. The Mariners are more than 20 games below .500, yet they looked the better team, splitting a 4 game set with the Sox.

There was good starting pitching, but no offense, and an atrocious bullpen. Jerry Remy described Okajima's appearance in Sunday's loss as a "trainwreck," and that's extremely accurate. He allowed 2 runs off 5 hits, getting only 2 men out. This swelled his ERA to 5.81.

Matsuzaka was an accomplice to the crime. He had a nice 6 inning start, but in vintage Daisuke style, needed 110 pitches to get that far. He walked 5 and allowed 4 hits.

The Sox have an awful record against awful teams this season. They're 6-6 against Baltimore, 2-2 against Cleveland, 4-3 against the Royals, and 2-2 against the Mariners. That's a 14-13 record against the 4 worst teams in the AL. Inexcusable.

Thankfully, the Sox take on a good team down in Anaheim. They're 4-0 against the Angels so far. Buchholz opposes Joel Pineiro at 10 tonight.

FROM HITLESS TO LISTLESS IN SEATTLE

E
OK, so you're starter allows 0 hits through the first 7.2 innings. The offense scores 6 runs, and the starter finishes with 8 innings pitched, 0 earned runs, 1 total run. That sounds like ane asy win. But not for the Red Sox.

It's true that the Sox have been plagued with injuries, but the bullpen's been healthy. Maybe that's the problem. The Sox' bullpen, apart from Bard and Papelbon, has been crap. Manny Delcarmen nearly handed this game to the Mariners. Papelbon was far from sharp, but he's at least been good this season. Delcarmen has sucked.

If the Sox make any move, they should acquire a token mid-reliever that doesn't blow. Declarmen is simply awful and doesn't belong on this roster.

A win is a win, but the Mariners are 20+ games below .500. This should have been an easy win for the Sox to cruise to, and instead it got dramatic.

Josh Beckett makes his return tonight. He opposes Jason Vargas, who is 6-4 with a 2.97 ERA. Why do I get the feeling that the Sox will lose 5-2?

Photo Credit:
Getty Images

CELTIC WINS AT FENWAY

It was one of the weirdest looking events I've seen on TV. Maybe that's because Fenway looked backwards from the angle the camera shot the game. Maybe because the field looked 20 yards shorter and 20 yards thinner than a regulation soccer field.

In front of a sellout crowd, Glasgow Celtic defeated Sporting Portugal on penalty kicks (6-5).

I have to say the Sox did a fantastic job putting on this event. The timing was perfect, with the Red Sox out West and playing at 3:30 local time. The World Cup just ended so lots of people who aren't big soccer fans might tune in to see these two European teams play. And they picked a perfect team to come to Fenway. While Celtic aren't one of the elite teams in the world, they have a fanatical following almost everywhere.

I think you'll see the Sox stage another international exhibition game at Fenway next summer.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

BUCCHOLZ IS RUSTOLZ

Clay Buchholz returned from the DL, but was visibly rusty. For the most part, he was fine, but a few pitches were left in juicy spots of the strike zone, and he paid for it. This was the first time Buchholz allowed multiple homeruns since September of '09.

But for me, the story of this game was the injuries deadening the lineup, along with the lack of bullpen depth the Sox have featured all season.

Apart from Adrian Beltre and his 3 RBI afternoon, the Sox offense was hardly noticeable.

The Sox continue to struggle against bad and mediocre teams. And this has me concerned as they go up to Seattle for 4 games. Think about this, the Sox are responsible for 1/5 of Baltimore's total wins this season.

But I'm sure Buchholz will be sharper in his next start. He was fresh off the DL, so the occasional knee-high fastball over the middle of the plate is excusable.

Lackey faces the 1-9 Ryan Rowland-Smith, who's Australian and has a 6.18 ERA, mate.