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.