Nationals Sweep Sox

The good news is the Sox only have 9 more games against teams from the Maryland/DC part of the country (they're 3-9 against the Orioles and Nationals). The bad news is, the Sox are below .500 again, their offense has cooled off, their bullpen looks shaky again, they can't seem to win at home (14-19 in Fenway), they're 6 games behind the Rays, 5 games out of the Wild Cards (with three teams to leapfrog over), and the Yankees are red hot.

At least the weather's been nice lately.

There is one other piece of good news, and that's the starting pitching. Jon Lester struck out 9 yesterday in a very typical Jon Lester start. He went 7 innings, allowed 3 runs, and gave the Sox a very good chance to win the game. If only they could get a hit with runners in scoring position. Which they didn't. The Sox were 0 for 8 with RISP.

David Ortiz provided the only real offense. He was 3 for 4 with a double and a homerun. The other 2 Sox runs came from groundouts. Dustin Pedroia grounded into a fielder's choice in the 3rd and Scott Podsednik had an RBI groundout in the 7th to tie the game at 3-3. Podsednik has been decent with the Sox, who lately seem to be able to find productive outfielders with their eyes closed. He's hitting .368.

Unfortunately, Alfredo Aceves blew another game. He gave up a 2 out RBI double to Roger Bernadina. Aceves went on a nice run in the middle of May, but since blowing a save against Tampa Bay on May 27th, he's 0-3, and has allowed 7 runs in 9 innings. He does not appear to be a steady, reliable Major League closer.

Jonathan Papelbon has converted 16 of 16 save opportunities and has a 2.22 ERA.

When David Ortiz called a player's meeting a month ago, part of what was discussed was that the starting pitchers need to pull their weight. They've been doing that. Lester was good yesterday. Daisuke wasn't bad (especially for a rehab start) on Saturday. Buchholz was brilliant last Thursday. Beckett was great last Wednesday. The Sox only won 1 of these games.

Now it's the lineup's turn to pull some weight. Ortiz can't do it all. Pedroia is in a 3 for 24 (.125) slump since returning from his thumb injury. Adrian Gonzalez is slugging .419, about .100 lower than he should be expected to slug. Kevin Youkilis did well when he first returned from the DL, now he's in a 4 for 25 (.160) drought. Will Middlebrooks hasn't had an extra-base hit since May.

Hopefully a trip to Miami can help turn things around. The Marlins are in 4th place, and Beckett is on the mound for the Sox tonight. He might need to hit a few homeruns to give himself a reasonable amount of run support. He faces 3-4 Josh Johnson. Adrian Gonzalez is 4 for 11 in his career against Johnson, so maybe he'll get a few hits tonight.

-The Captain

Red Sox Get Pedroia Back Today

The plan is for Dustin Pedroia to return to the Red Sox' lineup Tuesday in the team's series-opener against the Orioles. Pedroia has been out since May 28th with a slight tear in his right thumb. He was struggling before the injury, which was something that was reaggravated. I think if he shows signs that he is still hurt the Red Sox should sit him. I would rather him miss a month, then get 75% of Pedroia the rest of the year.

Everyone will be keeping an eye on him, but hopefully this is just something that needed a couple days off and he can get back on track.

Pedroia Wants to Play Despite Injury

I'll give Dustin Pedroia two thumbs up (get it?) for wanting to play through injury and return to the Red Sox lineup as soon as humanly (or inhumanly) possible. He tore part of the adductor muscle in his thumb. The initial injury occurred weeks ago, according to Pedroia, but it was aggravated Monday afternoon against the Tigers.

Right now, the Sox are in a holding pattern on this injury, waiting to see how much the swelling goes down, and if Pedroia feels any pain. If it hasn't healed and he's not back in the lineup in the next 2 to 4 days, he'll likely be placed on the DL.

Pedroia is eager to play. He's declared a willingness to play even if it still hurts, even if he still feels pain. And the Sox' PR Machine hasn't been reluctant to mention this old-school grittiness.

At first, part of me thought that the Sox should sit Pedroia for 2 weeks, just to be safe. Then I remembered that I'm not a doctor. If this muscle has healed, it's healed. And it might even be medically unwise to avoid using it. From what we've been told, the tear isn't that bad. It's a slight tear in a thumb muscle, not a ripped hamstring or detached quad.

My opinion is this: I don't want Pedroia playing through this injury. If it's still injured, if it requires a splint or any sort of special treatment, I want Pedroia on the DL so this thumb can heal properly and he's available down the stretch. At the same time, I also don't want the Sox to be overly cautious. If the injury has healed, then let him play. Don't make him sit out with his thumb up his ass.

The next 24 hours will determine a lot. Is the thumb healed, or does it need further healing. I only wish the doctors announced the news in this manner:

-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

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

Captain's Thoughts: Bobby Valentine, Kevin Youkilis, and Dustin Pedroia

I know I'm a little late with my opinion here, but since this will be an ongoing story throughout the season, I felt compelled to write a post about it.

Bobby Valentine said this about Kevin Youkilis:

"I don't think he's as physically or emotionally into the game as he has been in the past for some reason."

Then Youkilis said this in response:

"That's not what I see. I go out every day and play as hard as I can. I take every ground ball in the morning, take every at-bat like it's my last. I don't think my game has changed at all. I still get upset with myself and still get mad. That's just not how I go about my game of baseball. Never have, never will."

Then Dustin Pedroia added:

"I know that Youk plays as hard as anybody I've ever seen in my life. I have his back, and his teammates have his back. We know how hard he plays. I don't really understand what Bobby's trying to do. But that's really not the way we go about our stuff here. I'm sure he'll figure that out soon.

"Maybe in Japan or something... Over here in the U.S., we're on a three-game winning streak, we want to feel good and keep it rolling. We feel we have a good team and we've just got to get each other's backs and play together. Because if you don't do that, I don't care what sport you're playing, you're not going to win."

What really bugs me is that three guys who work together, practice together, travel together, and stay in the same hotel on the road together are now using the media to communicate. That's just weird. It's like two people talking to each other through a third mutual friend. Tell Bobby I said this. Tell Dustin I said this.

Actually, it's more like people who use their Facebook status as a way to publicly vent to all the world about one specific person.

That's what Valentine brings, though. He thinks he's the Master Media Manipulator, and that he can use the sports media as a managerial tool. He thinks he can motivate slackers with comments like this.

Good luck with that. It never works as well as you think it will. As this current incident is thoroughly demonstrating. And it's never panned out for Bobby in the past. But Bobby probably blames somebody else for that. Or maybe now he thinks he's learned how to do it right.

However, using the media as a tool does seem to fit in with the Red Sox organization and how they conduct business. Just ask Terry Francona. Pedro Martinez. Johnny Damon. Nomar Garciaparra. Et cetera.

I think the way Bill Belichick treats the media is the wisest way to do it. Give them nothing, then they have nothing to use against your interests. The media is like a rabid chimpanzee. It's dangerous. Valentine thinks he can tame it and use it as a weapon. But it's smarter to just stay away. Because it will turn on you in a heartbeat.

There is no advantage gained by trying to do anything through the media. And I know baseball isn't football, but Francona didn't give the media anything either. Everything was kept "in house." And I think that's the best place to keep things.

But Valentine overestimates his own abilities. He thinks he is the most important man in a Red Sox uniform. He isn't. No baseball manager is. He thinks he can harness the rabid chimpanzee.

In some weird way, I kind of admire Bobby's desire to fix every little problem the Sox are having. He wanted to see Youkilis start hitting. So he did something about it. But I have serious reservations with how he went about attempting to "motivate" him. And the fact is, Kevin Youkilis is the best person to get Kevin Youkilis back to his old form. Valentine doesn't know his limitations. He doesn't even recognize that he has any.

Even though Valentine apologized, expect more stories with similar tone to this one. Bobby cannot resist. He's addicted to himself. He cannot turn down an opportunity to be responsible for something. He invented the wrap. He'll take responsibility for Sox losses, he'll also take credit for wins. I'm sure he'll even take credit for the nice weather we had today.

-The Captain

Red Sox 4, Blue Jays 2

The Sox finally put that first win in the books thanks to a 3 run 9th inning last night in Toronto. And finally, the pain is being felt by another team.

Felix Doubront did his job. That's something that Beckett and Buchholz didn't do. Doubront's 5 innings of 2 run ball gave the Sox a chance to win. It was an undramatic start that allowed the Sox to end the game dramatically.

Dustin Pedroia is my favorite player on this team. He started the 9th inning rally with a leadoff double. He also hit a solo homerun in the 6th. It's not just about overall numbers for him, it's when he gets the hits. He's the guy you want at the plate when you need a big hit to start a rally.

This season looks like it might be a bipolar roller coaster. Tremendous highs followed by horrifying lows.

Daniel Bard makes his first MLB start tonight against Doug Drabek's son Kyle Drabek.

-The Captain