Red Sox 5, Phillies 1

Last year when the Sox played in Philadelphia, it might have been a more revealing series than we thought back then, or that seems apparent from the way the season progressed. The Sox lost 2 of 3 in Philly last year, after just having lost 2 of 3 in Pittsburgh. Then they whined. They complained about how much of a disadvantage playing in an NL park was, how much it hurt to lose the DH, et cetera.

It was a whiny sense of entitlement that was eventually forgotten because the Sox went on a 37-18 (.673) stretch of baseball after leaving Philadelphia. Then September started. Then the losing. Then the excuses again. Then September ended, and so did the season. Then came more excuses. Adrian Gonzalez blamed God. David Ortiz blamed the official scorer. The fans blamed Popeye's Chicken. The organization blamed Francona.

So maybe this time, the Red Sox' trip to Philadelphia would show some more desirable character traits. David Ortiz held a players only meeting a few weeks ago, after Josh Beckett was lit up by Cleveland. The Sox are 8-2 since that meeting. They went down to Philly and beat a hot Phillies team, fair and square. Maybe we are seeing a new kind of character from this team.

Beckett's last two outings have been impressive. 7.2 innings yesterday, allowing 1 run, walking 2, scattering 7 hits, striking out 5. He was brilliant for the first 7 innings, then tailed off in the 8th. He's allowed 1 run in his last 14.2 innings.

Mike Aviles has been a very pleasant surprise in 2012. I think it's safe to say that the organization was right about him and Bobby Valentine was wrong. He's hitting .275, he hit his 6th homerun Friday night, his 7th on Saturday, and his 8th yesterday. He's 3rd on the Sox with 27 RBI. This is very good offensive production from short-stop.

David Ortiz wasn't a liability in the field. He fielded his position quite respectably yesterday.

I honestly don't know how much the Red Sox' character has changed from last year to this. Winning tends to hide character flaws, losing tends to over-expose them. For instance, if the Sox were winning games and Beckett were pitching well, his golfing trip wouldn't have been that big of a deal.

There are still some things that irk me about this team. In the 8th, Jimmy Rollins advanced from 1st to 2nd on a "throwing error" charged to Daniel Nava on a sac-fly. The throw should have been cut off before it reached home, as Pete Orr (no relation to Bobby, although he is from Ontario and wears the #4, which I respect tremendously) was clearly going to be safe. Beckett could have cut the throw off, holding Rollins at first. Or Beckett could have been backing up the plate. He did neither. He just stood a few feet in front of the plate. And it might have turned into a big play.

What bugs me is that win or lose, this team seems to think that they're good enough that they don't have to get the little things right. They're overly confident. Cocky. When they lose, it's because of something external, like not having a DH. And in their minds, they don't have to play their asses off to win. They're entitled to win.

They have been winning lately. But take it with a grain of salt, Sox fans. The Sox have turned a corner. They've done it before. The problem is, once you turn that corner, you have to stay straight. It's like quitting smoking. It's commendable, but if you don't remain quit, then it's not that impressive.

The Sox are in Baltimore tonight. With a good series, they can claw themselves out of the cellar. With a bad one, they can dig their hole even deeper. They have the shovels. Will they dig themselves out or dig themselves deeper? Buchholz faces Tommy Hunter. Hunter seems like a guy they should hit.

-The Captain

Tim Wakefield Day at Fenway

Yesterday was Tim Wakefield Day at Fenway Park. And like all ceremonies at Fenway these days, I get mixed feelings. Sentimentality swells in me. Then I remember that I'm witnessing a show, made to pull on my heartstrings and convince me to spend money on a product that I don't really enjoy watching anymore.

One nice moment was when Doug Mirabelli was introduced. He was chauffeured into Fenway Park in a Boston Police cruiser, an allusion back to 2006, when Mirabelli was escorted by Massachusetts State Police from Logan Airport to Fenway Park in order to reach Fenway in time to catch for Wakefield in a game against the Yankees.

I wonder if the State Police are a little upset that the BPD got recognized in this ceremony. Then again, a Statie parking in centerfield at Fenway Park would probably lead to all sorts of jurisdictional tugs-of-war. "I'm in charge of this ceremony!" "Not anymore you're not." Et cetera.

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Anyway, throughout the game, pre-recorded messages of former Sox players were displayed on the jumbotron between innings. Pedro, Nomar, and others talked about how important Tim Wakefield was as a player and a teammate.

It was a nice touch. It wasn't just a token pre-game ceremony, it continued on throughout the game.

I liked Wakefield. I miss Wakefield. Not so much for his pitching, more for his character. He did whatever the Sox needed him to do. He started, he closed, he was a setup-guy. Right now the Sox lack character guys like Wakefield. There are a number of Anti-Wakefields currently pitching for the Sox. One is from Texas and is named Josh.

It was nice to see Wakefield honored yesterday, even if it was an orchestration of the Red Sox propaganda machine.

Red Sox 5, Mariners 0

Since Josh Beckett was booed off the field last Thursday, the Sox rotation had made 4 very good starts in a row. If Beckett didn't make it 5 against a weak Seattle lineup, on his birthday, and in front of Tim Wakefield, then I think people would have spat on him as he left the field. In other words, there was no excuse to not pitch well today. He certainly hadn't been strained in his previous start. Hell, he'd only thrown 2.1 innings in May.

He did his job yesterday. He struck out 9 Mariners in 7 innings, making quick work of a lineup that has 0 players hitting over .300, and 2 hitting below .200. Only Ichiro gave Beckett a problem with a pair of singles and a pair of stolen bases. Beckett only threw 93 pitches in his 7 innings, and easily could have gone deeper into the game.

That was unnecessary. The bullpen was fresh thanks to Lester's CG on Monday. And the Sox had a 4-0 lead. With the way Beckett was pitching, and the way Seattle was missing, a 4-0 score looked like a 14-0 score. Ortiz hit his 8th homer of the season. Aviles had an RBI double. Middlebrooks had an RBI single. Aviles added another RBI double in the 8th to erase any doubt.

The Sox ended their homestand on a positive note, with 5 straight wins. They're still very streaky. They were streaky last year, too. Streaky is the mark of inconsistent starting pitching. Good SPs prevent losing streaks. Streaky teams might win 5 straight (the Sox have done that twice), but they'll also lose 5 straight (the Sox have done that twice, as well).

Even after winning 5 straight, the Sox are still 2 games under .500.

So they've made steps. They have more steps to go. Beckett and the Sox are very similar. Inconsistent and unpredictable. We've seen brilliance from Beckett before. That's never been his problem. His problem has always been consistency.

The Sox go down to Florida for a two game series against the Rays. This will be a good test for them. Tonight Buchholz faces 3-0 Jeremy Hellickson. Unlike Buchholz, Hellickson has actually earned his wins.

-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

Indians 8, Red Sox 3

Fenway Park became a driving range last night. The Indians teed off on Beckett. It was really a subpar performance. The next time Beckett's resting some sore muscles, he should go down to Connecticut and play some slots. Because last night he recorded 7 outs, allowed 7 hits, and gave up 7 runs.

He was booed very loudly once Valentine took him out. It was the one part of the game I enjoyed.

I was hoping he'd feel the need to take the mound and shut everyone up. I was hoping he'd be throwing fire. I was extremely disappointed. The golf thing aside, he's been inconsistent this season. As he's been his entire career. This is the second time he's failed to go 5 innings. He's also had 4 Quality Starts, 2 of which were good, 2 were really good. You just don't know which Josh Beckett will show up.

In his postgame press conference, Beckett resembled and sounded like a child. Fervently shaking his head and repeating "no" when asked about the golfing thing and whether it affected him. And even if he's right and the golf incident wasn't a physical problem or wasn't a distraction, just how childish he looks and sounds annoys me. I'd rather see him get pissed and counter-attack.

He's a toddler. A spoiled baby.

One bright spot in all this is that the Sox bullpen hasn't been half bad lately. Maybe it's all the extra practice they've been getting. Then again, Aceves is supposed to be the best healthy reliever on the team, and he allowed another run last night.

Beckett's golfing buddy Buchholz takes the mound tonight. He faces Ubaldo Jimenez, who's coming off a brilliant 7 inning, 2 hit, 0 run outing against Texas. This could be loss #20. The Sox lost their 20th game on May 11 last year too.

-The Captain

Royals 4, Red Sox 3

The umpires strike back. That's all Eck could talk about on the NESN broadcast last night, was the umpires. Jim Rice touched on it in the postgame. And I'm sure there are many out there who are holding the umpiring responsible for last night's loss. But let's lose with some dignity here, folks. Do the Sox need perfect umpiring to beat the Royals? Is that how low this team has sunk?

The Red Sox failed at a number of little things last night. Catching a ball on a bounce thrown in from the outfield. That's not too hard is it?

The Sox failed at a number of large things last night. Getting hits with runners in scoring position. Failing to make Bruce Chen look like Bruce Chen.

I'm still waiting for Lester to be as elite as he claimed he ought to be viewed as. He wasn't bad last night. He could've had more help behind him. But he hasn't been an Ace this year, he hasn't even been a good #2. He's 1-3 with a 4.29 ERA and he's had 30+ pitch innings in 4 starts already. He's got to be more efficient than that.

And elite pitchers are able to pitch around bad calls and bad luck.

This was the tenth series of the season for the Sox. They've lost 7 and won 3. Close to a fifth of the season is gone and the Sox are on pace for 65 wins.

They open a 4 game series with the Indians, who lead the AL Central. Derek Lowe, who I'm told is a very respectable golfer, opposes Josh Beckett. Tee-time, I mean first pitch is scheduled for 7:10pm. I'm going to milk that Beckett story until I get cheese.

-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

White Sox 4, Red Sox 1

The Red Sox went 6-1 in the Midwest, with Gavin Floyd spoiling a perfect 7-0 trip yesterday afternoon in Chicago. He took a no-hitter into the 7th inning. And even after that was broken up and the Red Sox chased him from the game, Chicago's bullpen was able to get the last 7 outs for him.

Beckett settled down after a 3 run 1st inning. In his remaining 5.2 innings, he only allowed 3 hits and struck out 7. The outing was certainly good enough to win on a normal day. But not when facing Gavin Floyd.

Beckett threw 126 pitches. And that's a day after Lester threw 122 pitches in his 1-0 win. That speaks to how unreliable the Sox' bullpen has been. But I don't think this will be a common trend throughout the season. Both Beckett and Lester will be making their next starts on 5 days rest. So why not take advantage of that?

The Red Sox should try to avoid Gavin Floyd in the future. He's now 7-0 in his career against Boston. I'm glad he pitches in the AL Central.

With all due respect to Floyd, the Red Sox' offense has been exceptionally inconsistent this season. The Red Sox have played in 21 games, and in 17 of those they've scored either 3 runs or less, or 9+ runs.

Youkilis missed the game with tightness in his back. He was just starting to get a few hits lately, but I'm concerned there might be a physical problem that's keeping him from hitting with consistency. Hopefully it's a problem that can be solved without an extensive absence from the lineup. However long it takes though, you don't want to have to deal with lingering back problems all season long. If something is wrong with Youkilis, he needs to get healthy now so he can contribute down the stretch.

Sox return home just 1 game under .500. They host the A's tonight. Buchholz opposes 3-1 Tommy Milone, who's coming off an 8 inning 3 hit win against the White Sox.

-The Captain

Red Sox 11, Twins 2

The day after Alfredo Aceves gave us all heart attacks and the day before the Bruins play in a Game 7, it was nice of the Sox to provide some low stress entertainment. The Sox scored early and often, Beckett pitched well enough, and the bullpen didn't blow an 8 run lead.

It was another demolition of an opposing pitcher. The Sox have scored 9+ runs five times already this season. They are very good at capitalizing on a struggling opponent. Three fourths of the total runs they've scored have come in those 5 games.

Thrashing the Twins isn't an amazing accomplishment, but you have to start somewhere. And the Sox need wins. Badly.

Ortiz hit his 3rd homer of the season, and knocked in 3 to retake the Red Sox RBI lead with 15. Cody Ross knocked in a run himself and now has 14. Aviles was 4 for 5, Youkilis had a nice 2 for 4, and even Marlon Byrd got in on the fun with a pair of singles.

Beckett was good enough. He gave up a lot of baserunners, but didn't let the Twins put up a crooked number. He got big outs when he needed them.

The Sox go for the sweep tonight as Clay Buchholz faces Australian Liam Hendriks, who is 0-0 but hasn't been bad in his two starts. Buchholz on the other hand... Well, he usually has a slow start to the season.

-The Captain

Rangers 6, Red Sox 3

One day it's a lousy starting pitching performance. The next it's an impotent offense. Then the next, the bullpen blows a save. The Sox have lost games in just about every possible way this season.

It really feels like September. Not just because of the brisk weather last night, but because the Sox are losing in new and interesting ways each night.You never know who you'll see fail when you come to the ballpark.

Beckett did well last night. Good. Maybe very good. Not great, but good enough. The offense was quiet, apart from a Youkilis homerun. But Franklin Morales sabotaged the Sox' chances of winning the game with his 3 run outing.

There's a new villain every night. A new player to display a shamed look on his face. But the image of Sox players limply hanging on the dugout rails is the same sorry sight from last September.

It's getting annoying.

Fenway Park turns 100 on Friday, and the Sox welcome the Yankees. New York is 6-6, so these are two struggling teams trying to remember how to win. Buchholz faces 2-0 Ivan Nova.

-The Captain

Red Sox Enjoy Home Cooking

Maybe it's the proximity to Popeye's Chicken on Brookline Ave. Maybe it's the warm weather or the comfortable and familiar confines of the ballpark. Whatever it is, the Red Sox are back home, back to winning, and almost back to .500.

The offense has exploded, led by David Ortiz, who added 3 hits, a pair of doubles, an RBI and 2 runs yesterday. He's hitting at a .444 clip. And slugging .694.

The Sox have scored 31 runs in their 3 home games. This after scoring 22 in their 6 road games.

There have been some good pitching performances, too. Beckett tossed a gem on Opening Day (8 innings, 1 run), and the bullpen hasn't allowed a run since the 9th inning of Opening Day. You can feel waves of optimism emanating from Fenway Park. Beckett's back, Buchholz at least managed to go 7, Doubront did okay, and the offense is producing. Why not be positive?

Here's why not: The Sox have been scoring in bunches. Which is good. But it's been either feast or famine. The Sox have scored 53 runs as a team this year. 43 of those came in only 4 games. They've scored 10 runs in their remaining 5 games. More than 80% of their offense has come in less than half their games.

I was more impressed with yesterday's 6 runs than the 13 and 12 scored on Saturday and Friday. Because it was legitimately impressive production. Not just beating up bad pitching. This team's biggest problem last year was consistency. They could jump on subpar pitching, put up big innings, score a dozen runs, and that's great. But then they struggled to consistently score against decent pitching.

And with the rotation as unpredictable as it is, the Sox will win and lose with their bats. And with inconsistent bats, this means that the 2012 Red Sox will be just as streaky, just as inconsistent as the 2011 edition.

Bard faces James Shields this morning, in what should be a very good test for the Sox' hitters.

-The Captain

Josh Beckett Is Kind Of A Dick

So last night I was forced to go to the Liberty Hotel last night, and after I had a couple of drinks in me, I ultimately had to pee. So I go to the bathroom and I notice the guy next to me was Josh Beckett. This is the conversation that took place at the urinal;

Me: Hey Josh
JB: (silence)
Me: Hey, you're pitching tomorrow
JB Flushes
JB: What the fuck do you know!
walks out

I can't confirm or deny that he was drunk, but I can confirm that he's a dick.

It will be very hard for me to get past this and from now on he is my rival.

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