Red Sox 7, Orioles 0

The Sox, having lost 3 straight, needed a good start from Buchholz and some production from their offense. They got both. Buchholz went the distance, allowing 4 hits, only walking 1, striking out 6, and shutting out the Orioles.

Over his last three starts, Buchholz has pitched 24 innings and allowed 4 runs (1.50 ERA). He's striking batters out, he's getting them to ground out (he induced 3 double play balls last night), he's finally pitching as well as his 6-2 record suggests he can pitch. He's no longer a worry in the rotation.

Brian Matusz struggled to throw strikes, and the Sox took advantage. They drew 5 walks off him. And were up 4-0 by the time he was pulled in the 3rd. If anything, they could have scored more runs off him. But I'll take the 7 runs and the win.

Nava and Gonzalez each knocked in 2 runs. Pedroia and Youkilis each had an RBI.

This was the first time the Sox beat the Orioles in Fenway Park since September 19, 2011. Brian Matusz got the loss that night as well. I'm glad that shameful streak is over.

The good news is that the Sox didn't fall below .500. And the great news is that Buchholz is pitching extremely well. Right now, I'd say that Buchholz is the best pitcher in the rotation, with Beckett a close second. Doubront would be a solid third. If Lester could get going, then the Sox could start to scare opponents. Beckett, Buchholz, and Lester all at their best are quite formidable. Add Doubront's solidity, then Daisuke's potential to be a quality 4/5 guy, and the sky is the limit.

The Sox bats will be challenged this weekend as the 1st place Washington Nationals come to Fenway. Doubront faces 6-1 Stephen Strasburg tonight.. Strasburg has a 2.35 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. Although he has had a shaky May.

-The Captain

Red Sox Take 2 of 3 from Blue Jays

The experiment of Bard in the rotation has proven unsuccessful. He simply isn't a starter. And the culprit is the same thing that prevented him from being a starter when he was first drafted: bases on balls.

In 55 innings, he's walked 37 batters. He's struck out 34. Yesterday he threw 55 pitches. 24 were strikes. A good pitcher will throw twice as many strikes as balls (or better). But not Bard. When he's a starter, the walks pile up. And because he isn't throwing many strikes, so does the pitch count. It's the same problem that plagued him in 2007 in A ball. He's also hit 6 batters this year.

When Daisuke is ready to return, Bard needs to go to the bullpen. It simply is not working out for him in the rotation. At best, he's a #5 pitcher, giving you 180 mediocre innings. I'd rather have 80 quality innings from him out of the pen.

Apart from Bard's struggles, the Sox have been thriving. They've only lost 1 of their last 7 series. They're 16-7 since David Ortiz called a players only meeting after Beckett was shelled by the Indians on May 10th. They're still last in the AL East, but they're only 1.5 games out of the second Wild Card spot.

On Saturday, Felix Doubront had yet another Quality Start. He's now 6-2 and deservedly so. You really can't ask more from a 4/5 pitcher than that. Not to mention his ERA is 3.75.

And Clay Buchholz seems to have settled down. He went 8 innings Friday night, only allowing 2 runs. He struck out 7. That's two straight Quality Starts for Buchholz. He only has three on the season. He has a 2.40 ERA in his last two starts. 15 innings, 4 earned runs, not bad at all.

The Sox need to keep this momentum going. They can take advantage of a Baltimore team that's been struggling lately. They have today off. Then Lester faces 6-2 Jason Hammel on Tuesday.

-The Captain

Red Sox 8, Orioles 6

Joy to the world, the Sox are .500. It was thanks to a struggling Tommy Hunter, a red hot Mike Aviles, and some contributions from Pedroia, Ortiz, and Middlebrooks.

Clay Buchholz sucks. He has no confidence out there. Once one or two things go wrong, and he disintegrates. He falls into quicksand and can't free himself. If not for a double-play ball in the 3rd, he might have been tagged for 6 or 7 runs. Nevertheless, he still allowed 5 in 5.1 innings. Far from impressive.

Ideally, I'd put Bard in the bullpen and Buchholz in Pawtucket until he sorted himself out. Unfortunately, the Sox don't have replacements for these struggling SPs. We'll just have to endure both of them until Daisuke returns. Then decide which one to exile.

I don't see much progress with Buchholz. He's still laboring through innings. He got some fortunate bounces last night, and that helped. But without those bounces, he gives up 7 and doesn't go 5 innings.

But this was a good win, nonetheless. Hunter seemed like a guy the Sox should hit. And they did that. And not only are the Sox .500, they are tied with the Yankees for 4th place. Cue the duckboats.

Doubront faces Brian Matusz tonight. Matusz has had mostly bad starts with a few good starts mixed in. He's a lefty, so he has a shot against the Sox. But they should get a few across the plate against him.

-The Captain

Rays 2, Red Sox 1

There's no shame in being shut down by Jeremy Hellickson. So I'm not too disappointed by this game. In fact, there is one strong positive to take from this: Buchholz doesn't suck anymore. He's gone from horrible to not-so-bad. He had to be pulled in the 6th, after only 87 pitches, but he's not stinking up the joint like he was back in April.

He's improving. And that's good.

One thing that isn't good is that the Red Sox lead the world in balks. Three more balks last night. There have been 45 balks in all of Major League Baseball this season. The Red Sox have 6 of them.

Balks are a bit freakish. But what irritates me is how much attention Sox pitchers give to baserunners. It just isn't worth it. Bard has struggled with this, and so has Buchholz. I miss the days when Joe Kerrigan was the pitching coach and the Sox didn't give a rat's ass about what baserunners did. Who cares if a runner steals second so long as the batter grounds out to third or flies out to left?

Sox' pitchers need to stop worrying about baserunners and focus on hitters.

Good job by the Rays for selling 20,843 seats. They have a first place team, hosting a divisional rival that happens to be one of the most storied in the game. And they barely fill half their park. Yes, baseball definitely belongs in the Tampa Bay area. Just like hockey belongs in Arizona.

Will Rhymes was carted off after being hit by a pitch on the wrist. He passed out due to an adrenaline rush. Jonathan Vilma blocked me on Twitter after I told him he owed Scott Atchison $10,000 for the cart off.

So the Sox' streak is over. But as I said in the first paragraph, there is no shame in being shut down by Jeremy Hellickson.

Doubront faces Matt Moore tonight. He isn't that good.

-The Captain

Sox on a Winning Streak

I thought about using a headline like "Sox on the Warpath," but racist article titles are the domain of CBS Sports and I wouldn't dream of trying to outdo them.

Can Felix Doubront and Clay Buchholz pitch every game for the Sox? The team is 5-2 when Doubront starts, 4-3 behind Buchholz (9-5 combined) and 6-14 whenever anyone else starts. .563 with Doubront or Buchholz, .300 with Beckett, Lester, and Bard.

Doubront had another very good start Saturday night. He's been a pleasant surprise this season. Imagine if he'd been struggling these last few weeks, how bad the Sox would be. Saturday night he went 6 innings, only allowed 3 hits, and earned victory #3.

Yesterday, the Sox simply annihilated Justin Masterson. He had no chance. I'm surprised he lasted 6 innings. The Sox swung and missed only 7 times against him. That's it. He wasn't fooling anyone. Nava was 2 for 2 with a pair of doubles. Middlebrooks hit his 4th homerun. Saltalamacchia exploded, going 3 for 4 with a homerun and 5 RBI.

Bard looked shaky. He only allowed 1 run (he walked it in), but in his 6 innings he gave up 6 hits and 4 walks. Way too many walks, especially with the Sox taking a big early add and consistently adding to it. Throw strikes. A few double play balls saved him, and the Sox building a big lead helped even more.

At least he had 0 balks.

Bard is still a project. I'm not sure how well he'll do in the rotation. As a starter in the minor leagues, he had problems with walks. He's walked 20 guys already, in only 37.2 innings. He's had three starts with 4 or more walks. It's a problem. The good news is if he doesn't work out in the rotation, he'll help out the bullpen. Maybe even close.

The Sox will try to make it four straight wins tonight against the Mariners. Lester opposes Jason Vargas, who is 4-2 on a 16-20 Seattle team. He has a 2.79 ERA, 5 Quality Starts, and his last outing was an 8 inning gem against Detroit. In other words, this is not Justin Masterson.

-The Captain

"Resting" Beckett Still Able to Golf

Last Wednesday, Josh Beckett was scratched from his scheduled start on Saturday so he could rest a sore shoulder and lat muscle. According to 98.5, he was golfing with Clay Buchholz on Thursday. So why is the supposedly resting Beckett out swinging golf clubs with his teammate?

Because he's Josh Beckett. And these are the Red Sox. And no matter who the Manager is, this is Josh Beckett's clubhouse.

The whole series of events seems odd. Beckett claims that before his start last Sunday, he felt "a little thing going on" in his back and shoulder. Then Bobby Valentine kept Beckett on the mound for 126 pitches. Which seemingly aggravated that "little thing going on," so Valentine shut him down for Saturday's start. Beckett claims he was surprised to be shut down.

But what's Valentine thinking? He goes from throwing caution to the wind on Sunday and letting Beckett throw 126 pitches, to being extremely cautious and scratching him from a start.

And what about Beckett? He complains about soreness and stiffness, but still manages to golf on Thursday? Golf isn't an exhausting pursuit, but it does involve the back and shoulder, and does so in a very weird, start-and-stop kind of way.

If it were another pitcher, it wouldn't be a story. But Beckett has a reputation for soft injuries, and a reputation for having a careless attitude, doing what he wants, and not taking care of himself.

He doesn't care.

Aaron Cook cares. Aaron Cook pitched with his legs half-amputated. Beckett cried about his shoulder, then still made his tee-time with Buchholz.

I'm tired of this type of crap. Maybe I'm overreacting because it's Beckett, but Beckett's track record merits a reaction. This is a guy who has been inconsistent on the mound, and has been a major headache off it. And he's not good enough on the mound to make these character flaws worth it. He's not reliable. He's won some big games in the past, and lost some big ones. He's only occasionally there when his team needs him.

If things for this team don't turn around, it might be time to consider trading Beckett. For anything. Like Nomar in 2004 only worse. I know he's a 10-5 guy and would have to agree to being traded, but just find a team that allows beer in the clubhouse and he might consent.

-The Captain

Another Lost Weekend for the Sox

Baltimore first baseman Chris Davis went 2 innings, allowing 0 runs, 2 hits, and stuck out 2. Adrian Gonzalez and Jarrod Saltalamacchia were struck out by a first baseman. A first baseman got a pitching win against the Sox. That's how bad things are.

The Red Sox lost all three of their games to the Orioles, but it felt like four due to the length of Sunday's loss. In fact, the Fenway Park grounds crew is still cleaning up all the runners the Sox left in scoring position during the series.

I gave Clay Buchholz a pass for April. He's started slow in the past, so he gets a Mulligan for that month. It's May now. No more free passes. It's time to send him down I-95 to Pawtucket and let him work out his problems there. He's making too many mistakes. I wouldn't mind giving him one more start in Boston, but it has to be a good start. Not just decent, not just solid, I'm talking 7 innings, 2 runs, 5 hits good. Otherwise, it's Triple-A for Clay.

In extra inning losses, the tendency is to look at all the scoring opportunities that weren't capitalized on. The Sox went 2 for 9 with runners in scoring position. One more hit in those situations and the game ends in 9 innings or 12 innings or 15 innings. But it was the starting pitching that cost the Sox the game. It was Clay's 3.2 innings. That's why Darnell McDonald was on the mound in the 17th, because the bullpen had pitched 12.1 innings of relief at that point. And had only allowed an unearned run.

If Clay pitches better, the Sox don't even get into an extra inning situation. They can win in 9 innings. Even if they do go extras, McDonald doesn't have to pitch for another 3 innings.

Will Middlebrooks hit a Grand Slam, and has done well since his call up. But what the hell is he doing not running down the line on a ball that's 50/50 fair or foul? Who does this 23 year old, #64 wearing kid think he is?

It's the type of attitude that a large number of the Sox seem to have. Middlebrooks will fit right in with that crap.

Then the other half of the team is pushing too hard. Aviles was caught-stealing twice. Pedroia was caught also. The Sox are 8 for 13 when trying to steal based, which simply isn't good enough. These caught-stealing outs are free outs given to opponents. It's better to stay at first than to steal second base 60% of the time and get thrown out 40% of the time. The out is much more valuable than the base.

Speaking of pushing too hard, why the hell was Aaron Cook allowed to go back into the game on Saturday? He got his legs sliced up, then comes back out for his next shift like it was Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Don't get me wrong, it was extremely refreshing to see a pitcher with guts (as opposed to Josh "the Blister" Beckett, who Cook was replacing that day), but we also saw other parts of Cook's internal anatomy that day. And I think the Sox risked too much by letting him resume the game.

The Sox need pitching, but they need it for 5 more months, not 5 more innings in a game in May. They shouldn't have let him go back out there.

I know the Sox are plagued with injury right now. But every team endures injuries. The problem with the Sox is that their healthy players aren't doing their jobs. Buchholz, Lester, Beckett, Aceves. Adrian Gonzalez never seems to get a hit when the Sox really need him to get one. Darnell McDonald's ERA is lower than Mark Melancon's. More than 22 runs lower. Not a single starting pitcher has an ERA below 4.45. Sox starters have a combined ERA of 5.72.

You don't win without starting pitching. Poor starting also exposes an overworked and undertalented bullpen.

Maybe a trip to Kansas City will give the Sox a chance to collect some wins. Doubront faces Jonathan Sanchez tonight. Who isn't very good.

-The Captain

Red Sox 11, Athletics 6

It's been feast or famine for Red Sox hitters this season, and last night David Ortiz and the lineup ate well.

Ortiz hit a pair of solo homeruns, raising his RBI total to 20. Aviles was 2 for 5 with a homerun and 4 RBI. Darnell McDonald was a triple shy of the cycle. Marlon Byrd was 2 for 4 with a double, and is now hitting .333 since being acquired from the Cubs.

Buchholz was fine until the 7th inning. He allowed a run in the 2nd, but it wasn't an ugly inning. He was crisp in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th. Then he just fell apart in the 7th. His pitch count was low to start the inning (72). He simply stopped throwing strikes. And his strikes weren't fooling anyone. He only threw 36 balls in the entire game, 11 were in the 7th.

Buchholz showed the promise of potential. We know what he's capable of. Then he collapsed. I think he should get 2 more starts to work out whatever it is he needs to work out. If he can't, then he needs to figure things out in Pawtucket.

Oddly, he's 3-1. Which demonstrates the meaninglessness of the W-L stat.

Felix Doubront is scheduled to face Jarrod Parker tonight. Parker has made 2 career starts in the Majors. The weather might not cooperate, though.

-The Captain

Red Sox Making April Seem Like September

Vicente Padilla had the second best pitching performance for the Sox in Detroit. Need I say more?

No. But I will anyway.

A pair of horrible starts from Beckett and Buchholz, combined with inconsistent hitting, and one unbelievably shitty bullpen resulted in a Detroit Tigers sweep. Just like in September, the Sox are finding different ways to lose.

Alfredo Aceves gave up the winning hit in Thursday's loss. Yesterday he blew a 3 run lead. Mark Melancon also blew a save yesterday, and now he's 0-2. It's April 9th and the Sox have a reliever that's 0-2. That's sadly impressive.

One bright spot was Padilla's 4 scoreless innings. He might earn a chance to be in the rotation if he keeps up that good work.

I'm hearing some clamoring for Daniel Bard to be installed as closer. Maybe that will eventually happen, but right now the Sox need starting pitching. Because while the bullpen ultimately blew yesterday's game, a good start from Buchholz would have allowed the Sox to cruise to a blowout victory. Bullpens lose games. Starting pitchers win them.

And you know who should be the closer...

Jonathan Papelbon.

People in Boston were far too complacent and docile when the Sox didn't re-sign the best closer they've had in a long time. Everyone who wants Bard to close should also get angry at the Sox for not retaining Papelbon.

The Sox go up to Toronto to face the 2-1 Jays. Doubront faces 21 year old Henderson Alvarez.

-The Captain