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!
