Sox Bats Continue to Work

Well, there were many people this season who had their share of doubts about the "new" Red Sox, without Adrian Gonzalez or Josh Beckett but with Mike Napoli, Jackie Bradley Jr. and John Lackey. Certainly, some people didn't believe that the Sox could do well coming off such a terrible season and appearing to have made no significant off-season pickups. However, those people should look at the standings. Today, the Sox remain in first, a full game ahead of Tampa Bay for the top spot in the AL East. Boston's bats have been alive, and -- believe it or not -- John Lackey and Felix Doubront have emerged as the aces of the BoSox, while Koji Uehara has been pitching excellent relief and closing out ballgames well.

Take last night's game as an example. First of all, Felix Doubront needed very little help, going eight strong innings, giving up just five hits and one run. Yet the Red Sox gave him all the help he needed, with Will Middlebrooks finally delivering with a two-run homer and Stephen Drew also smashing a bomb. Meanwhile, Jacoby Ellsbury lined three hits to get on base and set up several runs. The Sox steamrolled the Giants 12-1, with Uehara coming in to pitch an easy ninth inning. I love that the Sox continue to do well even as we come close to September, driving in runs and supporting their pitchers well. And yes, the Sox have had their fair share of sloppy games and losses, but those things happen over the course of a 162-game season. They still hold a top spot in the AL East and have one of the best records in baseball. Hopefully they will keep up the good work and hold onto the top spot as we roll into September and eventually October.

Sox Roll Through California

Well, they roll through California teams, anyway. A couple days ago, they finished off a sweep of the San Diego Padres at Fenway, just rolling through the Padres. Since my last post, they were bolstered in the second game of the Padres series by a pinch-hit walk-off home run by Jonny Gomes. Even though Gomes does not have great stats, I don't think he needs great stats, considering how well he's been doing in clutch situations this year. Then Allen Webster finally had a decent outing, giving up just two runs in six innings and earning the first win of his major-league career, in an 8-2 romp. I just love how the Sox bats can carry pitchers so well, especially struggling pitchers like Webster; I think the Red Sox run support helps give pitchers a much-needed morale boost and helps the Sox win more games.

Last night, Felix Doubront pitched for the Red Sox against the struggling LA Angels. Despite a lineup loaded with stars like Josh Hamilton and Albert Pujols, the Angels have a record below .500. The Sox struck first off LA starter C.J. Wilson, as Jarrod Saltalamacchia lined a two-run single to give the Sox an early lead. Unfortunately, Doubront gave it back in the third and fourth innings, but managed to hold the Angels at two runs, so the score remained tied. Then in the seventh inning, Josh Hamilton, the former superstar, dropped an easy fly ball and allowed Shane Victorino to score, putting the Sox ahead 3-2, a lead they would never relinquish. Indeed, the lead expanded, as David Ortiz launched a two-run blast and Mike Napoli clouted a solo homer to give the Sox a 6-2 lead. I was very impressed-- again!-- with the Red Sox's performance, as they have been hitting well in the clutch and taking advantage of opposing miscues. Furthermore, their starting pitching has been excellent, and so they have been able to perform at a very high level and stay in first in the competitive AL East. One final note: Koji Uehara, who has stepped into Boston's closing role, currently owns a 1.95 ERA for the BoSox.

Lackey Carries Sox

John Lackey and the Red Sox faced the San Diego Padres last night at Fenway Park. Through the first three innings, both pitchers were dueling, giving up no runs. However, the Red Sox struck first in the bottom of the fourth, as recent call-up Brandon Snyder smashed a three-run double. The Sox struck again in the seventh inning when Jose Iglesias lined a single up the middle for an RBI base hit. Meanwhile, John Lackey was pitching brilliantly, shutting out the Padres through his first six innings of work. He withstood a home run from Jesus Guzman to complete eight strong innings, in which he gave up just six hits and a single run. I was ecstatic about this start, as he has been very strong this season, with an ERA well under 3 after this excellent win. Koji Uehara came on in the ninth inning and threw a perfect inning, striking out two and earning his fifth save of the season. I am very glad that Lackey and Uehara combined so effectively, as it meant the rest of the bullpen had a day of rest; also, Uehara has been pitching effectively as a closer, and I hope he can keep it up.

In other baseball news, Homer Bailey threw a no-hitter, the second of his career and the first of 2013. The no-no came against the defending World Champion San Francisco Giants, and Bailey has now thrown the last two no-hitters in the major leagues.

Sox Walk Off on Error

My last post may have jinxed the Red Sox's success, as the day I wrote that post, the Sox saw their winning streak snapped due to Jose Bautista's two-run homer off Junichi Tazawa; the homer gave the Toronto Blue Jays a 4-2 lead that they would eventually stretch to 6-2 and hold ont for the win. However, yesterday the Sox were determined to come back from this loss.

With Ryan Dempster pitching against Mark Buehrle, the Sox struck first, driving in three runs in the third thanks to doubles from Ryan Lavarnway and Brandon Snyder. Dempster gave two back in the fourth, but the Sox had a secure 4-2 lead once Dempster left in the sixth. Unfortunately, Craig Breslow gave up a run later in the sixth, but the Sox still led the Jays comfortably. Fast-forward to the ninth inning, where Jose Reyes lofted a fly ball down the right-field line. Racing for the line, Shane Victorino ran at full speed towards the ball before entering an excellent slide and barely making the grab. This amazing catch was further amplified when the next batter, Jose Bautista, smashed a home run, tying the game. If Victorino hadn't made the catch, the Sox would've been down a run, so it's awesome that Victorino made that play. Then, in the bottom of the inning, with two men on and one out, Victorino grounded a routine ball to first, but Josh Thole couldn't field it, allowing a run to score for Boston, giving the Sox the win. I was pretty excited when the Sox won; even though it wasn't a pretty win, they still came away with it, so I was happy. Hopefully the Sox can keep up their positive energy and continue to perform well as they carry on through the season.

Incidentally, this is how I deal with sloppy wins like this. I think of how badly the Sox played, then stop thinking about that. Instead, I think that at the end of the season, every win shows up exactly the same in the standings: W. By the end of each season, it does not matter how you win your games, as long as you win them.

Sox On a Roll

Well, July is almost here, and the Red Sox have not faltered. Recently, they swept the Colorado Rockies in a two-game series via excellent pitching from Ryan Dempster and John Lackey, as well as hard-hitting bats, giving them a combined score of 16-7 in the two games. I was impressed with the Sox after this set, as it was good to see Dempster find his groove once more, and I am still very happy with Lackey's performance this season, as he has been pitching consistently well this year. This strong showing made me much more confident for their upcoming series against the Blue Jays.

In Game 1 against the Jays, Jon Lester pitched against Chien-Ming Wang. Lester had been struggling, to say the least, so I hoped he could get back into form. He did not disappoint, finally regaining his composure and dealing 7 innings of 4-run baseball; not great, but a lot better than his recent starts. On the offensive end, the Red Sox put together a 7-run second inning to take a huge lead early, as Dustin Pedroia blasted his fifth homer of the season and nearly every other member of the Sox contributed to the scoring. After seven innings, Junichi Tazawa came in and threw a scoreless inning; he was followed by another excellent outing from Koji Uehara, who earned his second consecutive save with a perfect ninth. I was impressed with Lester's performance and look forward to future games, as he rebounded very well from his past starts. Hopefully he can keep up his good performance, and I look to the Red Sox bats to continue supporting him.

Last night's game, the second game of the series, was a real roller coaster of a game, as Allen Webster dealt for the Sox against Josh Johnson. I essentially gave this game up, as Webster had been pitching very badly in his two starts before last night, while it seemed that Johnson had regained his earlier form. Instead, Webster shut out the Jays through his first four innings, while the Sox chipped away for five runs off Johnson early. Unfortunately, Boston's young pitching prospect fell apart late, giving up three in the fifth and one in the sixth; however, he still left with a one-run lead for the bullpen to hold. That's when John Farrell made a big mistake, bringing in Andrew Bailey in a one-run situation. That hasn't worked in the past, huh? Indeed, Bailey gave up a game-tying home run to rob Webster of his first major-league win. Luckily, Jonny Gomes came through in the bottom of the seventh inning, hitting a two-run single to give the Sox a 7-5 lead. Uehara again came on in the ninth forhis third save in three days.

I am extremely pleased with Uehara's performance, as he is proving himself to be a remarkably efficient and dominating closer, and I hope he can keep it up in the future. Furthermore, I love the Sox's clutch hitting, as they always seem to have a guy who can come up with the big hit. Finally, I happened to check the standings today and was nearly blown off my feet, as I saw that the Sox have opened up a 3.5 game lead over the Orioles, and -- wait for it -- currently own the best record in the AL, with a 49-33 mark. Keep it up, Boston!

Sox Still Holding On

The most recent games by the Red Sox were a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays followed by the start of another series against the Detroit Tigers. The Sox started things off against the Rays with a doubleheader; Alfredo Aceves and Felix Doubront pitched for the Sox. Aceves started off the doubleheader very well, throwing a sparkling five innings and giving up just three hits and one run, earning his fourth win of the season in a 5-1 victory. I was again surprised by the consistency of Aceves's pitching, considering he started off the season both with terrible pitching and clubhouse disrespect. However, Aceves has been pitching very well over his last few starts, so I am pretty happy with him over this span. Hopefully, Aceves can keep up his excellent string of pitching in his next spot starts, whenever they may be.

In game two of the doubleheader, Felix Doubront pitched for Boston. I wasn't expecting anything special, since Doubront has been merely a consistent starter for Boston, not an exceptional one. However, the start that occurred was reminiscent of an early Clay Buchholz or Jon Lester. Doubront threw 8 stellar innings, giving up three hits and no runs. I was completely surprised at this excellent performance, but overall I love how the Red Sox pitching has been doing, especially the underappreciated pitchers like Doubront and Aceves. Meanwhile, a Daniel Nava solo homer gave the BoSox a 1-0 lead in the second inning. However, Andrew Bailey gave up a run in the ninth inning and spoiled the start for Doubront. Luckily for Bailey, Jonny Gomes bailed him out in the ninth with a walk-off home run to give the Sox the win. I was annoyed with Bailey for blowing the save, but since the Red Sox won, I didn't mind. After all, a win is a win. After losing the third game of the series 6-2, the Sox headed for Detroit.

In Detroit, John Lackey, another unappreciated Red Sox pitcher, started for Boston. I actually think Lackey has been excellent this season, so I had high hopes for this game. Lackey did not let down Boston nor the hopes of the fans, as hey pitched 7 solid innings, giving up just two runs; after eight innings, he was set to earn the win, as the Sox were up 3-2. Unfortunately for Boston, Andrew Bailey came on in the bottom of the ninth and walked the first man he faced in the inning. The next batter, Jhonny Peralta, smashed a two-run homer to left field, giving Bailey his fourth blown save of the season. This game, I was annoyed at Bailey, since his poor pitching cost the Sox not only the save, but also the game. However, he has saved 8 out of 12 opportunities and cemented many a win for the Red Sox, so I still think there's hope for him. Incidentally, as of this writing, the Sox are still in first place, leading the Baltimore Orioles by a full game. Go Sox!

Sox In Danger From O's

Well, I guess the worry of my last post was unnecessary. In the rubber match of the Sox's game against the Rays, Alfredo Aceves pitched brilliantly, giving up just 4 hits over 6 strong innings in a 2-1 win for Boston. I am surprised and pleased that Aceves pitched so well; in his last two starts, he's only given up one run combined between the two. I hope that he can keep pitching so well whenever he is needed in spot starts.

Then, the Sox traveled to Baltimore to face the Orioles in a four-game series. In the first game, Felix Doubront gave up four runs in 4 and 2/3 innings. However, it is worth noting that Doubront was not as bad as his line suggests. There were a lot of bloopers and chance hits by the Orioles that barely fell in or landed in no-man's land. The Sox were victims of many chance hits, and still managed to fight back and keep the game tied for twelve innings. Unfortunately, another bloop hit fell in and handed Alex Wilson a loss despite a fair performance. I really don't like that the Sox lost purely as a result of chance, but I guess it's better that they lose because of chance. After all, I don't want them to lose because they played badly; it's not so bad if they just don't get lucky breaks or get beat because of bad luck. Unfortunately, they did lose 5-4, but I think they played well and did their best considering a lot of bloops were falling in.

Last night, Ryan Dempster pitched against Chris Tillman in the second game against the Orioles. Dempster pitched well, going seven innings and giving up just two runs. Unfortunately, Tillman pitched better, throwing six shutout innings, and the Baltimore bullpen completely shut down the Red Sox, giving up no hits in their stint last night, so the Sox lost 2-0. This was another game where the Sox played well, but in this case they could not produce run support due to excellent pitching from Tillman. However, looking on the bright side, it is nice to see that Dempster is pitching well; althuogh he is now 4-7, he has an ERA of 4.21, which is decent for a middle starter. I hope the Sox can put up some run support tonight and continue to hit well over the next few days, as they are now just 1.5 games ahead of the O's in the AL East, and it would be a bit demoralizing to get taken out of first by a sweep. John Lackey, who is 3-5 but with a 3.14 ERA, pitches tonight, so hopefully he can continue his streak of excellent pitching and keep the Red Sox on top. Let's hope the Sox give him some support and pick up a win!

Sox Win Thriller, Then Get Crushed

On Monday night, the Red Sox played a long, grueling affair with the Tampa Bay Rays. The BoSox started the game out like a laugher, scoring six runs in the top of the first inning as their first eight batters all reached base. However, the Rays chipped away at the lead and eventually tied it in the eighth on a wild pitch, giving Junichi Tazawa his third blown save of the season. Given Tazawa's 2.51 ERA, I don't think he deserves three blown saves, since he has been a solid pitcher this season. In the top of the tenth inning, Jarrod Saltalamacchia drove a two-run single to give the Sox an 8-6 lead, but that was not to last. Jose Lobaton led off the bottom of the inning with a home run, then the Rays loaded the bases with nobody out against Andrew Bailey. In fact, they then tied the game with nobody out, as Bailey walked in the tying run. Thankfully, he pulled off a double play followed by a bunt ground out for the final out of the inning. I guess the Sox really wanted the win, because in the 14th inning, Daniel Nava and Salty both knocked in runs, handing the Sox a 10-8 lead; Franklin Morales held on to the lead and earned the win. I was very happy that Salty was finally able to come through in the clutch, although I wish the bullpen was more solid.

Following this gutsy extra-inning performance by the Sox, Jon Lester started the next game. I had high hopes for the lefty, considering he's been a fairly solid pitcher this year. Yet Lester gave up 7 runs in just 4 and 2/3 innings, losing the game 8-3. I was shocked that such a solid pitcher, especially earlier this year, collapsed so easily, and I hope Lester can return to form later in the season. The only bright spot for the Sox in this sorry loss was Jacoby Ellsbury's two hits and 27th stolen base; the young outfielder has been very good for the Sox here in the early going, and hopefully he can remain solid and speedy.

Today, the Sox finish up their series with the Rays, with Alfredo Aceves (Oh no!) taking on Chris Archer. In Aceves's last outing, he was very solid, going six innings and giving up just one run. However, before that he was very shaky and undependable, so hopefully he can come up big tonight to give the Sox the win.

Red Sox in 1st? What?!

Hello Red Sox fans!

Now that summer has arrived, I will be able to post much more often here!
Today, I bring you the news that may astound you or surprise you, but that we all love.
That's right, the Red Sox, last year's last-place team in the AL East, are in first by a 1.5-game margin over the New York Yankees!

Mike Napoli has proven to be an exceptional offseason pickup for the Red Sox, and a bargain at $5 million for this year. Napoli leads the Sox with 20 doubles and a total of 30 extra-base hits while performing admirably in the 5-spot.

David Ortiz, meanwhile, finally recovered from his Achilles injury and has quickly returned to his position atop Boston batters, as he leads the BoSox in home runs and RBI. A few days ago, he crushed a walk-off three-run homer, as Dustin Pedroia was intentionally walked to face Ortiz. Papi made the Texas Rangers pay for that decision, smashing a long drive into the Red Sox bullpen for the walk-off win. Overall, the Red Sox batting has been a lot better than expected, as they have provided excellent run support for the pitching staff, who have also been outstanding in contributing to this Red Sox season.

Everyone assumed that Clay Buchholz's 6-0 start was just a fluke, that he would give up some runs and lose a few games later on in the early part of the season. However, thus far he has shown that his brilliant performances are here to stay, as he has since improved to 9-0, tied for the Major League lead in wins and leading the league with a 1.71 ERA. Meanwhile, Andrew Bailey has posted a 1.47 ERA this year, coming back excellently from a terrible year last year. John Lackey's return from Tommy John surgery went much better than expected, as I was surprised to see him do so well in the early part of the season; Lackey currently owns a 2.79 ERA for Boston. And of course, the Red Sox bullpen has been a powerful force, with Alex Wilson, Junichi Tazawa and Koji Uehara all owning ERAs under 2.60 in relief for Boston.

I am extremely pleased and surprised to see the Red Sox in such a position, as they are coming back from a terrible year last year and performing at an excellent level. I hope they can keep up their performance and continue winning; if the bullpen keeps performing so well, the Sox will have no problem coming up with wins. Furthermore, the starting pitching has been great, and the BoSox hitters have provided plenty of run support, so the Sox find themselves in good shape in early June. Go Sox!

An update on the Red Sox!

HELLO Red Sox fans!
So much has happened since the last time I posted here, but here's a brief summary of the offseason:
The Sox picked up Mike Napoli as a free agent for a 1-year 5 million dollar contract. They then picked up "Flyin' Hawaiian" Shane Victorino for 3 years and $39 million; those were the two most noteworthy pickups by Boston. In Spring Training, Jackie Bradley, Jr., one of the top prospects in the Boston organization, had a monster spring, playing very well and hitting to all sides of the field. Ben Cherington and John Farrell, the new manager, decided to give him a chance in the big leagues. So far, that hasn't worked so well: he's batting just .097 through 31 at-bats. We'll see how long he stays.

Now, on to business. The Red Sox jumped out of the gate on the New York Yankees on Opening Day, beating CC Sabathia. Next, they drove Hiroki Kuroda from the game after just 1 and 1/3 of an inning when Kuroda tried to catch a Victorino line drive with his bare hand. They won that one, too, which brought them to their best start in over 12 years. That's pretty good for a team that was predicted to finish last in the AL East by numerous sources.

Since then, they traveled to Toronto, where they beat up on R.A. Dickey in the most memorable game of that series, winning 13-0 in a game where Will Middlebrooks smashed three home runs, then came home to win the home opener before dropping the next two, then finally sweeping the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-game set. In Game 2 of this series, Clay Buchholz showed that last year, in which he held an absurdly high ERA through the first several games, was just a fluke. He took a no-hitter into the 8th inning and left after 8 with a 2-hit shutout. As of right now, Buchholz has 3 wins, tied for most in the league, and holds a 0.41 ERA, having given up just one run so far this season. I hope that Buchholz can keep this up, as he is just throwing the ball amazingly well. Meanwhile, Ryan Dempster, another offseason pickup, has yet to win a game because of blown saves and poor run support, but is second in the American League with 25 strikeouts; Dempster is currently 0-1 on the season.

Well, that's all for right now! The Red Sox are currently playing in Cleveland on Jackie Robinson Day, and they are up 7-1 in the fifth inning thanks to 5 walks in the second inning by Cleveland's Ubaldo Jimenez. Not looking so great now, huh, Tito? Also, the Sox are currently 8-4, best in the AL East by a game and a half. NICE JOB, BOSTON!