It's Been Awhile...

A wonderful birthday gift

It's been awhile since I have last posted.  I admit, this off season I haven't felt as "into the blog" as I would have liked.  Not that I didn't still love writing the blog because I do.  Things changed drastically over the winter, and I'm learning that things are constantly in motion.  I won't get into every detail, but here are a few of the things that went on that helped contribute to me not writing for months:

• Most important, my brother's diagnosis with leukemia.  When I first moved to Connecticut, my youngest brother was diagnosed with leukemia (I mentioned it here and how I bought the #GetBeard shirt in honor of him).  I'm happy to report that my brother is officially in remission and will be getting married in about five and a half weeks.
• I started a new job.  I started working at a law firm in Hartford in December.  With working, I no longer had my days to write the blog.  This is no excuse, I know, since I wrote the blog while I was living in Iowa.  But, this was a huge adjustment to me.  I had been at my job in Iowa for years before I started the blog, and I was comfortable with the pace and then writing.  Working in Hartford is a much faster pace, and the type of working I'm doing is different.  It was a huge adjustment for me, and I'm still adjusting to it months later.  
• My original plan was to start blogging again once a week when the season started.  Unfortunately, the Friday before Opening Day, I received devastating news that my cousin had passed away.  It hit me very hard, especially since I was not with my family and would not be able to attend the funeral.  I won't get into all the details, but my cousin suffered from addiction.  His brother set up A Go Fund Me Account in my cousin's honor, and I highly recommend everyone to check it out, especially if you've ever known anyone who has suffered from addiction.

I wanted to start writing this past Sunday, but I've been fighting a sinus infection.  I'm actually home from work today with it, so I thought I'd do a little blogging.  But, we're not here about what's going on in my life; we're here about the Red Sox.

For my birthday, my wonderful boyfriend got me a Fenway Four-Pack; tickets to four Red Sox games.  There were tickets for a game in April, May, June, and September.  My parents are coming to visit in July, and we got tickets for a game when they're back.  We also got tickets for a Yankees game in August.  That works out to a game a month for six months.  Not bad.

A beer in honor of my cousin

We went to our first game April 5th against the Brewers.  It was a bitterly cold night (seriously, the temperature was around 35*, and it was windy).  I hate to admit it, but we didn't last past the 6th inning.  I blame Buchholz.  Everyone around us left, which made the wind hitting us that much worse.  There was no coffee and little hot chocolate available.  The Red Sox ended up losing 7-6 in 11 innings.

Since we're a few weeks into the season, I thought I'd just do some random thoughts on the season so far:

• I am not in panic mode...  yet.  There's been a lot of talk on the radio and television about whether people should be panicking about the Red Sox, since they are currently in last place and have a 9-11 record.  Season is still early.  The past two games have showed the Red Sox still have fight in them.  Victorino and Middlebrooks coming back from the DL will make a huge difference.  
• Buchholz needs to get his act together.  Every year, it's the same thing.  He shows these flashes of brilliance then falls down the wormhole again.  My guess is if he has another bad outing in his next few starts, he'll be making a trip to the DL and Workman will be brought up.
• Not impressed with AJ Pierzynski.  I don't think I'm being biased here.  He's batting .235 with a HR and 6 RBIs.  I don't think his defense has been stellar either; I'd rather Ross be back there.  I know it's still early, but I don't know how this move will benefit the Sox.
• Anyone else get really annoyed with the ESPN commentators Sunday night during the game talking about how much the Red Sox missed Ellsbury?  Wow!  I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but I'm not a big fan of ESPN; and I try not to watch things on ESPN, if I can help.  Sunday night, ESPN could not let up on their admiration for Ellsbury.  Honestly, I think once Victorino returns from the DL, the Red Sox will be more of a threat on the base paths.  Sure, Victorino doesn't steal bases like Ellsbury, but he has confidence running the bases.  The Red Sox just need some confidence.

I'm hoping to post again this coming Sunday.  Make sure to follow me on Twitter at BornIntoItInIA.  You can also check the side of the blog for Tweets.  

GO RED SOX!

Off Season Chatter

As you may have noticed, I haven't posted in about a week and a half.  The reason- not a lot has happened.  We're in the off season, which can be almost as exciting as during the season (almost).  My youngest brother tells me that the off season is his favorite part of baseball because it's more the business aspect of the game.  I wouldn't say that it's my favorite of baseball, but it can be exciting.

Photo from MLBDailyDish

The GM has to get the pieces of the puzzle to make the whole team complete.  Last off season, Cherington was able to bring in players like Napoli, Victorino, Gomes, Ross, and Dempster.  This off season, the Red Sox have Napoli, Saltalamacchia, Ellsbury, and Drew hitting the free agent market.

It's already been reported that Drew will not be coming back to the Red Sox, as he's seeking a multi-year deal, and the Red Sox offer that to him (Bogaerts will/should be taking over at shortstop).  My guess is Ellsbury won't be returning either, as he's represented by Scott Boras.  It's been reported that Boras is seeking a Carl Crawford-like deal for Ellsbury, and there's a slim chance the Red Sox will be doing that again.

The Red Sox are said to be in negotiations to bring Salty back, the hold up being in the length of the contract.  The Red Sox would like a 2 year deal, while Salty's seeking 3-4 years.  The Red Sox don't seem to see Salty as a long-term catcher for the organization, with prospects Christian Vazquez and Blake Swihart in their system.

If I had to put money on any of these four free agents coming back, I'd bet Napoli would be the one back next season.  The Red Sox originally wanted to sign Napoli to a multi-year deal last year, but when questions surfaced about Napoli's hips holding up, it was reduced to a single-year deal.  There have been reports that the Red Sox have extended a multi-year deal to Napoli, but those reports have been discredited (at this time).

Photo from Wikipedia

We're upon the time of year when "mystery teams" and "multiple suitors" are the words showing up in many reports when it comes to free agents.  If I wrote about all the rumors that are surfacing regarding the Red Sox and free agents, I would be writing non-stop.  Instead, I've been tweeting and retweeting a lot of the rumors on my Twitter account.  You can either follow it on the right side of the blog or follow me on Twitter: @BornIntoItInIA.  When credible or definitive information is reported, I will write about it in the blog.

In other news:

• Ben Cherington was named Executive of the Year.  He received 15 votes from a panel of 31 Major League executives.  The last Red Sox GM to win the award was Dick O'Connell in 1975.  
• Terry Francona beat out John Farrell for Manager of the Year (Farrell was second).  There was some negative comments being made about Francona winning when Farrell took the Red Sox all the way to win the World Series.  Personally, I think Francona did a fantastic job with the Indians, who weren't supposed to do well at all this season and made it to the Wild Card game.

Random Thoughts

I thought I'd get back into the swing of things with the blog with a Random Thoughts post.  Make sure to come back on Monday, where I will have a recap of my first Red Sox-Yankees game, which will also be my first trip to Yankee Stadium.  Now, here are the Random Thoughts for today

- Last night's game was frustrating to watch.  When the Red Sox were up 7-2, I thought they had it in the bag.  However, the Yankees came back and scored 6 runs in the bottom of the 7th inning to take a 8-7 lead.  It kind of felt like karma in a way, since the Red Sox had done the same thing to the Tigers the night before.

- The Red Sox tied the game in the bottom of the 9th last night off Mariano Rivera.  With two outs, Napoli singled, Berry pinch-ran for him and stole second, and Drew single to score Berry and tie the game.  It was Rivera's 6th blown save of the season, and it was a little reminiscent of 2004.

- The Red Sox took the lead in the 10th inning (and eventually completed the come-from-behind win) when Ellsbury singled  with one out, stole 2nd base, and Victorino singled to score Ellsbury.  The did this off Joba Chamberlain too.

- Uehara came in for save in the bottom of the 10th inning and made A-Rod pop out before striking out Overbay and Suzuki.  It was his 18th save of the season, and his ERA now stands at 1.14.

- Speaking of Overbay, if you remember, the Red Sox released Overbay before the start of the season when he didn't make the Major League roster, and he immediately signed with the Yankees.  Do you think he regrets not continuing with the Red Sox?  I ask this seriously, as the Yankees have gone through a lot of turmoil this season.

- Just for reference: the Yankees had one player (Cano) in the line-up last night who is hitting at least .300 (.307 to be exact).  The Red Sox had three (Ortiz at .315, Nava at .300, and Lavarnway at .318).  The Sox also have three players at the top of the lineup very close to .300 (Ellsbury at .299, Victorino at .294, and Pedroia at .296).

- I am very happy to see Nava doing so well.  I think everyone by now knows Nava's story, and he really is an inspiration to never give up on your dreams.

- I'm thinking Victorino was the best offseason move the Red Sox did this past offseason.

- Former Red Sox players Derek Lowe and Mike Timlin are set to fill in for Jerry Remy for Red Sox games on NESN.  I vote they try and get Pedro Martinez too; he'd be very entertaining.

- One thing I'm going to have to get used to living on the East Coast is the time difference.  Really, an hour doesn't seem like too much of a change until it comes to when games start.  6:00PM is much more convenient compared to 7:00PM.  Just saying.

Well, that's about it for me today.  I'm so excited about the game tomorrow.  If you've been reading my blog for awhile, you'll be impressed to know I already know what I'm going to wear too!  Have a great weekend!

Red Sox @ Yankees Recap 5/31-6/2

First, the family get together that I had mentioned on Friday didn’t take place.  My relatives had water in their basement.  I don’t know if you’ve been paying attention to the news; but here in Iowa, we’ve received a lot of rain over the past couple weeks.  We had over 7 inches of rain Memorial Day weekend alone.  Rivers, creeks, and basements are all flooded here (as an aside, thoughts go out to all those people were have been affected by the weather lately: tornadoes, winds, rain, floods, and fires are all in the news today.  Terrible).

So, Friday night, my boyfriend and I watched the game together while we unwound from our busy weeks at work.  Let’s face it- Friday night’s game was hard to watch.  You could tell in the first inning Lester didn’t have his stuff.  Somehow, he managed to last 6.1 innings, but he threw 116 pitches in that.  His line for the night was: 6.1 IP, 6H, 4 ER, 4 BB, and 5 SO.  Not terrible by any means, but not what the Red Sox needed that night. 

The Red Sox ended up losing Friday night’s game 4-1.  Ellsbury, who had team-record 5 stolen bases the previous night, was unavailable to play all weekend.  Pedroia was 3 for 4 with 2 doubles.  Napoli and Ross also had doubles, and Napoli had the only RBI.  Nava had a nice outfield assist.

I didn’t watch much of Saturday night’s game.  First, the game was broadcasted on Fox; but in Iowa, so were the Cubs.  Cubs win here.  But, since there was a rain delay for the Cubs game, the Red Sox game was being broadcasted.  Unfortunately, it was being broadcasted at the same time as the Bruins game on NBC (Bruins won 3-0).  The Bruins are in the playoffs, if you didn’t know.  I would switch to the Red Sox game between periods and timeouts, but didn’t see much.  When the Bruins game was over and I switched permanently to the Red Sox game, the Cubs were playing.

I have to say, Doubront was pretty impressive Saturday night.  6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO.  I admit, I’m always a little hesitant when Doubront pitches.  Sometimes, he pitches well (like lately); but other times, he’s horrendous.  With the series on the line against the Yankees, the Red Sox really needed a good performance out of Doubront.  They got it.

Offensively, the Red Sox clobbered the Yankees and won 11-1.  Napoli hit a grand slam and went 3 for 5.  Drew went 2 for 5 with a home run.  Nava was 4 for 6, in the leadoff spot.  Every starter had at least one hit, except for Ortiz. 

The Red Sox won Sunday night’s rain-shortened-game 3-0.  In Ortiz’s words to The Boston Globe, “Three rain delays, a fake one and two real ones.  What else can you do?  Stick around and see how things are going to end.”  Things ended well for the Red Sox.

Clay Buchholz, whose last start was pushed back due to an injury, showed no signs of discomfort or rust.  Buchholz pitched 5.0 innings and gave up 2 hits.  He was credited with a complete game shutout, despite the fact that Miller game out after the rain delay to pitch the 6^th inning.  Since no out was recorded (and the outing only last 4 minutes, from reports), Buchholz got the complete game and Miller an appearance without throwing a pitch.

Ortiz and Napoli both went 2 for 3. Iglesias hit a home run, his first of the season.  For the record, Iglesias is hitting .434 in the Majors.  Ortiz also had a single-shot home run with a nice bat flip at the end (here’s the link for the video: Flipping the bat.

There’s also a great video of the members of the Red Sox and Yankees being startled by thunder.  Here’s that link: I'd jump too.

Overall, not a bad weekend to be a Red Sox fan.  The key for to make the playoffs is winning series, and that’s what the Red Sox are doing.  They are currently 35-23, and 2.5 games up from the Orioles.  Next game is against the Rangers tomorrow at Fenway.

Twitter-Mania Friday

Before I get to this week's Tweets, I wanted to point out that Jacoby Ellsbury set a team reacord last night by swiping 5 steals in the Red Sox win over the Phillies.  Here's hoping Ellsbury's recent success continues, and he continues getting on base and advancing on the base path. 

Now, here are this week's Tweets:

5/25

Shane Victorino @ShaneVictorino

#Bruins #Bruins #Bruins

5/26

Andrew Bailey @AndrewBailey40

It was nice spending time with some families from Newtown, CT today.  Thanks for my new bracelet! Pic.twitter.com/Mow4FQ3H8m

Will Middlebrooks @middlebrooks

Great meeting the families from Newtown, CT today after the game.

Craig Breslow @CraigBreslow

Great to represent CT and the @RedSox on CT Day at Fenway.  Only one CT mascot here today- a @Yale bulldog.

5/27

Jacoby Ellsbury @JacobyEllsbury

Happy Memorial Day!  Thank you to all of those who have served and continue to serve for our freedom!

Ryan Lavarnway @RyanLavarnway

Happy Memorial Day!  Thank you to all past and present members of the US Military

Craig Breslow @CraigBreslow

Happy #MemorialDDay to those who paid the ultimate price to protect our freedom at home and abroad.  #USA #BostonStrong

Mike Lowell @mikelowell25

MLB: Awesome uniforms for today!  A day we remember all those men and women who gave us their all so we can enjoy our freedom!  Thank you!!

Shane Victorino @ShaneVicotrino

Happy Memorial Day!  Thank you to all who have served and those who continue to fight for our freedom!  #USA pic.twitter.com/VFd7DkiQtk

Shane Victorino @ShaneVictorino

Excited to see my old @Phillies teammates tonight.  Some things I miss about @JimmyRollins11 some things I don’t Lol pic.twitter.com/JK517m1ea7

Shane Victorino @ShaneVictorino

Thank you to everyone who wears a uniform for this country.  Honored to wear this today. #USA pic.twitter.com/J4osp8029a

Mike Napoli @MikeNapoli25

Happy Memorial Day!  Thank you to all who continue to fight for our freedom, and to all that have served this amazing country!  So thankful!

Jackie Bradley Jr. @JackieBradleyJr

Life is like photography.  You need the negatives to negatives to develop.

5/28

Jenny Dell @JennDellNESN

RT @RedSox: Some ceremonial first pitch tips for Jeff Bauman from Pedro Martinez #BostonStrong twitpic.com/ctx562

  

5/29

5/30

Pete Abraham @PeteAbe

Ortiz says his plan at first base is to let Pedroia take everything.  Good plan.  #redsox

Pete Abraham @PeteAbe

And there it is, five steals.  A #RedSox record for Ellsbury

Pete Abraham @PeteAbe

Carl Crawford is the last MLB player to steal five bases in a game (he had six) on 5-3-09 against… wait for it… the Red Sox

Pete Abraham @PeteAbe

Ortiz: “Nobody hit the ball to me.  I was out there saying to myself, ‘Come on (expletives), give me a shot.  I want to make a play.’ #redsox

Pete Abraham @PeteAbe

The #Phillies, in a class move, gave Ellsbury a base to take home as a souvenir of his team record. #redsox

5/31

Craig Breslow @CraigBreslow

Happy birthday, @AndrewBailey40.  You’re finally old enough to grow a beard

This week's Tweet of the Week:

5/28

NESN @NESN

Boston Marathon Heroes Jeff Bauman, Carlos Arredondo Throw First Pitches for Strikes at Fenway Park (Animations) wp.me/p2AICJ-LU6

******************************************************************

Tonight starts a 3-game series versus the Yankees in New York.  The pitching match-ups are as follows:

Friday: Lester vs. Sabathia

Saturday: Doubront v. Hughes

Sunday: Buchholz v. Kuroda

This series is important, as the Red Sox are currently two games ahead of the Yankees in the standings with the Orioles and Rays right behind them.  The Red Sox would like to seperate themselves from the pack this weekend, and the Yankees would like a sweep to take over first place.  It's an important series, even this early in the season.

Also, I'll be attending a family get together for the game tonight.  It should be interesting to see so many related, Red Sox fans in one place.  I'll let you know the turn out on Monday.  Enjoy the weekend, and let's hope the Red Sox sweep the Yankees!  Go Red Sox!

Surprises and Disappointments

I touched on the topic of surprises and disappointments in an earlier post, but I thought I needed to address the topic again.  This season has been a bit schizophrenic thus far, with some players over-achieving, and others falling below their potential and what we've seen in the past.

Surprises

Clay Buchholz
I think Buchholz has been the biggest surprise of the team so far.  He's 6-0 with a 1.78 ERA.  His WHIP is standing at 1.036, and he's been really impressive in his starts.  Even his last couple starts, where he's gotten no decisions, he's only giving up 2-3 runs.  This Red Sox team SHOULD be able to score enough runs in Buchholz's starts to win ballgames.  He's also averaging 9.5 strikeouts per 9 innings.

Bullpen

Honestly, I couldn’t pick just one reliever to be the surprise.  I knew the bullpen would be better than last year (I don’t know if they could’ve done much worse), but I didn’t know it’s be this good.  Granted, I’m only considering the relievers who are still in the bullpen (not Bard, Hanrahan, Webster, Wright, or De La Torre who all have ERAs of at least 9.00).  Miller (3.77) and Mortensen (3.68) have the highest ERAs, and Breslow (1.17) has the lowest.  Bailey’s WHIP is at0.811.  

Jarrod Saltalamacchia

Last year, when Salty his .222 with 25 home runs and 59 RBIs, the Sox and fans were satisfied with those totals.  Sure, it wasn’t the greatest stats to have, but a catcher has a lot more responsibility than offense.  He’s calling the games for the pitchers.  This year, Salty is hitting .265 with 5 home runs and 13 RBIs.  Yes, the power has gone down slightly, but his average has gone up.  He’s making more contact.  In less than a quarter of a season, Salty has a third of the hits (30) he had all of last year (90).  Plus, the pitching is a vast improvement this year compared to last year, which means Salty’s calling a better game.

David Ortiz

In 27 games this season, Ortiz his hitting .349 with 7 home runs, 9 doubles, and 29 RBIs.  The only person who has more RBIs than Ortiz is Napoli, who has 35 in 45 games.  His on base percentage is at .397.  By comparison, Ellsbury’s is at .307, and he’s the leadoff batter.

Disappointments

Jacoby Ellsbury

As already stated (in this post and others), Ellsbury is not getting on base.  He has a .307 OBP and is only batting .242.  While his defense has been great, his offense is greatly diminished.  Ellsbury’s power is down as well.  He only has 1 home run this season.  The only other player currently on the roster to only have 1 home run, and is not a pitcher, is Pedro Ciriaco.

Joel Hanrahan

Hanrahan is injured beyond repair and will not play another game for the Red Sox this season… and maybe ever again; his contract is up at the end of the year.  He had Tommy John and flexor muscle repair surgery last week, and won’t pitch again for 12-15 months, at least.  I call Hanrahan a disappointment in the sense that he never really got to try and pitch for the Sox.  He was injured, which is disappointing (see what I did there?).  He’s an Iowa guy though, and he’s tough.  He’ll be back, just don’t know with what team and when.

Will Middlebrooks

Yes, Middlebrooks is hitting better lately, but he’s still only batting .208 for the season.  After the 3-home run massacre he gave the Blue Jays back in April, he’s faltered heavily.  He has 50 strikeouts, compared to 7 walks, this season.  He does have 20 RBIs for the season, and 8 home runs.  Hopefully, he comes out of this slump… fast.

Daniel Bard

Daniel Bard made two appearances for the Red Sox this season, because he was the only pitcher available on the 40-man roster.  He pitched 1.0 inning, walked 2, gave up 1 hit, 1 earned run, and has a 9.0 ERA.  He was sent back to Double-A, where he’s spent most of the season.  Things are so bad in Double-A for Bard (12.2 IP, 13 hits, 11 runs, 9 earned runs, 1 home run, 17 walks, 6 strikeouts, 6.39 ERA, and 2.368 WHIP), that he’s been shut down since May 15th.

Red Sox at Twins 5/17/13 and 5/18/13

Red Sox @ Twins 5/17/13 and 5/18/13

I had a great time in Minneapolis this weekend!  If you ever get the chance to visit Target Field, I highly recommend it.  The field is one of the newest in the Major League, opening in 2010.  Even though it’s a relatively big stadium, it still had a small stadium.  It didn’t appear there was a really a bad seat in the place, and there were hardly any lines to get concessions.

My boyfriend and I ended up going to two games this weekend.  Friday night, we had finished dinner and decided to find a sports bar around the stadium.  There were a lot of scalpers around, and while we enjoyed a beer during the first inning at a non-sports bar, we decided to see what tickets were running for.  We immediately found a scalper, and when they asked if we wanted tickets, my boyfriend explained we only had $20.  SOLD! 

We found our seats in section 331 during the third inning, and enjoyed a couple beers and most of the rest of the game.  Friday’s game was a good game for both teams, and Buchholz pitched well (7.0 IP 4H 2ER 3BB 9SO 1HR).  However, not well enough for a win.  The Red Sox won 3-2 in 1- innings on a sac fly by Jonny Gomes, scoring Pedroia.  (We missed the 10^th inning because we were not dressed for the game.  It was about 50 degrees and windy, and we didn’t have sweatshirts or jackets.)

Saturday’s game was a monster game for David Ortiz; he hit 2 home runs, had 3 hits total, and 6 RBIs.  Dempster did not pitch well at all (4.2 IP 8H 5ER 6BB 2SO 127 pitches).  The bullpen did really well (4.1IP 4H 0R 2BB 2SO).  Everyone on the team had at least one hit besides Ciriaco, and Pedroia, Ortiz, Nava, and Middlebrooks had multiple hits.  The Red Sox won 12-5.

Below are some pictures that I took of the trip and games.  Enjoy!

Game 1: Red Sox @ Twins 5/17/13

Entering Minneapolis… it was raining

Me and my boyfriend at the game.  He at least had Red Sox apparel on.

Ellsbury in Centerfield

Buchholz pitching

Minneapolis skyline from Target Field

Another shot of the Minneapolis skyline from Target Field

Game 2: Red Sox @ Twins 5/18/13

My boyfriend and me decked out in our Red Sox gear

Another shot of my boyfriend and me, this time with Target Field behind us

Dempster starting

A guy was wearing a Crawford jersey; I had to take a picture.  I also saw a woman wearing a Beckett jersey.  It was strange because most Twins fans either had Mauer or Mourneau apparel on, and that was about it.  I did see two guys with Twins Mientkiewicz jerseys on.  Didn’t see one Hunter or Thome shirt.

And another guy had a Garciapara jersey on

Ellsbury batting

Ortiz batting

Ortiz on first, Pedroia on Second

Nice shot of Target Field at night

Red Sox win!

Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe retweeted my Tweet during the game Saturday night, which was pretty neat for me.  So, remember to follow me on Twitter @AshleyAries

Another Heartache and What Should/Could Be Done About It

This is getting repetitive; the Sox lost again last night.  This time, it was a 5-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.  The Red Sox are now in 3rd place, 3 games out of first, and only a game and a half up on the 4th place Rays.
The Red Sox started the game great.  Ortiz hit a 3-run home run in the 1st inning, and Lackey was working efficiently through the first three innings.  But, of course, things didn’t end well for Lackey.

In the fourth inning, Lackey gave up a single to Longoria, followed by a single to Loney, and a double to Luke Scott.  The score was now 3-1.  He struck out Kelly Johnson, but Jose Molina singled to score Loney and Scott.  It was now 3-3 in the fourth.  Two more runs would come in on a Matt Joyce single, making it 5-3, before Lackey would get out of the inning.  He lasted only 4.1 innings before being pulled in favor of the rested bullpen.

Let’s face it- everyone is getting frustrated with this team at the moment.  They’re teasing us.  Lester pitches a masterful game Friday night, and the team wins handedly.  Buchholz follows up that performance with an
8-inning great pitched game, only the Sox lose that game in the 9th inning on a home run given up by Tazawa.  Dempster gets lit up in Sunday's game.  Last night, Papi seems to be getting out of his slump by hitting his home run in the first inning, Lackey was cruising, but things became unravled by mid-game.

Things have to start gelling like they were the first month of this season.  The Red Sox had momentum that first month, and they’ve obviously lost it now.  Even the great attitudes seem to be waning (anyone check out some of the stupid Tweets Hanrahan was getting after it was disclosed he was having season-ending surgery?  Yikes!).

So, what does this team need?  A great pitching performance (Lester’s) doesn’t seem to get the team going, and even when the team is getting hits (Sunday, they had 10), they keep leaving runners in scoring position. Things have to fall in line at some point, right?

I also think that the line-up needs a bit of a shake-up.  For years, we have become accustomed to Pedroia hitting No. 2 in the line-up, and when he does it No. 3, he usually brings a big game.  Keeping Pedroia, who is hitting .338 this season without much power, in the No. 3 spot isn’t helping.  Move him back to No. 2. Another thing Pedroia has going for him is he has more walks (24) than strikeouts (22) this season, and he has 8 stolen bases and has been caught only once.

Ellsbury, batting only .256 with a .321 OBP needs to be moved from the top of the line-up.  I understand the feeling that Ellsbury has to stay at the top of the order because of his speed (12 stolen bases this season and caught twice), but if he’s not getting on base, there’s no one for the hitters behind him to score.  I think Victorino could lead-off.  He’s hitting .297 with a .358 OBP.  While he only has 3 steals, and has been caught twice, he’s getting on base.  That’s what the lead-off hitter needs to do.

Middlebrooks is the other issue in the line-up, though he’s starting to find his swing again.  He’s batting .200, with 44 strikeouts to 5 walks.  That is NOT GOOD!  Greg Colbrunn, the Red Sox hitting coach, needs to try and get Middlebrooks timing down and his confidence up.  It would be one thing if Middlebrooks was hitting .200 with a bunch of popouts, groundouts, and sac flies, but he has struck out 44 times!  The only Red Sox player who has struck out more is Napoli (53 times), but he’s still hitting .261 with a .523 slugging percentage to Middlebrooks’ .393.

Nava and Saltalamacchia have been the good surprises this season.  So far, Nava is hitting .288 with a .391 OBP and a .500 SLG.  He has 24 RBIs, which is second most RBIs on the team behind Napoli’s 33.  Salty is hitting .263 with a .333 OBP and a .495 SLG.  Last year, Salty hit .222 with a .288 OBP and a .454 SLG, which the Sox seemed fine with his performance.

Really, this team needs to wake up and realize that they have the potential to be a good, maybe even great, team.  They seemed to have that attitude in April, and it worked for them.  They wanted to be the underdogs that proved everyone wrong.  Now, it seems that as soon as they started to change critics’ minds, they’ve fallen back into pre-season expectations.  I know this team can do better, and I hope they realize they can too.

*********************************************************************************

I’ll be heading to Minneapolis on Friday, and I will be attending the Red Sox-Twins game Saturday night at Target Field.  It looks like it’ll be Dempster starting for the Sox and Diamond for the Twins.  It’ll be my first time seeing Dempster pitch live, and it’ll also be my first time at Target Field.

I’ve already started working on my Twitter-Mania Friday post, so I’m hoping I’ll get it posted before I leave.  Make sure to check back next week for pictures of the game.  Hopefully, the Red Sox remember how to win by then!

Random Thoughts

There are 5 days left until the season starts, roughly 120 hours until the first pitch to the Red Sox’s opening day. I don’t know about you, but I’m excited. I have a few things on my mind regarding this Red Sox team that I thought I would share in this post. Enjoy!

- Jacoby Ellsbury is not in today’s lineup after jamming his ankle on Sunday. It was originally reported that the Sox would give Ellsbury Monday off to rest, there was an off day yesterday, and he should be ready to go today. That’s not the case. I haven’t seen/heard anything to indicate that his injury is more serious, but it’s a little unnerving considering we’re five days away from Opening Day.

- With Ellsbury out of the lineup today, Jackie Bradley Junior will be playing center field and leading off. Bradley’s hitting .444 for Spring Training in 65 plate appearances. He’s making this team. Bradley is by far the most exciting story to come out of Spring Training. With the success of young, exciting players like Mike Trout, Stephen Strasburg, Giancarlo Stanton, and Bryce Harper, the Red Sox really can’t afford to NOT have Bradley on the team.

- The Red Sox are dropping the prices of concessions during April, in a part to lure fans to Fenway. It’s sad, really, that things have gotten so bad that Sox fans won’t want to go to every game. I live in Iowa, and I try to make it to at least one Sox game a year, whether that’s in a city in the Midwest or a chance to head to Boston. If I lived in or around Boston, I’d be going to as many games as possible. Fans love the team, not the drama that has encompassed them the past few years.

- I plan on going to two Red Sox games this year, one in May in Minneapolis and one in September in Boston. The game in Boston will be against the Yankees, which will be a first for me, and I’m really excited about it.

- Jon Lester was officially named the Opening Day starter today. Is this really significant? Not really, considering the Sox have pretty much been going with a rotation of Lester, Buchholz, Dempster, Doubront, and Lackey all of Spring Training.

- There are a few reports out there that David Ortiz won’t be ready til around May 6th (again, estimate). Depending on how quickly Ortiz progresses, the beginning of May does seem likely for a return date. Remember, he needs to get his swing ramped up as well, which Ortiz has said takes about 50 at-bats.

- Kind of getting lost in the shuffle is Stephen Drew. He’s been out with concussion symptoms for weeks now, and he was cleared to resume baseball activities last week. However, it appears Iglesias will be the Opening Day starter at shortstop. If Iglesias takes off, will Drew resort to a bench player, traded, or will Iglesias be sent down to Triple-A?

- My goal is to finish Francona’s book by Monday and get a review out next week. It’s taken me a little bit longer than I would’ve liked. I read before I go to sleep; and most nights lately, I’ve pretty much passed out as soon as I’m in bed. Thank goodness for my (almost) weekly trips to Starbucks to read.

- Speaking of Francona, there's a new video out from the Indians featuring the Sox's former manager.  You've heard of SIRI?  Well, wait to you see TERRi: http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=25874721&c_id=mlb

- Next weekend, April 6th, I’m doing a 5k sponsored by our local Single-A affiliate, the Quad Cities River Bandits (now part of the Astros organization). Here’s the link for the race: http://www.milb.com/news/article.jspymd=20130321&content_id=43071808&vkey=pr_t565&fext=.jsp&sid=t565
It’s pretty cool, the route actually goes through two states (Iowa and Illinois) and goes across 3 bridges. I’m a little nervous about it, since I just completed my first 5k two weeks ago. But, it should be fun. If you live around the area and are interested, sign up.

And that’s about it for now. Hopefully, I’ll get another post out tomorrow or Friday to let you know about my predictions for the season.

Good Times, Bad Times

I first apologize for the title. I’ve been listening to a lot of Godsmack lately, including their cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times, Bad Times.” For those who don’t know, at the beginning of Godsmack’s music video for “Good Times, Bad Times” is a shot of Fenway Park and fans wearing Red Sox apparel. There, I made a Red Sox connection.

Anyway, the title of this post is appropriate. Last night, the Red Sox definitely had some “good times” and “bad times.” Since I want to end on a positive note, I’ll start with the negative aspects. They would include Lester’s performance and Ortiz.

Lester was horrible! No, I did not get to watch the game (had to see “Spiderman,” since I’ve heard so much about it lately. It was good… not sure if it was better than the Tobey Maguire version). When I went into the movie, the score was 2-2 in the first inning. When the movie was finished (as the credits were rolling), the score was 7-5 in the bottom of the 9th with no outs. I held out the slightest bit of hope when I saw that the Sox scored 3 runs in the 8th inning. Yeah, that did a whole lot of good.

Lester’s line for last night’s game was 4.0 innings, 7 hits, 6 runs, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts, and 1 homerun. His season ERA is now 4.80. Now, I could spin this positively and say that it was his first start back after the break, but that’s not an excuse. Lester’s supposed to be the ace of the club, and he hasn’t proven that.

I like Lester; he’s one of my favorites. I find him an inspiration for his battle with cancer (as I have had my own skin-related issues in the past and know how scary it is). I even considered naming my dog “Lester.” However, Lester needs to step it up. It seems like he takes a step forward one start and then a step back the next. Hopefully, he can get this figured out… quickly.

Next up, Ortiz. Ortiz is out for at least a few games (more likely anywhere from a week to a trip on the 15-day DL) with an Achilles injury. An MRI yesterday revealed no tear or rupture, which is a good thing. Papi’s in a walking boot. But, he’s getting a second opinion today. Does this mean the Sox don’t trust their own doctors, or is there something else?

I’m hoping Ortiz is okay and will be back soon; it was such a fluke injury. Plus, as much as I like Nava and want him to succeed, he’s not a designated hitter. Sorry. It’s obvious the Sox are showcasing him for a trade. However, his stock might have fallen last night after going 0-for-3 with a strikeout and leaving 3 on. Hopefully, today goes better for him.

And now, the “good times.” Ellsbury and Crawford, the two outfielders that us fans have been waiting pretty much all season to return, produced last night. Ellsbury went 2-for-5 with a run scored, and Crawford went 3-for-4 with 2 runs scored. All four hits were singles, but they were hits.

The most impressive thing about their outing last night were the steals. Ellsbury had one steal, and Crawford had 3. With them running around the bases like mad men, it’ll make the opposing pitchers and catchers more nervous. Plus, these two will be in scoring position more often than most hitters, purely because they can steal 2nd in a snap.

Morales was moved back into the bullpen yesterday, and I’m torn about this. He’s been a reliable starter this past month, only really having one bad outing. But, he’s really flourished this year, and that’s mainly because of his relief help. Last night, he pitched 1 inning, struck out one, and allowed 0 hits or runs.

Tazawa also was impressive last night. He pitched 4 innings, gave up 4 hits, 1 run, walked none, and had 4 strikeouts. (Why couldn’t Lester do this?). Whether or not the Sox are showcasing Tazawa for a trade or see him as a legitimate piece of their own puzzle, it’s nice to see him doing well. His season ERA is at 0.84.

I also must point out that Youkilis had a 3-run home run off Lester last night in the 4th inning. Again, I’m glad Youkilis is doing well on his new team. I just wish he didn’t do well against the Red Sox. Oh well, round 3 is tonight!

One last thing, I’m going to be heading for vacation this weekend. “Twitter-Mania Friday” will be posted tomorrow, and I’m not sure if I’ll have an additional post tomorrow. I’ll be out of town without my computer until late Monday, so I probably won’t post additional articles until Tuesday.

Welcome Back Youkilis... and Crawford

The White Sox are set to play a four-game series against the Red Sox starting tonight, which means the return of Kevin Youkilis. Youkilis is flourishing with the White Sox, something I’m happy about, even if it is against one of my least favorite teams. It’s now become clear that Youkilis needed out of Boston and things were not good between him and Valentine. I’m excited to see him back at Fenway, to see the crowds reaction, and to see which Red Sox players reach out to him.

Youkilis wrote a letter thanking various people, like the Red Sox organization, Terry Francona, his family, and the fans. Click on this link: http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/red-sox/post/_/id/20866/kevin-youkilis-letter-to-red-sox-nation to view a copy of the letter. It was a classy gesture. I’m sure we’ll be seeing Youkilis in Boston many times in the future, probably at Patriots games.

Carl Crawford is set to make his return to the Red Sox today after spending all season on the disabled list. There’s been a lot of talk about whether or not his elbow will hold up the rest of the year. I hope he’s back and silences the critics. Seriously, this guy was amazing with the Rays for so many years, comes to Boston and has a below average year and is injured for half the second year. He’s bound to bounce back, and I’m excited to see him do it.

Jacoby Ellsbury returned on Friday, and was 6 for 14 with 2 doubles. His average was raised to .275 for the season (I think he has a total of 10 games at the moment). He didn’t have a steal or even an attempt, but that will come. He needed to come and be comfortable at the plate, and he looks like he is just that. I can’t wait until Ellsbury and Crawford are both threats for stolen bases.

Clay Buchholz returned to the Red Sox on Saturday and made a respectable start for a loss. He went 6.1 innings, gave up 4 runs on 3 hits, walked 1, and struck out 8. He also hit a batter. That’s a pretty solid start by for any starter (despite the runs), but especially from coming off the disabled list because he was hospitalized for esophagitis.

But, the important thing was that for the first time all season, I thought Buchholz looked healthy. He looked like he had gained about twenty pounds, which is significant since Buchholz always looks so thin. Buchholz is listed as 6’3” and 190 lbs, but I don’t think he’s every looked like he weighs that much. I have a brother who is 6’3” and is very thin, and he doesn’t weigh anywhere near 190 lbs.

The important thing is the injured Red Sox players are returning; and so far, they are producing. Today brings a whole new batch of Sox players returning, Crawford from the DL and Youk back to Boston as a “rival.” Baseball seems to be fun again for these players, and I think that’s exactly what this team needs.

* I had to note that I knew someone at every game of the Rays-Red Sox series, which is pretty remarkable for living in Iowa and the game being played in Tampa Bay.

Twitter-Mania!!!

As I’ve mentioned before, I joined Twitter, but only to follow Red Sox news (and a few other people/groups). It seems to be the fastest way to get information today, so I caved and joined. As one of my brothers told me this past weekend, since I don’t “tweet,” I’m a lurker and a creeper. So be it then!

Honestly, I don’t find any thrill in broadcasting over the internet/phone every little thing that happens in my life. I probably only post on Facebook 2-3 times a week, and one of those times is on the weekends when I link up the blog to Facebook. But, on the other hand, I have no problem reading “tweets” from other people!

(Just on a side note, I found out recently that the Twitter bird logo’s name is Larry. As in Larry Bird.)

So, for a fun, Friday post, I decided to repost some of the tweets regarding the Red Sox. As a note, not all players are on Twitter. Without further adieu, here are this week’s tweets:

Ken Rosenthal @Ken_Rosenthal
#Tigers averaged 8.7 runs first 3 games against #RedSox. In 16 games since, 3.3. Seventh in AL, behind Bos, Tex, NYY, Cle, TB, Tor.

MLB @MLB
The Red Sox broadcasters spent about a minute last night debating whether mittens have fingers: atmlb.com/JKaq1k

MLB @MLB
Felix Doubront went for the hug. Jarrod Saltalamacchia went for the handshake. Awkward: atmlb.com/lvsUQ4

Red Sox Tweets Info @RedSoxInfo
Middlebrooks earns Player of the Week nod- MLB.com, atmlb.com/IwAyr2 #RedSox

David Ortiz @davidortiz
Good morning everyone beautifull day in Chicago ready to start a 4 game serie with the WS here we go again...go sox34 (*I did not make those typing errors.)

Kelly Shoppach @ShopHouse10
Lou Brown: “If we win one today, that’s two in a row. If we win one tomorrow, that’s
called a winning streak. It has happened before…”

Jacoby Ellsbury @JacobyEllsbury
Nice win to start road trip! 2 huge home runs from @IamCodyRoss

Kevin Millar @KMillar15
Sully from Godsmack enjoying a day off at the house #boysclub #voodoo pic.twitter.com/iHhS7BTG(Yes, I am a Sully Erna/Godsmack fan. I find it interesting that Millar is wearing a Cubs shirt though- Sully is representing Boston though. Here’s the pic:)

Ryan Sweeney @RyanSweeney12
Man it’s great to be back in the Midwest in chi town and hang out with our friends. Family is coming in tomorrow can’t wait! (**Ryan Sweeney did not start in tonight's game.)

Adrian Gonzalez @adriangon28
Great win for us tonight, before I forget tmorrow, just want to wish the Bruins another game 7 series win.

And my favorites of the week:

Mike Aviles @Themikeaviles
So I get in the cab to the field and the cabbie asks me how to get to US Cellular? Should be a fun ride! #adventure (***Before Thursday's game)

Mike Aviles @Themikeaviles
So yesterday I thought I'd get in the cab, I was wrong its today we get lost!!  How hard is it to know the city you're a cabbie in?

What's a Team to Do?

 First, I apologize for not blogging anything this weekend while the Red Sox foundered against the Yankees. It was a busy but great weekend, and I won’t bore you with too many details. I do have to say that I went to a cancer benefit called Cancer Can Kick My Ass (or CCKMA for short) and had a really great time. One of the silent auction items to bid on was four tickets to a New England Patriots game. I wish I had the money to get those tickets AND to get my to Foxborough…. Oh well, still had a great time.

So, I didn’t get to watch Saturday’s game. Since I live in the Midwest, Fox showed the White Sox game instead of the Red Sox-Yankees. That might have been a good thing. I went to a benefit Saturday night anyway, and I was in a great mood when I left. The Sox were up 9-0. When I arrived at the benefit about twenty minutes later, they were down 9-5. When I sat down to eat, it was 9-12. When I was finished eating, I saw the Sox had lost 9-15. How does that happen?!

It happened because of the Red Sox bullpen, which again blew a great start by a pitcher. From the stats and summaries, it appears Doubront pitched a great game, but the relievers were dreadful. Let’s compare:

Pitcher                                       Innings       H     R     ER     BB     SO     HR     ERA
Doubront                                    6.0               4      1      1         3         7        1        3.94
Padilla                                        0.1               4      5      5         1         1        1        9.82
Albers                                        0.0               1       2      1        0         0        1         4.15
Morales, F. (H, 3)                      0.2               2       1      1        0         1        0         6.35
Aceves (BS,2) (L,0-1)               0.0               2       5      5        4         0        0        24.00
Thomas, J.                                 0.2               2       1      1        0         0        0         7.71
Tazawa                                      1.1               1       0      0        0          0       0         0.00
Totals                                         9.0              16     15    14       8         9       3

That’s horrendous! Thanks goodness our first (Doubront) and last (Tazawa) pitchers remembered how to throw the ball to get outs! Aceves is looking almost as bad as Melancon!

And because of this and of no fault to his own, Bard’s start is being skipped. He was originally supposed to start yesterday’s game against the Yankees, but that game was rained out. Bard is now available in the bullpen.

I don’t think this is a good idea, since Bard is doing a good job as a starter and shouldn’t be moved around. But, what can you do? The Red Sox have to stop the bleeding somehow, and this is how the team (whether it was Valentine, Cherington, or the owners) chose to do it. If this helps, I can see Bard becoming the official closer and another pitcher brought in for a starter (Cook at this point and Matsuzaka in 30 days or less).

The Red Sox also traded Michael Bowden to the Cubs for Marlon Byrd. If you remember, Byrd was hit in the face by an Aceves pitch last season and was out for quite some time. Byrd has said that Aceves apologized after that game, and he didn’t think it was on purpose. Byrd is 3-43 this season. That’s a 0.070 batting average.

Maybe a change of scenery will be good for Byrd. Since this is Cubs territory in my part of the Midwest, I’ve heard people talk about Byrd in mostly positive aspects. Plus, Bowden wasn’t doing a thing for the Red Sox. I’m not sure how the trade balances out, but maybe this was Epstein’s olive branch for the defective compensation player the Sox received for him.

Jason Repko, who was brought up to play outfield while Ellsbury is on the DL, also was hurt in this game. Because of this, Lars Anderson was recalled from Triple-A. Yes, Lars Anderson who was the top prospect at one point, was supposed to have taken over playing first base at this point in his career but has instead faltered (which is why the Sox traded for Adrian Gonzalez). Now, Anderson is coming in to play outfield. Interesting.

In fifteen games in Pawtucket this year, Anderson is hitting .255 with 1 home run and 8 RBIs. I guess on the plus-side of things, he can play the outfield and first base. Versatility made be a good thing for this Red Sox team.

Crawford, Ellsbury, and, as much as it pains me to say it, Matsuzaka can not come soon enough to the help the Red Sox. Rich Hill should be coming soon as well to help in relief (if he pitches the way he did last year prior to being injured, he’ll be a Godsend). Andrew Miller’s also rehabbing, but he’s so erratic that I think he should stay in Triple- A as long as he needs. No use sending up another pitcher who lets the ball fly out of the park.

The Red Sox’s struggles should not be all on Valentine; in fact, only a minute part of the blame should be passed on him (mainly, leaving Bard in too long last week). In fact, it’s mostly the pitching’s fault. Buchholz needs to get with the program too. Out of the five starters, he looks the worst. He has a 9.00 ERA in three games (17.00 innings). Out of all the pitchers who have pitched for the Sox this season, only Aceves, Melancon, and Padilla have higher ERAs.

For the next 22 games, the Red Sox play teams that were under .500 last year (Twins and White Sox this week). Hopefully, with this schedule, the Red Sox can right the wrongs and get to at least .500 by the middle of next month. Here’s hoping!

*Also, I’m going to keep the blog going for the time being. I viewed the stats this week, and I’m getting a fair amount of views. I’m not sure if people are actually reading it every day/week/month, but it’s an outlet for me.