Opening Day Around the league

The Sox will start their season with an already bitter taste in their mouth, as the Yankees disposed of the Tigers 6-3. Curtis Granderson smashed the homer to put the Yanks up for good in the seventh, and Mark Texeira added a two-run blast. Luckily for the Sox, C.C. Sabathia was not up to form, as he gave up three runs in 6 innings, a quality start but at the low end of each spectrum. However, Joba "The Hutt" Chamberlain earned a win and Mariano Rivera started the season with a save to put the Yankees up. Opening Day is tomorrow for the Sox; they face Texas at 4:00, with Jon Lester facing off against C.J. Wilson.

How would you like to start your season off with a walk-off homer? Apparently, the Reds love it, getting a blast in the ninth to grab a 7-6 win over Milwaukee. Former Red Sox prospect Takashi Saito earned a hold by throwing a scoreless inning for Milwaukee, but Logan Ondrusek earned the win. Ramon Hernandez had a monster day for Cincinnati, going 4-5 with the walk-off bomb. Boy, he must be happy, huh?

Trivia
Hernandez hit just 7 homers and played in only 97 games last year for Cincinnati.

Sox wrap up spring season

Clay Buchholz was absolutely outstanding for the Sox in their last spring training game of 2011. They are on their way to Texas, where they will open the season on Friday against the Rangers in Arlington. Buchholz threw four innings, giving up just one run and striking out three. Afterwards, Tim Wakefield made his point by throwing two scoreless innings and picking off a runner. Wake has been placed back in the long relief/spot starter role although he made it clear that he wanted to start. However, he still will play for the Sox, the longest man with Boston, staying with them since 1995. The bright spot for the Sox offense? Adrian Gonzalez, who crushed his second homer in the fourth inning to tie the game and set up the tie between the clubs. Sadly, this was the last game in the Red Sox's 19-year home for spring training, City of Palms Park. The Sox will move to a new facility in 2012, so this last game was a tip of the cap to the great place.

Friday at 4:00, the Sox will face the Rangers in Texas under the command of Jon Lester. The ace will start his first opening day game, and it should be a triumph for him. Go Sox!

Trivia
Lester will start after posting his second straight 200-strikeout campaign; he also won 19 games last year

Dice-K, Lester rounding into form

Daisuke Matsuzaka has looked more and more like the pitcher of 2008. AKA, the pitcher the Sox want him to be. In his last outing, he went 5 2/3 innings while giving up only two runs. Unfortunately, he did not get the win because Andrew Miller gave up 6 and St. Louis scored 10 times in the 6th to highlight a 10-3 win. However, Dice-K keeps improving. In the start before, he threw five scoreless innings but did not get the win. Matsuzaka has yet to receive a win in spring training despite throwing 10 consecutive scoreless innings. Bad luck continue to plague the young pitcher, but he should be able to round out before the season begins.

On the other side of the spectrum where lefthanded aces roam, Jon Lester is also shaping up nicely for opening day. The southpaw has been chosen by manager Terry Francona to start day 1 for Boston against the Texas Rangers, a worthy opponent. Today, Lester pitched well through 5 and 1/3 innings but was hit with a loss, as his opponent was the great Roy Halladay. Halladay outdid himself, going 7 innings and giving up just 1 run. Against worse opponents, Lester would excel.

Trivia
Matsuzaka went 18-3 in 2008, his best year.

Sox win first extra-inning game

Pitching was key in Boston's 2-1 win over the Detroit Tigers today. Daisuke Matsuzaka was superb, giving up two hits in five innings. So Daisuke could have actually got out of the sixth if this were a real game. Wow. The teams combined for just seven hits, as Justin Verlander gave up just two hits and a run in five and 1/3 innings. All the scoring occurred on home runs, two of them being fairly surprising players. Jacoby Ellsbury started the scoring in the fourth with his second homer in 4 games, this one a long drive to right that was a no-doubter.

Unfortunately for Boston fans, Matt Albers came in to do some work for a couple innings. In the seventh inning, Miguel Cabrera tied the game with a blast to center. I think that this homer was the least surprising. I just knew he was going to crush one. The game remained knotted through the ninth when Darnell McDonald, who had two strikeouts today, smashed one off Brad Thomas. McDonald just crushed it, and I am very happy. I am happy because last year the Sox were terrible in extra-inning games, so it is nice to see them get off to a good start. Brandon Duckworth came in for his second inning of work and sealed the deal, winning the game for the Sox.

Trivia
Ellsbury is batting .414 in the preseason.

Sox beat Yanks (And we have a birthday)

Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit home the winning run in a close 2-1 contest with a force-out after Jesus Montero's passed ball. The Yanks had taken a 1-0 lead using two straight doubles off Alfredo Aceves, but Marco Scutaro tied the game on a wild pitch in the fifth and Salty smacked a force out to give the Sox the win. A long parade of Boston relievers - Dennys Reyes, Jonathan Papelbon, Bobby Jenks, Hideki Okajima, and Rich Hill - kept the Bronx Bombers silent throughout the final six innings, though Okajima gave up a pair of hits. Bobby Jenks earned the win with his scoreless inning. I think that this game can only be a good omen for the Sox, since the Yanks will probably be their main competition this year.

Happy birthday to a certain Sox player who we can sing for as, "Happy birthday to Youk!" Kevin Youkilis turns 32 today, and the Fenway Faithful hope that he can make this season a good one. Three years ago in 2008, Youk had his most productive season, smashing out a .312 average and finishing third in MVP voting. However, he couldn't have won because that was the year Dustin Pedroia had his most productive year and won the MVP award. However, we hope that Youk can get back to form this year and he can hit again. Last year, nagging injuries limited him to 102 games, but maybe this year at third he will suffer less.

Trivia
Youk has played for Boston his entire career, and his first year was in 2004.

Pirates defeat Sox

The Pittsburgh Pirates were able to defeat the Bostoners 9-4 on a beautiful afternoon in Fort Myers. Mike Cameron provided a bright spot with a thrashed two-run double while Daniel Bard worked a scoreless inning. Josh Beckett only went 4 innings and a little while giving up five runs and being hit for the loss. Darnell McDonald smashed a home run and Lars Anderson rapped out another and a hit in the loss. Scott Atchison gave up two more while Lenny DiNardo, in his second stint with the Sox, matched that total. I hope that Beckett and Atchison can get back into top form by the beginning of the season.

Tonight as I write, the Sox will face down the Yankees. Adrian Gonzalez cannot wait to be a Red Sock to face down their rivals, and he does not want to miss any games this season.. Alfredo Aceves is starting, and so far he has given up just 1 run in 3 innings of work, while Jacoby Ellsbury has made a nice running catch. Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia are both starting, and both hope to improve on the Florida game's performance, though that is almost impossible. I hope that the Sox can win or at least show that their A-team can hold up to the Yanks.

Trivia
Aceves used to play for the Yanks, and he is 14-1 in his career.

Sox roll over Marlins

The Boston Red Sox received a pleasant surprise yesterday in the Sox's 9-2 thrashing of Florida: Adrian Gonzalez smashing a single and earning a sacrifice fly. Gonzalez spoke about his first game, saying that he had planned to go after the first pitch all along. He was looking for a fastball on pitch 1 and he got it, and so he could just smash it. In addition, he could be heard saying, "I want to play all 162 games," indicating that his shoulder is fully healed from surgery.

Meanwhile, the top two players in the order, both previously injured and missing last year, combined to go 6-6. Yes, that's right. 7-7 for the top three in the first half of the game. Jacoby Ellsbury had threes all the way across, smashing a homer, two doubles, knocking in three, and scoring three in the rout. Dustin Pedroia lined three sharp singles off reigning NL ERA champion Josh Johnson, who gave up 5 and took the loss. David Ortiz also ripped two sharp doubles to add to the win, while Jon Lackey contributed 4 innings and change while giving up just one run and earning the win. Wow. Think about it, last year Lackey was terrible and Johnson was great, now Lackey looks like a champ and Johnson isn't doing too great. I mean, honestly? Lackey's got a 1.74 ERA in spring, and Johnson has 10.00. Looks like the roles are reversed all of a sudden. Let's hope that Lackey can hold up his pace for the rest of the year.

Trivia
Last year Gonzalez finished 4th in MVP voting.

Sox split doubleheader

The Boston Red Sox played two split-squad games today, splitting them. As the dawn of the season draws ever closer, Dustin Pedroia's foot and the other nagging injuries seem to be as good as new. Today, Pedroia ran out a double and a triple, proving his foot better. Meanwhile, in a loss to Minnesota, Jacoby Ellsbury and David Ortiz each smashed two hits. Unfortunately, Jonathan Papelbon blew a save, giving up all three runs and destroying Jon Lester's shutout performance. I am absolutely thrilled that Pedroia seems to be better, considering he has been running all over the place this preseason. Maybe all Pap needs is a bit more practice, to get into his groove and get into his normal self. Oh wait. I forgot, blowing leads all the time is his normal self. And oh yeah, J.D. Drew, in his contract year, has been hitting like crazy. Except today. Drew left three men on base while going hitless in as many at-bats. Meanwhile, Mike Cameron is looking more and more like the starting right fielder, considering he doesn't go from amazing day to bad day all the time.

Trivia
Papelbon's ERA shot up to 3.90 last year, the highest by far in his career.

Sox fall to Rays

In the first of many Boston-Tampa Bay games this season, the Red Sox were defeated by poor pitching in the ninth inning, but not by a regular. Jacoby Ellsbury went hitless in the 8-6 loss, and the starters in the three-hole used to play for the opposing team. For the Sox, Carl Crawford faced Johnny Damon. Boston fell victim to five runs in the first three innings given up by Daisuke Matsuzaka, though they roared back to take the lead by scoring two in the ninth on back-to-back bombs by Oscar Tejada and Drew Sutton. Unfortunately, Alfredo Asceves came in to pitch for the Sox. He quickly relinquished the hard-won lead on a Casey Kotchman double, then moments later gave up a game-winning homer to Robinson Chirinos. I think this cannot bode well for future Sox-Rays games, but maybe it may be good if Papelbon comes in to guard the lead. Oh wait. Papelbon. Never mind. Maybe Bard, then. Or Jenks, some reliable closers. I also can't believe that after the media is all abuzz about Ellsbury being back to his old self, he goes hitless. Oh yeah, and grounds into a double play. I thought you said he was healthy.

Trivia
Jose Iglesias, star shortstop prospect, garnered hits in both of his plate appearances.

Dice-K plans aggressiveness

Daisuke Matsuzaka has decided to make 2011 an intensely aggressive season. In his first spring training game, he attempted to work on better command of his fastball. It worked, sort of. Yesterday, he worked on his junk pitches- his curveball, cutter and changeup. Of course, it was a day of experiments for the budding pitcher, so he wasn't upset when he lost 11-2, giving up six runs in three innings. Jeez, finally. Four years with Boston, and he just starts working now? He's just trying to control his stuff now? Come on, dude. Couldn't you have started that a few years ago to actually win the Cy? Or pumped up the heat last year to pass the Yanks? Honestly. But hopefully, 2011 will be a great season for Dice-K with his new "control."

In other baseball news, Phillies second baseman Chase Utley's patellar tendonitis is not disappearing. In fact, he had to take a shot today to dull the pain and attempt to fix it. Luckily for the Phils, Utley and his doctors believe that the knee is not hurt. "Just a little wear and tear," says Utley. However, the star is worried. He has had patellar tendonitis before, but never, he says, for this long. Chase appears to be sliding, dropping his BA last year to .275, so maybe this tendonitis is but an omen of things yet to come.

Trivia
Utley's slugging percentage last year was his second-lowest in his career. The lowest was in his half-season as a rookie.

Astro woes continue

Jason Castro, the hopeful Houston starting catcher for 2011, had his hope erased on Thursday. He tore a ligament in his right knee, ending his season before it begins. Hey, it seems like the Reds will have a breeze. In fact, maybe they'll just win by default because the NL Central has too many injuries. Remember, Carpenter and Wainwright? Anyway, it looks like the Astros are going to have to find a new catcher, with Castro out. Rats, they looked so good last year, up in fourth. The 23-year-old hit .205 with just two homers in 67 games last year with the team. So maybe it's a good thing that he was knocked out.

The other big piece of news in baseball today also comes from the NL Central, this time the Cubs. Carlos Silva and Aramis Ramirez fought in their dugout, because, according to Silva, "He's got a guaranteed job." Wow. How dumb can these guys get? Honestly. If you're at spring training, then you have a job, just not necessarily in the majors. And the final piece of news: Jose Iglesias is looking more and more like the Sox starting shortstop!

Trivia
Castro was once a #1 draft pick.

Beckett leaves with concussion

Josh Beckett was throwing with another player during batting practice today when he was hit in the head by a smash off a Red Sox bat. Beckett, who gave up one run in the opening loss to Minnesota, was hoping to bounce back this year after a .500 season last year. Josh was only 6-6 with a 5.78 ERA as he battled injuries all year long. Beckett was sent home before the game started so he could rest, but manager Terry Francona says he believes it is too early to make a decision. Beckett was scheduled to start against the Phillies on Thursday. Bobby Jenks, the newly acquired Sox reliever, will debut Thursday.

In other baseball news, Chris Carpenter became the latest St. Louis Cardinal to receive an injury. Carpenter kept up his pace last year, with a 16-9 mark. However, if he remains injured, imagine what that could mean to the Cards. Much lower than second, I bet. Carpenter strained his hamstring during a spring training start. He seems to be not worried about his leg, but funnily enough, he expressed his confidence while holding his leg with a wrap on it and wincing in pain.

Trivia
Carpenter faced 969 batters last year, a career-high.