The consummate pro and all stars

Good news out of Foxboro: Troy Brown will be returning to the Patriots for a 15th season. When the Patriots signed WRs Donte Stallworth, Kelly Washington, Wes Welker, and traded for Randy Moss, I was worried there wouldn't be a spot for Troy. I love that guy, he always comes up big when it matters most. Just ask San Diego. So happy he'll be back.

There will be plenty of Sox watchin' at tonight's All Star game. The team sends a league-leading six players to the midsummer classic: 1B David Ortiz, OF Manny Ramirez, 3B Mike Lowell, SP Josh Beckett, RP Hideki Okajima, and CP Jonathan Papelbon. I don't know if I'm happier for Lowell or Okajima, they've both been pleasant surprises. I knew Lowell was good, but All Star good? Damn right. And it's a good thing the Sox paid so much for Dice-K, their All Star set up man needs a compadre.

Worst signings ever

JD Drew is such a buzzkill. Up with two men on and down by one in the 9th, he swings and totally misses a breaking ball in the dirt, then watches a fastball right down the middle, setting up a weak popup to the 3rd baseman in foul ground to end the game.
He's had so many chances in the first half to come up with a big hit and has failed just about every time. He's just so fucking soft. I can't believe how much Nancy and Let's Go Lugo suck!
Tigers committed five errors and still won, go figure. Dice-K got hammered. Sox swept in Detroit. Glad the All-Star break is here. Still 10 games up.

Dice-K sensational again

8IP, 4H, 0ER, 1BB, 9K. Matsuzaka just keeps getting better. He dropped his ERA to 3.53, and got his 10th win.

Papelbon lost the shutout in the 9th, allowing a home run to ex-Sox and Haverhill native Carlos Pena. Sox still win, 4-1.

I was hoping that calling Wily Mo useless would cause him to wreak havoc tonight, instead he struck out four times. I can't understand why Tito subbed Ellsbury in for Manny, but leaves Wily Mo out in right while JD Drew sits on the bench late in the game. Are we trying to have the best defense or what?!

Yankees trounced the twins. No word if Cyn-Rod wore a FUCK THE WORLD t-shirt.

Let's go, Lugo!

SHOCKER: Julio Lugo just broke an 0-for-33 slump with a solid two-out single up the middle that scored two runs. The fans were encouraging him when he came up to bat, chanting "Let's go, Lugo!" Strange to see the Fenway (not always) faithful actually try to help a player who's struggling so badly. Kudos!

Dice-K looks great so far, Kazmir hasn't. Sox lead 3-0.

Here come the Devil Rays

Sorry for the lack of updates, been feeling a bit under the weather lately with a horrible toothache.

I just took a look at the lineups for tonight's game against the Devil Rays, and while I know Scott Kazmir is a devastating lefty, I just can't believe JD '$14 mil/yr' Drew is sitting again. Instead, we get the totally useless Wily Mo Pena. Kazmir has done pretty well for himself against the Red Sox over his career: 5-2, 2.60 ERA, but we have the mighty Daisuke Matsuzaka going tonight, should be a phenomenal pitching matchup.

I'm glad Coco is feeling well enough to play, but watching the recently called up Jacoby Ellsbury the past three games has got me excited about the future. He beat out two infield grounders for hits, stole second, then scored from second on a wild pitch. I don't think I've ever seen someone in a Red Sox uniform do that before. The guy has crazy speed. He looks strikingly like a young Johnny Damon, and seems to have the same set of tools, albeit with a stronger throwing arm. I say there's a damn good shot Ellsbury is patrolling center field next season. This quote from Coco made me laugh:

"We're like Kevin Youkilis and Dustin Pedroia -- about the same speed," Crisp said. "Just with real fast people."

Considering how poorly the Sox have played over the past week, the Yankees really had a chance to gain some ground. Instead, they've gone 3-7 over their last 10 games and remain 11 games back. At least Roger got his 350th, right? They should trade A-Rod while they can still get something for him before he opts out after this season. They're not going to make the playoffs, might as well salvage what you can. Muahaha :>

PS: Vote for Okajima!

Chris Benoit 1967-2007

I was all set to write a pre-series entry about the Sox in Seattle, and happened to flip to Monday Night RAW, and saw the tribute going on.

From AP:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. - WWE wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife and son were found dead Monday and police said they were investigating the deaths as a homicide.

Lt. Tommy Pope of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department said the three were found at their home about 2:30 p.m., but refused to release details.

Pope said results of autopsies on Benoit, his wife Nancy, and 7-year-old son Daniel were expected Tuesday.

Benoit, 40, was a former world heavyweight champion, Intercontinental champion and held several tag-team titles over his career.

I haven't followed the WWE in years, but I used to love it. This is just stunning.

Series Tied, Yankees lose, Buehrle to Boston?

Finally, a day off. For me, not the Red Sox. They play the rubber match against San Diego today after splitting the first two games. Daisuke Matsuzaka and the bullpen were fantastic Friday night, Sox win 2-1. Tim Wakefield was as bad as Dice-K was good, giving up 6 ER in 5.1 innings, Sox lose 6-1.

Josh Beckett (10-1, 3.14) vs. Jake Peavy (9-1, 1.98), battle of the AL's Cy Young contender vs the NL's Cy Young contender, should be a great matchup today.

The Yankees managed to break San Francisco's 8-game losing streak yesterday, way to go guys! It felt strange rooting for Barry Bonds.

Aaaand the crazy trade rumors begin. Mark Buehrle is intriguing, but there's no way I give up Clay Buchholz. I watched him pitch against Clemens earlier this year and he's got nasty stuff. He throws as hard as Papelbon, but with more movement. He just needs time to gain better control of his pitches. I'd do it for any of the other minor leaguers though.

Old Boston beats New Boston

Yeah, I know the Sox lost to the Braves tonight, 9-4. I temporarily have cable, so I watched most of the game. Curt Schilling (6-4, 4.20) got slapped around, he had NO fastball, and the splitter just wasn't diving. 4.1 IP, 10 Hits, 6 ER, 2 BB, 0 K's. Not a very impressive line for a guy who wants to pitch another year. Where's the guy who was just ONE out away from a no-hitter two starts ago?

Amazingly, Coco Crisp hit TWO home runs tonight, first time he's had two in a game in his career. JD hit another homer, too. I think I like him hitting leadoff, he sees a lot of pitches, can run the bases, and hits the ball everywhere.

Josh Beckett (9-1, 3.39) goes against Tim Hudson (6-4, 3.25) tomorrow, should be a good one.

Bruins hire Julien?

Apparently Wikipedia knows the future now:

 

Click the image and look at the bottom, it has tomorrow's date. Very strange.

I haven't seen any stories about the hire on any legit sites, but it's most likely true. Good for the B's, they need a coach who will teach the players to toughen up. The Bruins have been awful for so long, and last year was a particularly bad team to watch.

Red Sox 10, San Francisco 2

* exhale *

The offense finally broke out tonight, or at least JD Drew & Dustin Pedroia did. The first two batters in the Sox order went a combined 8-for-9 with 8 RBIs against the Giants. Pedroia just continues to impress and amaze me. Five-for-5, 5 RBIs, he's the 1st Red Sox rookie to get five hits since Brian Daubach in 1999, pretty impressive stuff for a guy fans wanted benched in favor of Alex Cora a month ago. He also out-homered Barry Bonds: 1-to-0.

Boy did the fans let Barry have it. Loud, constant booing, frequent "ster-oids!" chants, it was fantastic.

The reverse lock theory lives: Barry Zito vs Julian Tavarez, of course Tavarez wins.

Of course the fans went crazy for Roberts.

Oh, what's that? Roger pitched well for the Yankees, but Oliver Pérez and the rest of the Mets bullpen shut out the Bombers 2-0. The lead goes back up to 8.5 games.

You're getting a little too close

Is it time to panic yet? Maybe. We'll see after this weekend. The Sox just can't score runs lately, and their pitching has been horrendous over the past few games. Schilling got rocked two nights ago and Beckett was just as bad last night. So strange. Is Colorado better than I thought? The Red Sox lead over the Yankees in the AL East has gone from 14.5 games to 7.5 games in a New York minute. I'm officially concerned.

The Yanks, meanwhile, have won nine in a row and look like the team they were supposed to be when the season began. They get to play the slumping Mets, who have lost their last five, and old pal Roger Clemens starts for the Bad Guys tonight. Should be interesting to see how Clemens does against a decent lineup, I'll be rooting for the M-E-T-S all weekend.

Once again, Julian Tavarez (3-4, 5.25 ERA) has to pitch against the other team's #1 starter. In this case, it's San Francisco's Barry Zito (6-6, 4.02) who the Sox have seen plenty when he was with the A's. They're 5-5 with a 4.78 ERA in 13 career starts, but he's a lefty and they're having a ton of trouble against lefties this year.

I can't wait to see the reception Barry Bonds gets, Sox fans love booing a villain. "Steeeeeroiiiiids!"

On the other hand, one Mr. Dave Roberts will get a HUGE ovation when he steps up to the plate. He deserves it. "The Steal" will never be forgotten.

JD Drew, where are you? Lugo? Coco? Start hitting now kthx.