He’s Pitching like an ace no Josh’n
The next stop on the “I can still pitch like an ace” tour hit’s L.A. as Josh Beckett takes on the Angels tonight . Beckett who is currently the number four man on pitching staff has been pitching like a man on a mission . It has not beeb revealed yet if Tek will be his catcher tonight but if it isn’t broke don’t fix it .
So as the starting staff continues to find it’s feet the question still remains with the bullpen.
The pen was to be “fixed” over the off season but, there are still a lot of holes. I am not a huge fan of blowing up a bullpen the Red Sox have a lot of a arms down on the farm so I think you could see a revolving door of pitchers in the next few weeks.
The Angel’s have been a solid team for almost a decade as Mike Scioscia has been a rock in L.A. They have always had a strong mix of vet’s and rookies . This year is no exception with
Peter Bourjos , Mark Trumbo, Tyler Chatwood . They also have a stud in waiting with Mike Trout . You also can’t talk about the halo’s with out talking about Dan Haren who by the way is 4-0 . Yep these aren’t Mo Vaughn’s Angels .
West Coast Win !
Just when you din’t think a road win was possible , a funny thing happened in oakland today the Red Sox squeaked out a win . Clay didn’t set the worl on fire today but, pitched good enough to win . (his first of the year ) Kevin Youkilis , J.D Drew and Mr “Play me everyday ” Jed Lowrie all went yard. The bullpen was a little shaky but they got it done ( barely )
I’ve been keeping an eye on things down in Pawtucket , Rich Hill , Andrew Miller and maybe Kevin Duckworth could all impact the bullpen at the major leauge level . I have been a strong supporter of Oakjima but I feel perhaps that he has seen better days . Rich Hill would be the next on my list to bring up . He has been working on his arm slot and has been real strong in Pawtucket. I think he could serve as a left handed specalist much like Tony Fosass.
Afternoon Baseball
So getting ready for some afternoon baseball as the Red Sox try to finally get a road win today vs Oakland . I am hoping Clay will put in a solid effort and send them to LA with a win . Been working on a video blog that I hoping to put up soon . But, I have been having issues adding my you tube video to the blog . I copy the embedded link but nothing post. If anyone has any clue please let me know .
But in the mean time there is a ball game to be played so enjoy all
Looking for a Win on the West Coast
Good Morning Red Sox Nation. I hope you all slept well . I would think a nice 9-1 win would help anyone sleep well. But now we shift to the west coast so get ready for a few late nights. Tonight it’s Lackey vs Anderson . Lackey leads all active pitchers with 17 wins against the A’s . So get the extra caffine flowing as tonight is going to be late one but should be worth it.
My mother in law who those if you know this blog is huge Red Sox fan . She offers this advice for the line-up . She thinks Youkilis should get a rest tonight and Lowrie should shift to third and Scutaro should start at shortshop. Not a bad idea because I think at all cost Lowrie needs to continue to play .
Wicked Good WIN
Memo to the Red Sox: You might want to schedule all of Matsuzaka’s remaining starts at 11am.
In a word “WOW” he was great . The Red Sox needed a game like this and what a perfect way to end the homestand. They now take a three game winning streak with them to the west coast.
Not only did they get great pitching from Dice K but , Jed Lowrie was 4-5 and make a great defensive play late in the game . I am not sure what more he has to do but, he clearly belongs in this lineup everyday . I mean when your hot your hot and he is clearly hot right now .
Enjoy this one Red Sox nation as we get ready for a late night tomorrow .
An Early Affair at Fenway
Early morning baseball at Fenway . The Red Sox and Blue jays get set to dial it up for the annual Patriot’s day tilt. The Red Sox look to win their second series of the year with a win over the jay , this would also give them a three game win streak . But Red Sox nation we must not get ahead of ourselves as we must first get through another Dice K start . Perhaps the early morning start will jolt the righty into form .
After the Jays the Red Sox trek off to the West Coast with two with the A’s and four with the Angels . This will begin the first real road trip as they will also be stopping of in Baltimore before heading home .
This thing called basebll can drive you crazy
14 games in and there has been plenty written about the Red Sox . The stories before the season all but gave the Sox the 2011 championship. But , as we know this is why we play the game. The stories as of late have been of the bleak start and how they are digging a deeper and deeper hole for themselves as the days go on . I even saw a story that suggested that the Red Sox should have went out a got Jayson Werth over Carl Crawford.
Now what have the Sox done about this ? Well see thats a funny thing all they did was go out and play baseball . Because, as crazy as it may seem that’s pretty much all they can do at this point . They play 162 games and in the course of the 162 they are going to do either 2 things . They will either win the game or they will loose . I don’t mean to dumb any of this down and I like anyone else in New England lives and dies with this team but before we start looking at the number 1 pick in the 2012 draft I just think we got to let them play the game.
The press and even yours truly may point fingers but the truth is this is baseball and anything can happen and as fans sometimes we have to hold and breath and see what happens .
So tomorrow with the early start the Red Sox will take the field and try for their third straight then later in the day they will head to Oakland and continue to grown and gel as a team .
The number one good news story thid year….. so far
The RedSox showed some signs of life against Toronto on Saturday and got themselves a 4 to 1 win. Josh Beckett looked great for the second start in a row and the duo of Bard and Paplebon looked solid as they closed out the win . But the one spot I was impressed with again was Jed Lowrie .
In going 3-5 Lowrie is starting to mount a solid case for more playing time and might even trump Marco Scutaro as the Red Sox starting shortstop. It is no secret that I am a fan of Jed Lowrie I’m just glad he is getting the press and praise he deserves . Lowrie made his major leauge debut April 15th 2008 but due to a wrist injury and mono he has been held to limited playing time . Last season with the mono in check he showed that he can be a solid contributor at the major leauge level .
Now I think it is also important to note that just because I am a big fan of Lowrie doesn’t mean that I don’t like Marco Scutaro . I just feel that with Pedroia and Lowrie you have two strong players that can act as kindle to this Boston squad .
In other news I’ve been hearing some chatter that the Red Sox are growing somewhat wary of Saltalamacchia’s defense , I can tell you after watchy Salty up close I am a fan of his offensive promise but, his defense has me thinking of Rube Baker . There has been talk of maybe bringing up catcher Tim Federowicz. I think this in my opinion would be a great move as he reminds me a lot of a young Jason Varitek .
Too Early for worry???
Two wins against the yankees thats it . Everything else has been dreadful . But, through it all the thought has been “It’s Early” . 150 left to play so yeah I can kind of still subscribe to the “Early” theory but not for much longer. If this weekend series continues on the downturn I fear there could major changes in store when they embark on their west coast road trip.
I don’t want to turn this blog into a Francona watch but, if there isn’t even the slightest improvement we could right in the middle of a full blown Francona watch . Maybe they’ll fire the pitching coach ? Maybe they’ll try a trade ? I honestly don’t know ? But sure as the Citgo sign shines in the boston night sky something has to be done . Hold on Red Sox fan’s we could be in for a long weekend and I’m not talking about the Monday holiday.
As the Red Sox enjoy a rare 2 days off ( Thanks to yesterday’s rain day ) we gear up for the return of John Farrell. You can say whatever you want about the rough start the sox are enduring but the conversation has to involve Farrell . John Farrell has long been seen an up and coming manager . It has been said that Farrell could do anything he wanted to in baseball the Red Sox just hoped it would be with them . A lot was said last year when Brad Mills left for the Astro that Francona would miss him dearly well I think there was some truth to that but I think the real piece to the puzzle is Farrell .
His Jay’s are 6-6 and he has had issues of his own as he has used a ton of pitching in the early going . But make no mistake Farrell will do well the Red Sox just wish that they didn’t have to watch from a far .
beatownbaseball
