The good news last night was that the Yankees won a doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays 5-0 and 4-2. Just what the doctor ordered. The bad news was that the Red Sox could not take advantage of the losses as the Orioles came back from a 4-1 deficit to beat the Sox 6-4. Beckett started the ball game and looked almost unhittable early in the game. That is until the sixth inning when the Orioles got an RBI single to center by JJ Hardy to make the score 4-2.

 It looked as though Beckett started to tire in the seventh inning. He gave up a two run home run to Mark Reynolds on a fastball over the plate. It was his second four-bagger of the game. That tied the game at four apiece. Terry Francona finally went to his bullpen. Alfredo Aceves got the call having to face Vladamir Guerrero, who has had a terrific career but is now close to retirement. After getting ahead 0-1,  Acevas laid a fast ball right down the middle to Guerrero and he quickly lined it to center field for a two run single. That made it 6-4 and that’s how it ended.

Baltimore starter Tommy Hunter did a nice job by keeping his team in the game even though he gave up four runs. He had to leave in the seventh after pulling his groin. Carl Crawford had a good night pounding out three hits and knocking in two runs. Adrian Gonzalez got two hits which gives him 208 for the season. That’s a Red Sox record for most hits in a season. The rest of the lineup could not get anything going throughout this game. Josh Reddick, in particular, has really struggled. He had a real good first half hitting well over .300 for most of that time but the second half has been a different story. He seems to be trying to pull the ball too much. He, like all the left handed hitters on the Red Sox, need to go the opposite way to be productive. Take advantage of the wall in left field. When you try to pull the ball it usually ends up a grounder to second base or shortstop. The best hitters in baseball go the other way. It’s also the best way to get out of a slump.
 
The Red Sox have the day off which is good. Relax a little bit. Spend time with the family. Maybe it will help them physically and psychologically. Of course, they still have to go out and win games. If they beat the Yankees two out of three and do the same in Baltimore they should clinch the Wild Card. They’ll have to play and pitch better than they showed against Baltimore. I still think they’ll do it.

It looked as though there was finally going to be some good news for Red Sox Nation. On this night it wasn’t the middle relievers who gave it up, it was the “Big Two”, Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon. Bard had an easy seventh inning but in the eighth he gave up singles to Matt Weiters and Mark Reynolds. Terry Francona decided to bring in his closer in the eighth inning and the record shows that Papelbon hasn’t had much success coming into a game in the eighth inning. After giving up a hit that loaded the bases second baseman Robert Andino lined a double down the line in right field that scored all three runners. That made the score 7-5 and that’s how it ended.

 Our part-time friends, the NY Yankees (only when they play Tampa Bay) beat the Rays at Yankee Stadium 5-0. The Rays have always had a tough time beating the Yankees, especially at Yankee Stadium. They play two games today so this will be a good chance for the Red Sox to expand their lead in the Wild Card race but they’ll have to beat this great Baltimore Oriole team.  Beckett starts for the Sox.

All the hype before this game was about Eric Bedard.  He hadn’t pitched for 17 days because of physical problems. It was a very important start for him and the ball club as a whole. This team desperately needs a number three starter for the rest of the season and especially in the playoffs. There’s no way Terry Francona wants to send out John Lackey after his last outing or Tim Wakefield  because he’s also been giving up a lot of runs.

Bedard looked in control his first two innings. He spotted his fastball to the inside and outside corners and his curve ball was good enough. The third inning was his Waterloo. He looked like he was running out of gas but was still throwing the ball well.  As the pitches accumulated you could see he was done but not after giving up four runs.  His pitches were staying up in the strike zone but after giving up two hits it looked like he would get out of the inning. Vlady Guerrero lined a pitch to right field that should have been the third out but Josh Reddick misplayed the ball and it tipped off his glove for an error and an Oriole run. That’s the kind of night it was for the Red Sox. When a last place team like the Orioles beats your two best relievers it sends chills down your spine and your blood pressure sky high. Just ask Terry Francona.

It looked like the Red Sox were going to continue to give the Tampa Bay Rays another chance to overtake them in the Wild Card race after losing to the last place Orioles in the first game of their day/night doubleheader. The Orioles held on for the win by a score of 6-5. Right hander Kyle Weiland got a chance to stop the bleeding but the Orioles wrapped three homeruns against him that netted all six runs.
 
Oriole starter Jeremy Guthrie, a 17 game loser so far this year, wasn’t much better. He gave up 10 hits to the Sox hitters but they couldn’t come up with the big hit when they needed it. The big play in the game was a controversial call from a ball hit down the right field line by David Ortiz that was clearly a fair ball but first base umpire Mike Estabrook called it a foul ball. Francona came out and argued with him but it was to no avail. It would have been an easy double and the tying run in scoring position. It was not to be and the Red Sox lost the ball game.

The second game was a whole different story. The Red Sox bats went ballistic. They scored 18 runs and won the ballgame 18-9. The Orioles showed why they’re a last place team and why their pitching is so terrible. Red Sox hitters took advantage of mistake after mistake by, not only their starter, but the rest of their bullpen. They banged out 20 hits to all parts of the ball park. Jed Lowrie hit a three run homer and Connor Jackson hit a grand slam into the monster seats in the eighth inning which put the game away for good. Jacoby Ellsbury gave the fans a real treat by hitting an inside-the-ballpark home run off the fence in right center field. As the ball hit off the fence and bounced toward center field he turned on the burners like an F-15 jet fighter and scored easily. It was his 28th home run of the year. He’s definitely an MVP candidate this year and has impressed everyone with his consistency.

John Lackey had another terrible outing giving up 11 hits and 8 earned runs in 4 1/3 innings. It’s got to be difficult for the Red Sox to keep running him out there but they have no choice. Bucholtz is still on the disabled list. Alfredo Aceves seems to be the only alternative but Terry Francona would like to keep him in the bullpen, especially in the playoffs. I guess we’ll have to root for the Yankees against Tampa Bay.  Hell is really freezing over, for sure.

It would have been a lot better if the Red Sox had yesterday off instead of Thursday. The only appropriate definition for what occurred at Fenway Park on a clear, brisk Sunday afternoon is that they played a sloppy and mistake-ridden game. Two throwing errors by third baseman Mike Aviles and 4 passed ball by Jarrod Saltalamacchia gave the Rays second chances to put runs on the board and that’s exactly what they did. Tim Wakefield struggled through five innings with a knuckleball that fluttered all over the strike zone and too many times to the backstop.

Saltalamacchia’s performance behind the plate will definitely not be one for an instructional video on how to catch a knuckleball. He must have been overjoyed when Terry Francona finally took Wakefield out of the game. While Aviles made restitution for his two errors by hitting a three run home run in the 7th inning, Salty had a horrific day at the plate going 0-4 with two K’s.

I’m sure the Tampa Bay hitters are very sad about leaving Fenway Park and heading to New York for a four game series against the Yankees. Red Sox fans will have to pull for the Yankees in that series if the Sox are to have any chance of keeping their slim 2 game lead in the Wild Card race.

Since Baltimore has nothing to lose at this point in the season they, I’m sure, would love to knock Boston out of contention for a play-off berth. Overall, the Sox are not hitting or pitching well. It would be a big lift for them if the offense could score some runs early taking pressure off the starters. Francona could hit-and-run more with certain hitters so they focus on hitting the ball the opposite way. And speaking of that, why doesn’t Adrian Gonzalez try and hit the wall more often. There’s no doubt his shoulder is bothering him so why not go the opposite way. It’s the same with Pedroia. He’s best when he hits up the middle and to right field. When things are going bad everyone tries to hit the ball out of the ball park. It makes it a lot easier for opposing pitchers.

 The Red Sox have four excellent relief pitchers in the bullpen, Alfredo Acevis, Franklin Morales, Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon. These are the men with the best stuff and they should do the bulk of the pitching in relief the rest of the way. Beckett and Lester have got to give you, at least, seven innings in their remaining starts and the rest of the starters at least five innings. If they don’t, the off-season will come a lot sooner than later.

It’s true. Good pitching beats good hitting, even when you’re playing in Fenway, a hitter’s ballpark. The Rays  silenced the Red Sox bats in game three of the all-important four game series holding off a ninth inning rally by the Red Sox and getting a big home run from Ben Zobrist in the first inning off starter and loser John Lester. It seems as though Tampa Bay has always been tough on the Red Sox even from their inception. On this day, their big right hander Jeff Nieman, featured an excellent twelve to six curve ball and a sinking fastball that kept Sox hitters off balance throughout his five innings of pitching.  From there, left-handed rookie phenom Matt Moore came in and featured a 97 mph fastball which he threw by Red Sox hitters almost at will and to top everything off Joel Peralta saved the game after Joey Gathright stole second base with two outs in the ninth. Peralta then got Scutaro to pop out to end the game. It couldn’t have been scripted better for Joe Madden and his team. The Red Sox lead, once again, goes down to three games in the battle for the Wild Card between these two teams. The Red Sox need to win todays to get it back to four games which will make it very tough for the Rays to overtake them.

It would have been a big boost if John Lester could have followed up on a real good performance by Josh Beckett the night before but you could see, right from the first inning, that he didn’t have good command and velocity of his pitches. His bread-and-butter pitch is his cutter. When he has that pitch going for him he ties up right-handed hitters inside and it’s almost impossible for them to get good wood on the ball. It wasn’t to be yesterday. His curveball was also almost non-existent. He hung it a number of times, fortunately for him, out of the strike zone. But there is one thing Lester does have no matter what kind of stuff he throws on a given night, and that thing is “HEART.” I have such great respect and admiration for him both as a pitcher and as a person. We all know what he’s been through with his battle against cancer. I know the doctors say that he’s cancer-free after taking chemotherapy treatments but I also know from working for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute’s “Jimmy Fund,” that it can reoccur at any time in the life of a former patient. Yet he goes out there every five days and gives the Red Sox and us fans everything he has. When I watch him on TV or at Fenway I want to go up and give him a big hug and thank him for his courage and his competitiveness. He’s an inspiration to me  and to everyone else, especially those who have had to battle cancer in their lives. I hope he pitches for the Red Sox for another twenty years and I hope and pray he stays cancer-free for the rest of his life. That’s more important than a win or even a World Series.

You knew it wasn’t going to be a good night for the Red Sox when one of the most bizarre plays took place against them in the third inning. After giving up a double to left field, Red Sox starter Kyle Weiland gave up a walk to left fielder Desmond Jennings. With men on first and second the aberration takes place. The next hitter is BJ Upton who is a home run threat, especially at Fenway. Weiland threw Upton a tailing fastball in on his hands. Upton swings and hits a weak ground ball to shortstop.

The problem is he shatters his bat in half sending the larger section towards shortstop. The other problem was the ball and the bat got to shortstop Marco Scutaro at the same time. While trying to get out of the way of the jagged-edged bat the ball went through his legs and into left field for an RBI single for Upton. I’ve never seen anything like that before and probably won’t ever again. It was crazy.

The damage wasn’t done, however. Evan Longoria was the next hitter. He waited for a fastball away and got it. He drove that fast ball to right field and for a second it looked like the strong wind would hold it up but it landed just over the Red Sox bullpen wall for a three run home run. Later in the game Casey Kotchman hit a two run blast to right which just about put the game away. Terry Francona gave his call-up players a chance to play in the eighth inning which allowed the starters to take a breather.

Tampa Bay got a decent outing from right hander Jeremy Hellickson. He kept Red Sox hitters off balance all night. It was an example of how important change of speeds is to a pitcher’s success. He only pitched 5 2/3 innings and threw 117 pitches. Not great but good enough for a win. Kyle Weiland on the other hand threw almost exclusively fastballs to the Rays hitters. If he had a 97 mph fastball it wouldn’t be so bad but he’s clocked around 90-92. He needs to throw more curves and change-ups if he’s to be effective. I like him, though. His fastball has good movement most of the time and once he learns the other pitches he could be pretty good fourth starter.

If the Red Sox win two out of the next three against Tampa Bay they’ll win the Wild Card. That’ my prediction, right or wrong. Of course, the way they’re playing right now they wouldn’t win a tic tac toe game against a seven year old child. Wake up men, wake up.

Daniel Bard is the last pitcher on the Red Sox you would think to have problems getting opposition hitters out. After all, when you feature a 97 mph fastball and a knee buckling curve ball you wonder how anyone can hit him. He blew another lead in yesterday’s game enabling the Blue Jays to win the ball game 5-4. He’s given up leads in his last few outings which concerns Terry Francona and the rest of the Red Sox management.

Some are guessing he must be hurt. They think his shoulder is inflamed or that he has tendonitis. That’s pure conjecture, of course, and according to the doctors there’s nothing wrong with him physically. Right now it’s probably all mental. He’s had problems like this in the past and says he’s always rebounded from it.

In fact, I think it’s very common for a power pitcher to go through a streak like this more than a few times in their careers. They seem to lose their release point which in turn leads to walks and walks lead to runs by the opposing teams. One thing I’ve noticed about Bard since he’s been with the Sox is that when he gives up a hit on his fastball he starts throwing his curve ball too much.

 With a fastball like his he needs to keep throwing it and then occasionally use the curve when he gets two strikes on the hitter. He has to pitch just one inning most of the time and should go with the fastball even if he gives up a hit or two. He throws harder than Papelbon and has a better curve but if he can’t get the ball over the plate he’ll continue to give up runs. With time running out and the Tampa Bay Rays coming to town, he needs to rebound in record time.

The wait is over for Tim Wakefield. He finally gets his 200th career win against the Toronto Blue Jays at Fenway Park last night. His teammates made sure he was going to get that elusive win on this night. Wakefield had early problems giving up a three run home run to Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia and a two run homerun to  Jose Batista. It was not to be for the Blue Jays, however. The Red Sox had their hitting shoes on last night as they pounded out 18 runs on 18 hits. They got a solo home run from Jacoby Ellsbury and two from Dustin Pedroia. His second one was a three run shot to left field that put the Sox up for good, 10-5. The final score was 18-6. The rest of the game saw a barrage of hits and runs from the Red Sox hitters which is a good sign with Tampa Bay coming in for four games.

With all the hits and home runs from the offense last night, Tim Wakefield was still the man of the hour. Over the years with the Red Sox, he has been a starter, a long reliever, a middle reliever, and even a closer for a short time. He’s done just about everything the Red Sox have asked him to do. He’s eaten up innings when the bullpen needed rest from being overworked and never complained. He says he prefers being a starter but he’ll go to the bullpen if needed.

Wakefield’s knuckleball at times has been unhittable but looking at other knuckleball pitchers over the years I would have to say that his knuckleball rates in the middle of the pack. Hoyt Wilhelm, Charlie Hough, and Wilbur Wood had excellent knuckleballs with various speeds and movement. When they were on, they were unhittable but when they weren’t they gave up their share of hits and runs. That’s no different than Tim Wakefield in every way. Two are in the Hall of Fame, Wilhelm and Hough. Wilbur Wood pitched and completed doubleheaders a number of times during his career.

 All three were considered men who had a lot of heart. These men learned how to throw a pitch that only a very few could master and they did it for many years. Tim Wakefield is in that class now not only for mastering the knuckleball but doing it for all these years. Congratulations Tim!

Is it embarrassing for a team to be swept by the opposition in a three or four game series? The answer is yes! It doesn’t happen that often even when one team is a World Series contender and the other a version of the 1962 Mets. It’s tough to sweep a team because you may face their number one starter in one of the games and line-ups may not hit for a couple of games but will usually put runs on the board by the third or fourth game of the series. That’s one theory. I’m sure there are others.

Make no mistake, the Red Sox were swept by a very good Tampa Bay team. Their pitching staff is very good, especially their starters. The Sox hitters could do very little against James Shields who is considered one of the best pitchers in the American League. John Lester, also considered one of the best pitchers in the American League, had all kinds of trouble with his command. The cut fastball wasn’t cutting and the rest of his pitches didn’t have the movement they usually have. To me he looked like he just finished running the Boston Marathon. There was none of the usual John Lester aggressiveness and poise. He almost looked like he didn’t want to be out there. We all know he’s a “gamer” and loves to pitch but he looked different yesterday.

Tampa Bay hitters had a field day in this series. In last night’s loss B.J. Upton hit a grand slam homerun and went 4-4 overall. Even the old man, Johnny Damon, got two hits. Langoria, Kotchman, Jaso, Jennings and Zobrist all got big hits in the three Tampa Bay wins. They’re only 3.5 games behind Boston in the Wild Card race and have one more series in Boston. I don’t think they will overtake the Red Sox but the upcoming home stand is a crucial one for the Sox. They desperately need a healthy Kevin Ukelisback in the lineup and one player that may be a dark horse in all of this is JD Drew who is rehabbing in the minor leagues right now. He’s had a bad year so far but if he can come back and be productive it would help the Red Sox cause tremendously. Darnell McDonald has not helped very much this whole year. With Beckett coming back, and the possibility of Bucholtz returning, the Red Sox may, once again, become the team we all expected them to be, World Champions.

Ouch! Ow! Oh no! My guess is there were many more demonstrative reactions than those from Red Sox fans after Evan Langoria lined a Daniel Bard fastball to center field for the winning run in last night’s game in Tampa. By the way, why wasn’t Langoria walked? After Desmond Jennings hit a ball to right center field that should have been caught had not Ellsbury and MacDonald came close to colliding. Jennings ended up at third base with a triple and nobody out. Bard then got Upton on a weak grounder to first for out number one. When Langoria came up to hit I thought for sure Terry Francona was going to give the intentional walk sign to Bard but it didn’t happen. Langoria is an extremely good RBI man and clutch hitter. Walk him and maybe the next hitter hits into a double play. Didn’t happen. Game over.

The Sox made a terrific comeback in their half of the ninth. Down 5-3, Saltalamacchia hit a homerun to right off of Kyle Farnsworth the Rays closer to make it 5-4. The Red Sox fans who were mostly transplants from New England got very excited about that homerun and Jacoby Ellsbury, the next hitter, got them even more excited when he planted a Farnsworth curve ball in the stands to deep  right field to tie the game 5-5. After Pedroia, the next hitter, doubled to left center, the Sox hitters could not get him across for the go-ahead run. Tough loss for the Red Sox and Tampa is inching up in the Wild Card race. I don’t think they’ll overtake the Sox but you never know.

In this game, and many other games during the season, we see how important the Closer is to a team’s success. You would think just about any major league pitcher could hold a lead of one to two runs in the ninth inning but it just isn’t that easy. When a team is behind, by a run or even two in their last at bats, the hitters get pumped up and the adrenalin starts to flow. Most teams have good closers so you’re facing someone with an excellent fastball and maybe a good splitter or curveball. As a hitter you have to look for the pitch he throws most often. Forget the other pitches until you get two strikes.

In last night’s game, Kyle Farnsworth, the Tampa Bay Closer, throws Jacoby Ellsbury a curve ball and he hits a homerun to tie the game. The curve is his second best pitch. His fastball is clocked at ninety seven. How stupid was he to get beat with his second best pitch? On the other hand, John Papelbon pitched two superb innings using his high velocity fastball, which is his best pitch, and was very effective. Bard lost the game on a fastball that was neck high to Langoria so we can’t second-guess his pitch selection. The only thing we can second-guess is why Langoria was hitting at all.