Orioles 4, Red Sox 1

The Sox managed only 2 hits and apart from a Youkilis homerun, Brian Matusz utterly silenced the Sox' lineup. Aviles, Pedroia, and Ortiz went 0 for 12. It's unfair to single them out, though, because apart from Youkilis' homer and an Adrian Gonzalez single, the entire lineup was quieted.

Youkilis started at first. Gonzalez was in the outfield. Cody Ross' injury was convenient for Youkilis and/or Middlebrooks as it allowed them both to stay in the lineup. Gonzalez is not a long-term solution in the outfield, but the Sox don't have much of a choice.

Doubront had another good start. It went to waste last night, but it was still very encouraging. He struck out 9, which is just as many as Matusz. 6 innings, only 2 runs. Without him, the Sox would be completely screwed. Especially with how Bard and Buchholz have struggled. Not to mention Matsuzaka's health concerns. Doubront has anchored the bottom of the rotation.

The Sox got shut down by a good lefty. It happens. The problem with the Sox is they allow it to happen too often.

So today is a good chance to rebound. Daniel Bard faces Jake Arrieta. This is a great opportunity for Bard to step up and win a game when the Sox could really use a win to keep their momentum going. Arrieta's overall numbers aren't dazzling, but he's had the occasional brilliant start. His last one was 7 innings and 1 run. And on May 2nd he pitched 8 shutout innings against the Yankees. There were 10 innings and 13 runs between those starts, though. He's been inconsistent.

-The Captain

Supporting Cast carrying Sox

Overall, I think we've all been quite disappointed by how poorly the Sox have played this season. Even the most optimistic Sox fans now have a generally negative feeling for this club. But there are a few bright spots, a few pleasant surprises. And if not for them, the Sox would be in even worse shape.

Two of these guys are legitimate stars. Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz. Pedroia is hitting .319 with 18 RBI, 25 runs scored, 5 homers, and a .381 OBP. Ortiz has knocked in 25 runs, is hitting .348, has 7 homers, an OBP of .421 and an OPS of 1.026. He showed up to Spring Training in great shape, and his performance has reflected his desire to be a better player.

Apart from these two guys, the big names on the Sox have been disappointing. Adrian Gonzalez hasn't had many big hits. We'll give Youkilis and Ellsbury a pass due to injury. And then on the mound, Beckett might be the most hated man in Boston, Lester is nowhere near as elite as he claims he should be considered, and Buchholz has 4 wins but an ERA of 8.31.

It's been the supporting cast that's carried the load for the Sox.

Ryan Sweeney is hitting .333, with a .364 OBP. This guy was a 4th outfielder for the A's. And now he has the second best average on the Boston Red Sox. He's being paid $1.75 million.

Cody Ross has 23 RBI, second on the team behind Ortiz. His average isn't good (.254), but he's hitting for power with 6 homers (2nd on the team) and 7 doubles. He's only making $3 million.

Mike Aviles, who almost didn't make the starting lineup, is third on the team with 21 RBI. He's hit 5 homeruns. His previous career high was 10. And he's only 30 RBI shy of matching his career high of 51. He's making $1.2 million.

Sweeney, Ross, and Aviles are paid a total of $5.95 million. That's about 4% of the Sox' total payroll of $146.4 million. But they've knocked in 55 runs, or 32.4% of the Sox total RBI.

Will Middlebrooks has exploded in 2012. He's already hit 4 homers and knocked in 13 runs in only 10 games. He's making $480,000. Add his RBIs to Sweeney, Ross, and Aviles, and that's 40% of the team's runs knocked in, by only $6.43 million of payroll. That's less than a third of what Adrian Gonzalez gets paid.

Felix Doubront makes $484,000. The 5 pitchers that are currently in the Sox rotation make a total of $30.7 million. More than half ($17 million) of that goes to Beckett.

Doubront isn't a Cy Young Award candidate. But he's 3-1 with 4 Quality Starts, a 4.46 ERA, more innings than Beckett, higher K/9 than Beckett, and much more consistency than Beckett. Doubront has not missed a start. He is worth $484,000, and then some.

Beckett makes more than 35 times as much as Doubront. More than twice as much as Lester. The Sox don't pay Lester and Buchholz much compared to what our expectations of them were. But they've still been disappointing. None of them have an ERA below 4.

At the start of the year, I thought Ross was a joke, Sweeney would be a serviceable 4th outfielder, Aviles was a defensive liability, and Middlebrooks was in AAA Pawtucket. Now they're responsible for 40% of the team's RBIs. I thought Doubront might manage to be a not-so-bad 5th starter. But he has as many Quality Starts as any other starting pitcher.

I have two points I want to make with all this data. The first is that there are some players on this team that are worth rooting for. Sweeney, Ross, Doubront, Middlebrooks and Aviles are hungry, hard-working players. And I enjoy seeing them making the most of the opportunity they have found here. Also, Ortiz and Pedroia are busting their ass to produce for this team.

The second point I want to make is that the "stars" on this team, particularly in the rotation, aren't pulling their weight. Their weight is being pulled by the supporting cast. Watching this team play is like watching a movie with the star actors mailing in their scenes, and the supporting guys stealing the show. So maybe in the future, instead of big budget blockbuster action-films loaded with big names, the Sox should try to find more Paul Giamatti types. Quality players with talent and motivation.

I miss Mark Bellhorn, Bill Mueller, and Kevin Millar. Sweeney, Ross, and Aviles remind me of them. They're just overshadowed by clowns like Beckett and no-show stars like Gonzalez.

-The Captain

Red Sox 6, Twins 5

Daniel Bard wants to be a starter. And I can't blame him. But by doing such a good job as a reliever last night, he might have eliminated himself from the rotation.

He inherited a tough situation: a runner on third with 1 out in a 5-5 game. And he worked out of it. Cody Ross homered in the next half inning, and Bard got the win.

I was a little puzzled with Valentine's decision to take Bard out and put Aceves in to pitch the 9th. I know Aceves is the temporary closer, but Bard only threw 11 pitches in the 8th (4 were part of an intentional walk), and he's clearly the best option to pitch the 9th. Taking Bard out and putting Aceves in was tempting fate.

With the Sox struggling, Cody Ross has been somewhat overlooked. He hit homeruns number 4 and 5 of the year. And knocked in 3 runs, giving him a total of 13 RBI. He leads the Sox in both categories. He's also hitting .283. I don't know if this production will last, but the Sox desperately need it at the moment.

Jon Lester looked off, especially going through the Twins' lineup a second time. He allowed 5 runs in 7 innings. And if not for the 3 double plays the Twins grounded into, things might have gotten really messy. I'm not worried, though. He had bad Aprils in 2009 and 2010. And a bad May last year. Give him a few starts to warm up and he'll revert to his usual self.

The Sox needed the win. But there's still lots to work on. Morales looks awful. Aceves is unnerving. The Sox still make inexcusable little mistakes like screwing up a relay from right-field.

Those problems seem more manageable after a win, though.

Beckett faces Nick Blackburn tonight, who struggled in his first start, did well in his second, but hasn't pitched since the 14th.

-The Captain