When You Can't Get Brent Lillibridge Out, It's Time To Forfeit The Rest Of The Season

You know the Red Sox are a joke when they let a complete scrub like Brent Lillibridge (a member of the team for 10 games earlier this season) tear them up. In 16 at bats with Boston, he had two hits (both singles).

Tonight, he went 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs as he fell a triple short of a cycle in Cleveland's (53-61, 30-28 home) 5-2 win vs. Boston (56-59, 27-25 away) at Progressive Field. A part of me just died writing the first part of that sentence.

The Red Sox are 33-45 against right-handed pitchers this season, the second worst mark in the American League. That troubling trend continued as the legendary Zach McAllister (5-4) spun a gem against them. He went eight innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits with four strikeouts and no walks.

Closer Chris Perez got his second save (31st overall) in three games with a clean ninth inning.

Boston did their part to hand over the game by running into two crucial outs. Dustin Pedroia was thrown out at home by a mile in the fourth inning after Adrian Gonzalez's two-run double. All the runners were bunched up, not sure how that happened or why third base coach Jerry Royster decided to send him with one out in the inning. Then Jacoby Ellsbury (2 doubles, run) led off the sixth with a double that he tried to stretch into a triple. He was hustling so you can't hate on that too much but you never want to commit the first out especially in a tie game (2-2).

Franklin Morales (3-3) was alright, his biggest flaw was racking up a Dice-K-esque 108 pitches in 5.1 innings. His stuff wasn't bad since he allowed three earned runs on two hits with six strikeouts and four walks.

Lillibridge hit his first home run in over a year, a no-doubter to left field in the third which gave the Indians a 1-0 lead. He tied it in the fifth with an RBI single which was followed by single runs for Cleveland in the sixth, seventh and eighth. Michael Brantley had a sacrifice fly, Lou Marson sacrificed to the pitcher and Ezequiel Carrera added an RBI single.

Boston goes for the four-game split tomorrow afternoon (1:05 p.m., NESN) and Cleveland attempts to win the series (3-1) as Jon Lester (5-10) opposes rookie Corey Kluber (0-0). If this Red Sox team has taught us anything, it is to expect the absolute worst in any situation both on and off the field. So yeah, that is where my head is at.

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Ubaldo Jimenez Goes Back To Being An Ace, For 1 Night Only-Against The Red Sox Of Course

Good or bad, the Red Sox will find a way to lose to virtually any kind of team in 2012. Their season to nowhere-copyright me-journeyed to Cleveland tonight with the Indians (52-60, 29-27 home) taking a 5-3 decision in the series opener at Progressive Field.

Boston (55-58, 26-24 away) repeatedly shot themselves in the foot by going 1-for-13 (I didn't think that was possible before I watched this team) with runners in scoring position and leaving seven men on base. It's the first time the Red Sox have fallen three games under .500 since June 11. Expect that loss column to keep going up like the price of gas around the U.S.

Ubaldo Jimenez's (9-11) ERA is 5.25 but that didn't stop him from striking out 10 batters this evening. The former Rockies ace who has dropped off a cliff since being traded to Cleveland, held Boston to three earned runs over six innings with one walk and one home run allowed.

That sound you heard a few weeks ago was Felix Doubront (10-6) hitting the wall since he's pitching way more innings than he ever has in one MLB season. In a measly 4.1 innings, he allowed four earned runs on seven hits with four strikeouts, two walks and one home run allowed.

Fresh up from the minors, Jason Donald (2 runs, walk, stolen base) led off the bottom of the first with his inaugural homer of 2012. Adrian Gonzalez (12th of the season) grabbed the lead for Boston with a two-run bomb in the fourth and Dustin Pedroia-a DH for the first time in his career-added an RBI single in the fifth for the Red Sox. Of course, that would be their final run and Gonzalez left in the eighth after getting hit in the thigh.

Asdrubal Cabera's (run, walk) RBI double and Carlos Santana's (2 hits, walk) RBI single in the fifth tied it at three. Michael Brantley's sacrifice fly later in the inning put the Tribe up for good and Donald's ground out in the eighth was an insurance run.

Jacoby Ellsbury had a single, run, walk and stole three bases (they remembered he's fast!) and Pedro Ciriaco was 2-for-4 with a double in the loss.

The Indians bullpen had things locked down on the Red Sox with Tony Sipp pitching a clean seventh, Vinnie Pestano with a scoreless eighth (his MLB-leading 31st hold) and Chris Perez had a 1-2-3 ninth (on 13 pitches) for his 30th save of the season.

Clay Buchholz (9-3) faces Chris Seddon (0-0) tomorrow night (7:05 p.m., NESN). Buchholz is Boston's only reliable starter at this point and Seddon is making only his second start of the season, so if the Red Sox are going to win a game this weekend-I would put my money on that one.

In other Red Sox news, the team re-signed outfielder Scott Podsednik, who was traded to Arizona with Matt Albers but never reported. Ryan Kalish was sent down to Pawtucket to make room for him on the roster.

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Cleveland rocks (or so I've been told)

Sooner or later in 2011, the Cleveland Indians will come back to Earth. Right? Maybe not for MLB's surprise top team.

For the fourth time this season in four games at Cleveland's Progressive Field, the Indians (30-15) beat the Red Sox (25-22). Last night, the Tribe rallied for a 3-2 win as Daniel Bard (1-4) once again failed to get the job done.

Bard deserves blame since he you know, threw the pitches. However, Red Sox manager Terry Francona should get some heat too since he had Bard face Asdrubal Cabrera (who was 5 for 5 on Sunday and had hit a solo homer earlier last night) with first base open and a struggling Shin-Soo Choo up next.

Cabrera hit an RBI double off Bard which scored Michael Brantley (who had tied it with an RBI single) with the winning run in the eighth.

Indians closer Chris Perez worked around two hits in the ninth to get his 13th save of the season. Carl Crawford ended the game by grounding into a double play.

Clay Buchholz started for Boston and yet again, he shut down the opposition enough to earn a win. He went 7.1 innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs and two walks with four strikeouts. He was pulled after 94 pitches since he threw an obscene 127 in his last start.

Former Red Sox pitcher Justin Masteron (who went to Cleveland in the Victor Martinez trade on July 31, 2009) continued to baffle his old team. He also got a no decision but he pitched well. He went 7.2 innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs with two walks and three strikeouts.

Dustin Pedroia gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead in the third with an RBI single that scored Crawford.

Cabrera tied it up with his 10th homer of the season in the fourth inning.

Crawford answered with just his second homer of the season-solo of course-in the fifth.

Tonight figures to be another pitcher's duel as Josh Beckett opposes Fausto Carmona.

OK this is starting to get funny

At this point, you have to laugh. The Boston Red Sox are off to their worst start since 1945 and they seem to find a more ridiculous way to lose each day or night.

Yesterday afternoon, Jon Lester and Fausto Carmona had a classic pitcher's duel in the series finale at Progressive Field.

Cleveland (4-2) pushed across a run in the eighth inning as Asdrubal Cabrera put down a squeeze bunt which scored Adam Everett. That 1-0 lead turned out to be the only run that was necessary as the Indians held on for a 1-0 win and a series sweep of the Red Sox (0-6).

Lester (0-1) deserved a better fate in his second start of the season. He went seven scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and three walks while striking out nine.

Carmona matched him. He also went seven innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out four.

Daniel Bard (0-2) took the loss after walking Everett, who stole second base then advanced to third on a sacrifice by Orlando Cabrera (small ball!).

This excruciating loss wouldn't be complete with a baserunning gaffe to end it.

David Ortiz walked with two outs against Indians closer Chris Perez and Darnell McDonald pinch ran for him. J.D. Drew hit a hot shot off Perez but McDonald took a big turn around second base and fell down. He couldn't recover in time and was thrown out at second on a heads up play. Haha, that's how it ended.

Perez earned his second save of the season with that big mistake.

Well things can only get better, right? The Red Sox come home for Opening Day at Fenway Park (your favorite theme park). All the frauds and big money bozos will be in the house so I wouldn't be surprised if those clueless idiots don't even really boo the team like they should.

John Lackey takes on Phil Hughes this afternoon. Look at it like this: if New York wins two of three this weekend, Boston will be 1-8. God forbid if the Yankees sweep, Boston will be 0-9. Oh my. Needless to say, it's long past the time to wake up and start playing.

Let's all kick the Boston Red Sox while they're down

Well another game went by last night and the Boston Red Sox are still 0-for-2011 in the win department.

This latest installment was perhaps the most embarrassing since the Red Sox (0-4) lost to the Cleveland Indians and something named a Josh Tomlin completely shut them down for seven innings in a 3-1 loss at mostly empty Progressive Field.

Josh Beckett (5 innings, 5 hits, 3 earned runs, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts) proved once again that he'll never be anything close to the stud that he was in 2003 and 2007. He racked up 106 pitches in five innings against Cleveland's (2-2) Triple A lineup and his night was over.

I can't say that Tomlin had great stuff (7 innings, 3 hits, 1 earned run, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts) since Boston helped him out by nervously swinging early in counts (see: 91 pitches in 7 innings of work).

The lone highlights (if you can call them that) for Boston's neutered offense was two hits from Dustin Pedroia and Jarrod Saltalamacchia's RBI single in the second inning (his first hit of the season) which gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead. David Ortiz scored the run but J.D. Drew got thrown out at the plate by a money throw from Shin-Soo Choo.

The Indians got Beckett's pitch count up and scrapped for two runs in the fourth and one in the fifth. Old friend (especially to Red Sox wives) Orlando Cabrera had an RBI single to tie it. Then Jack Hannahan had an RBI single and Carlos Santana hit a sacrifice fly.

Boston wasted three perfect innings from Matt Albers, Bobby Jenks and Daniel Bard (who combined for eight strikeouts and no hits).

Cleveland reliever Tony Sipp only needed seven pitches (are you kidding me?) to get through the eighth before closer Chris Perez nailed down his first save of the season.

The Red Sox looked like they might rally in the ninth as Pedoria got a single and Youkilis walked with two outs but Ortiz flew out to left on Perez's 27th pitch.

It has come to this: Daisuke Matsuzaka vs. Mitch Talbot tonight as Boston still searches for its first win of the 2011 season.