Brayan Bello-One Of The Few Reasons To Watch The Sox These Days-Signed A Six-Year Extension

 

    It is hard to fathom how irrelevant the Red Sox have become both across MLB but even in their own home region. Last-place finishes the past two years and three out of the last four campaigns (but who is counting?) will do that to you, even in one of the few great baseball markets left in America. With that said, there is rarely anything to write about this mostly anonymous club. Following their 2018 World Series championship-arguably the greatest team in franchise history-Boston has taken a complete nosedive as their owners have clearly tuned out while the rest of the AL East teams load up year after year. Tell me who they are better than: the Yankees, Orioles, Rays and Blue Jays are all better run and most importantly, they have far superior rosters as well. 

    I made a personal rule a few seasons ago: I will not pay for Red Sox tickets until the ownership group (hi John Henry!) proves that they care once again about more than using Fenway Park as their own personal ATM. Sure, I will take a free ticket a few times a season and have a good time on a nice summer night but other than that, who can possibly devote that much energy to this team that is destined to go nowhere anytime soon? Mercifully, there was a welcome bit of good news yesterday as reports came out that Boston's promising young right-handed pitcher Brayan Bello had agreed to a six-year contract extension worth $55 million with a seventh-year club option for $21 million. 

    In parts of two Major League seasons, Bello has only made 39 career starts and it is not like his numbers will blow you away: 14-19 with 4.37 ERA in 214.1 IP with 187 strikeouts, 72 walks, a 1.46 WHIP and .283 opponents' batting average. Under former GM Chaim Bloom, the Red Sox were trying (quite unsuccessfully I might add) to be the Tampa Bay Rays. This reminds me of a Rays style deal since it is primarily based on potential instead of production thus far. If you have seen Bello pitch, you do not have to be new Red Sox GM (and former MLB reliever) Craig Breslow to recognize his special talent in terms of outstanding stuff. His size won't blow you away (generously listed at 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds) and he will be 25 years old (in Domincan years so he might be 35) on May 17. Still, Boston has so rarely been able to draft and develop starting pitchers-think about the Patriots and wide receivers-that when they finally might have a real one like this, it is a cause for much celebration. 

    With (somewhat) notable free agent signing Lucas Giolito likely headed for yet another Tommy John surgery, the scary part is that Bello might have to be their de facto ace/No. 1 starter from the start of the regular season on March 28 when they kick things off in Seattle. In a perfect world, Bello would only have to be like a third or fourth starter on a good team and not need to feel the pressure right away of being a bad team's stopper from day one. However, maybe part of the thinking for his deal is that it will take some of that stress away from him. Very few guys throw 200+ innings anymore in MLB-somewhere your grandfather rolls over in his grave-so it is notable that Bello logged 157 innings last season across 28 starts. You can bet that even checked out Red Sox manager Alex Cora will be extra cautious with Bello since Boston's rotation is undoubtedly their biggest weakness/question mark heading into this ill-fated season. 

Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz (remember them?) are the most recent quality starting pitchers that the Red Sox drafted and developed through their minor league system, so yeah it has been a minute. Regardless of how Bello performs in 2024, it is unlikely to make that much of a difference in term's of his crappy team's win-loss record. He could be great and an All-Star but that will probably only matter in the bigger picture of all things Red Sox. They are essentially acting like a small market club in the way that most of what they can sell to the fanbase is hope for a brighter future ahead because the present promises to remain rather ugly.

What Rivalry? The Red Sox Traded Alex Verdugo To The Yankees For Three Meh Pitching Prospects

 

    That Mookie Betts trade to the Dodgers continues to haunt the Red Sox as tonight they gave up the one decent part of that deal-outfielder Alex Verdugo-to the Yankees (of all teams!) for three right-handed pitchers that nobody outside of true baseball nerds has ever heard of before now. After four up and down seasons with Boston, Verdugo was moved no doubt because manager Alex Cora and the Red Sox front office were sick of all his unnecessary drama. He was benched not once but twice last season and for a guy that is 27 years old and has been in MLB for seven seasons but never reached a single All-Star Game, you have to cut your losses at some point. Granted, this is only the eighth ever trade between Boston and New York in the Divisional Era (since 1969) so that tells you that the Sox do not think much of Verdugo at this point. 

As always with prospects, I won't sit here and pretend like I know anything about Richard Fitts (NY's #12 prospect according to MLB Pipeline), Greg Weissert or Nicholas Judice. Weissert is 28 and the only one of the three to appear in an MLB game so far: he had a 4.60 ERA over 29 appearances for the Yankees between 2022 and 2023. Fitts who is 23 years old went 18-13 with a 3.57 ERA in 49 career minor league starts over the past two seasons. Judice is only 22 and he was just drafted this past season in the eighth round of the MLB Draft so needless to say, he has not made his MLB debut yet. The way I look at it, these guys are all scratch tickets meaning that there is no way that the Red Sox will hit on all three of them. If they are lucky, two turn out to be serviceable major league arms or one will be really good. 

    Verdugo had the makings of a guy that could have been a star here (well at least when people still cared about baseball and the Red Sox) but he never made that next step beyond just a good player. He is a decent hitter (.264/.324/.745 last season) but he does not possess much power (13 HRs and 54 RBIs in 140 games). He is a good defender-a Gold Glove finalist in left field in 2023-that is versatile enough to play all three outfield positions well. Finally, he has a fiery personality and unique style-two distinct elements which are quite lacking in most MLB players these days. 

    Will Verdugo finally grow up and take the next step in his career with the no fun allowed Yankees? Probably not but it would be so Red Sox for them to bungle this trade with him becoming a better and more consistent player while these three pitchers are never heard from again. The scary part is that Verdugo was one of Boston's top MLB players and the last thing they need is more of a talent drain. Hopefully this is just the start (but I doubt it) for the Red Sox when it comes to making some real moves this winter. Like the Patriots, they have so many issues to address before they can even be considered any type of contender next season and beyond. Good luck, Craig Breslow!

It's The Little Things: Red Sox Pick Up Their 1st 3-Game Win Streak of 2014

Don't look now but there might actually be a reason to tune into the Red Sox this summer besides new material to use to make fun of them. After losing 10 games in a row, Boston (23-29 overall, 11-17 home) has begun to find some stability with three straight wins (last team in MLB to do that) vs. fraudulent Atlanta (28-24 overall, 10-12 away). Tonight, the 2004 Red Sox were honored at Fenway Park (for the second time, don't forget 2008) which served as the perfect opener for a solid 4-0 win by the current iteration over the Braves.

John Lackey (6-3) was excellent (6.1 IP, 0 earned runs, 8 hits, 9 strikeouts, 0 walks) and three relievers got the final eight outs. Neither Lackey nor Jon Lester are aces in the true sense but at least Lackey has been the stopper so far this season when the Red Sox need it. Chris Capuano got out of a bases loaded jam to end the seventh while Junichi Tazawa had a 1-2-3 eighth with two strikeouts and Craig Breslow pitched a scoreless ninth. Koji Uehara started to get loose in the ninth after Breslow gave up a single but thankfully, he wasn't used for the third game in a row.

Atlanta starter Gavin Floyd (0-2) was fine (5 IP, 2 runs, 1 earned run, 6 hits, 3 strikeouts, 3 walks) except that he racked up pitches (106) at a Dice-K pace. Daniel Nava grounded into a double play in the second but a run scored. A.J. Pierzynski (2 for 4) had an RBI single in the third, Jackie Bradley Jr. (2 for 4) added an RBI double in the sixth and Jonny Gomes (2 for 3, 2 runs, walk) capped it with a run-scoring single in the seventh.

Xander Bogaerts continues to rake as he went 3 for 4 with a double, run and walk. Boston was 5 for 14 with runners and scoring position which made up for leaving 11 men on base. Conversely, Atlanta (who has looked terrible most of this series) was 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position and they left 10 on base.

Boston will look to go 4-0 vs. Atlanta and its second consecutive sweep in this bizarre home and home as Jake Peavy (1-2) faces Mike Minor (2-3) tomorrow night (7:10, NESN). Earlier today, Clay Buchholz was put on the DL with a hyperextended knee (wink wink, nudge nudge). Alex Wilson is back from Pawtucket while headcase Buchholz tries to get his mind right.

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Cue the Duckboats, Red Sox Finally Reach .500 Mark Again In 2014!

You know what they say, the ninth time is always the charm. Haha that's how many times it took the Red Sox to reach the .500 mark this season after they went 0-8 when they were one game under .500 following the first couple days. Boston (17-17 overall, 10-11 home) also picked up their first sweep of 2014 as they beat Cincinnati (15-18 overall, 7-11 away) 4-3 tonight at Fenway Park. Granted it was only a two-game set against a banged up and mediocre National League team but the Red Sox will take it and hopefully now they won't look back so they'll continue to climb the standings both in the AL East and AL as a whole.

It was a nice win for the home team for reasons other than what I just led with; they also rallied from two different deficits to come out on top. Skip Schumaker gave the Reds a 2-0 lead with a two-run bomb in the third. It was only the 26th home run of his 10-year MLB career.

Boston tied it in the sixth with a pair of runs on David Ortiz's (2 for 4) RBI single and Mike Napoli's (run, walk) RBI double. Both starting pitchers pitched pretty decently but neither factored into the decision: Mike Leake went seven innings for Cincinnati, allowing two earned runs on eight hits with four strikeouts and two walks while Jake Peavy went six innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits with four strikeouts and four walks.

The Reds took a 3-2 lead in the seventh on a ground out but the Red Sox answered once again with two runs in the eighth. A.J. Pierzynski (2 for 3, walk) sliced a ground-rule RBI double into the right field stands by the Pesky Pole and Will Middlebrooks followed with one of the bigger hits of his young career-an RBI single.

Boston's bullpen was superb with every guy doing his job: Chris Capuano (1 out), Burke Badenhop (2 outs) and Craig Breslow (2-0; scoreless eighth) paved the way for Koji Uehara's first 1-2-3 inning since April 9. Oh by the way, his eighth save of the season was completed by striking out the side.

The Red Sox get their second off day in the last four days (when does that ever happen without a rain out?) before they go to Texas (17-17 overall, 3rd in AL West) for three this weekend then three in Minnesota (15-17 overall, 4th in AL Central). Boston's next game at Fenway isn't until Friday, May 16 vs. Detroit. Boston always seems to struggle in Texas but at least on paper their pitching matchups look OK: Clay Buchholz (2-2) vs. Yu Darvish (2-1) on Friday (8:05), Jon Lester (3-4) vs. Martin Perez (4-2) on Saturday (8:05, NESN) and John Lackey (4-2) takes on Robbie Ross (1-3) Sunday afternoon (3:05, NESN).

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Red Sox Punch Ticket to Their 3rd World Series in 10 Years

The Red Sox are going to face the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2013 World Series, a rematch of 2004, after Boston knocked out Detroit in six truly thrilling games. Tonight at Fenway Park, the Red Sox beat the Tigers 5-2 thanks to a clutch grand slam by Shane Victorino in the seventh inning that put them ahead 5-2. Craig Breslow got a 1-2-3 eighth and ALCS MVP Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts for his third save of the series (plus 1 win). Game 1 of the World Series is Wednesday (8:07, Fox) at Fenway.

The themes built up over the previous five games continued one more time: Max Scherzer (0-1) was excellent (6.1 innings, 3 earned runs, 4 hits, 8 strikeouts, 5 walks) but his bullpen was not. Boston's bullpen was superb, well other than Franklin Morales who allowed a two-run single to Victor Martinez that temporarily put Detroit ahead 2-1 in the sixth. I don't blame Morales as much as John Farrell for that mind-numbing move since Morales is terrible. Oh well, no reason to worry about that blunder too much now. Haha let's just hope Morales isn't on the World Series roster.

Clay Buchholz (5 innings, 2 earned runs, 4 hits, 4 strikeouts, 2 walks) pitched at a snail's pace but he was better than Game 1. After Morales failed, Brandon Workman (who should have been the first reliever) got five outs and Junichi Tazawa (1-0) retired Miguel Cabrera for the third time in the ALCS, in this instance there were runners on first and second with two outs.

Compared to Prince Fielder though, Cabrera had the greatest ALCS in history. Prince proved what a dog he is by hitting .182 in six games with no RBIs. He's gone 20 postseason games without a homer or RBI, how's that even possible? His series was best summed up by him getting caught too far off third then belly flopping five feet short of the bag for a soul-crushing double play.

Jacoby Ellsbury drove in budding superstar Xander Bogaerts (double, two runs, two walks) for a 1-0 Red Sox lead in the fifth. The rookie also drew a key walk vs. Scherzer in the sixth that led to him getting pulled a few batters later and Victorino's memorable grand slam over the Monster. Bogaerts will start every game in the World Series and deservedly so. I'd love to see Will Middlebrooks at third base and Bogaerts at third but Stephen Drew's excellent dive and throw to first likely earned him more leeway despite him being 1-for-20 (even Prince thinks that's bad) with nine strikeouts in the ALCS.

You can't say enough about the importance of not going seven games with Detroit. The Cardinals eliminated the Dodgers last night so they don't have much of a headstart on Boston plus thanks to the stupid All-Star Game, the Red Sox have homefield advantage. Both teams are gunning for their third World Series crown in the last decade and Boston swept St. Louis in 2004 (you might have heard about that). Anything can happen in the World Series but I expect it to be extremely competitive, think ALCS, but the Cardinals are deeper and more fundamentally sound than the Tigers who self-destructed much like the Rays in the ALDS.

This is the 11th time in franchise history that the Red Sox have made the World Series (6-4) and fourth time it is against St. Louis: Cardinals beat them in seven games in 1946 and 1967 before Boston returned the favor nine years ago. Four more wins!

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Red Sox Are 1 Win Away from the 2013 World Series After Another 1-run Victory

All season long, one of the Red Sox' M.O. has been bouncing back from normally crushing losses. That has carried over to the postseason as Boston beat Detroit 4-3 in Game 5 of the ALCS tonight at Comerica Park. Koji Uehara recorded (2nd save of the series, 4th of the postseason) the first five-out save in MLB this October, which featured two strikeouts.

The Red Sox lead the series 3-2 with two chances to win at Fenway Park: Game 6 is Saturday and Game 7 would be Sunday but let's not hope it gets to that.

Two themes from the entire series continued in Boston's favor: they won their third one-run game and it's all thanks to their top-notch relievers. After being basically unhittable in Game 1, Anibal Sanchez (1-1; 6 IP, 4 runs, 3 earned runs, 9 hits, 5 strikeouts, 0 walks) came back to Earth in a big way. Jon Lester (1-1) was also better in Game 1 but tonight was all about surviving. He went 5.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and three walks.

The Red Sox scored all their runs in the first three innings, specifically three in the second and one in the third. Suddenly red-hot Mike Napoli (3 for 4, double, 2 runs) started the surge with a solo homer (his second of the ALCS) to dead center that was estimated to travel 460 feet. Lester's personal catcher David Ross even helped himself at the plate with two hits including an RBI double. Jacoby Ellsbury (walk, 2 stolen bases) reached on an infield single that scored rookie Xander Bogaerts (who batted eighth, started at third base and hit a double). Napoli made it 4-0 on a wild pitch by Sanchez.

Napoli's last run, which turned out to be huge, was a quality baserunning play. Completely different from Miguel Cabrera getting thrown out by Jonny Gomes at home plate in the first to end the first inning. Detroit has to be the slowest team in MLB, that's one thing the Red Sox have tried to exploit. Cabrera did what he does best: he kicked off Detroit's rally with an RBI single in the fifth.

Ross had run over Tigers catcher Alex Avila so he had to leave in the fourth inning with a knee strain. Enter backup catcher Brayan Pena who drove in a run with a single in the sixth. A run scored but Junichi Tazawa did his job by getting Cabrera to ground into a double play in the seventh-one of three turned by the Red Sox in Game 5. Craig Breslow got two outs, one of which was the hopeless Prince Fielder (1 for 4, saw 10 pitches) before Tazawa retired the last five Detroit batters in the game.

Game 6 is a rematch of Game 2 with Max Scherzer taking on Clay Buchholz. Scherzer was incredible but his bullpen totally let the team down as Boston rallied for the 6-5 win. I still like Buchholz's chances to have a good outing given his talent level. You have to feel like the Red Sox have the momentum too since they've won three out of the last four games (2 of 3 in Detroit) to put the Tigers on the brink of elimination.

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Goodnight Rays, Red Sox Advance to their 1st ALCS since 2008

It was not easy but the Red Sox survived Game 4 at Tropicana Field, defeating the Rays 3-1 to win the ALDS 3-1 and advance to their first ALCS since 2008 (10th in franchise history) with their 100th win of the season. Boston now awaits the winner of Game 5 between Oakland and Detroit, which takes place Thursday (8:07, TBS) in Oakland. Those teams are both excellent so I don't really have a preference about who I want Boston to face. Selfishly, I think it'd be more fun to see the A's since they have so many ex-Red Sox in unlikely starring roles.

Jake Peavy (5.2 IP, 5 hits, 1 run, 3 strikeouts, 0 walks) was very good, Craig Breslow (1.2 IP, 1 hit, 4 strikeouts) was incredible and Koji Uehara (4 outs, 2 strikeouts) bounced back from Game 3 to earn his second save of the series. Poor Jeremy Helickson lasted three batters into the second inning before crazy Joe Maddon pulled him out for a conga line (8!) of Rays relievers. Jake McGee (2 runs) and Fernando Rodney (1 run) were the only Tampa Bay pitchers to allow runs.

Boston was 2 for 8 with runners in scoring position and left 10 guys on base. For a while, this felt like another gut-wrenching loss in the making since the Rays went up 1-0 in the sixth when David Dejesus singled in Yunel Escobar (3 hits, double). Never fear though, the Red Sox went ahead with two runs in the seventh: Jacoby Ellsbury (single, walk) stole second while Xander Bogaerts scampered home on a wild pitch. Shane Victorino's infield single scored Ellsbury who has been money all series (9 for 18, 7runs, 2 doubles, 2 RBIs, walk and 4 stolen bases).

The Red Sox added a key insurance run in the ninth as Dustin Pedroia knocked in Bogaerts with a sacrifice fly. Tampa Bay's lack of offense came back to bite them as it always does (6 hits). After he came on with two outs in the eighth-striking out Dejesus-Uehara had a 1-2-3 ninth that ended with a strikeout of Evan Longoria.

Over-the-top clubhouse celebration aside (everyone in MLB does it), this is a remarkable turnaround for Boston who became only the third team in MLB history to finish last one season then win their division series the next. The best part is that this was not a fluke by any means and they're not just happy to be here. They are the team to beat in the American League and MLB as a whole.

Not going back to Boston for a Game 5 vs. Tampa Bay is huge for many reasons: they get extra rest over Detroit and Oakland plus they can use Jon Lester on Saturday in Game 1 of the ALCS at Fenway Park. After back-to-back long nights of baseball and marathon games four out of the last five days, take a break the next few days and enjoy Cardinals-Pirates Game 5 tomorrow night (8:07, TBS) then A's-Tigers Game 5 on Thursday. The Red Sox are four wins away from the 2013 World Series and eight wins away from their third World Series title in 10 years.

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Turns Out We Might Have Been Overestimating The Rays Just a Tad

Listen, it's not over by any means but oh boy, Red Sox fans have to be thrilled with how things have gone so far vs. the Rays. Tonight, Boston beat Tampa Bay 7-4 to take a commanding 2-0 lead (they've outscored them 19-6) in the ALDS and put the Rays on the brink of elimination. Game 3 is Monday night (6:07, TBS) at Tropicana Field as Clay Buchholz faces Alex Cobb.

David Ortiz hit a pair of solo homers (first time he's done that in his career in a playoff game, crazy right?) and David Price (0-1) was awful in what could have been his last start for Tampa Bay: 7+ innings, 7 earned runs on 9 hits with 5 strikeouts and 2 walks. John Lackey (1-0) wasn't great but unlike in the regular season, his teammates picked him up when he needed it (5.1 innings, 4 earned runs, 7 hits, 6 strikeouts, 3 walks) with some ample run support.

In their first somewhat difficult task, the Red Sox bullpen collectively was superb. Craig Breslow got five outs without allowing a hit, Junichi Tazawa pitched a scoreless eighth and Koji Uehara earned his first save with a 1-2-3 ninth with two strikeouts (all 11 pitches were strikes!).

Boston never trailed in Game 2 as they scored twice in the first inning on Dustin Pedroia's sacrifice fly and Ortiz's first long ball. Delmon Young had a sacrifice fly in the second but the Red Sox answered with two more runs in the third on Jacoby Ellsbury's (3 hits, 3 runs, stolen base) RBI double and a groundout by Pedroia.

Stephen Drew extended the lead to 5-1 with an RBI triple in the fourth but James Loney (2 hits) knocked in a pair of runs in the fifth with an RBI double. Pedroia finished his sneaky big performance with an RBI double in the fifth. Scummy Yunel Escobar (2 hits, run) cut it to 6-4 on an RBI single in the sixth but Ortiz's second homer-in the eighth-gave Boston some breathing room not that the bullpen needed it.

The other three series in MLB are all tied 1-1 after two games so the Red Sox are the only team with a chance to sweep their first round opponent. It would be most excellent if they could knock the Rays out and then watch the Tigers and A's go five games. First things first, take care of business on Monday in Tampa Bay.

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Red Sox Will Have To Wait Another Night To Clinch A Playoff Spot, Oh Well

Tonight, the Red Sox had a chance to clinch their first playoff spot since 2009 but they couldn't do it. Boston (92-60 overall, 50-26 home) lost 3-2 to Baltimore (80-70 overall, 38-37 away) at Fenway Park. It also turned out that they needed an Indians loss as well but they won 5-3 at the Royals so I guess it wasn't meant to be after all.

The Red Sox led 2-0 following Dustin Pedroia's lead off homer in the first then a sacrifice fly by Xander Bogaerts in the fourth inning. Orioles starter Scott Feldman was wild (6 walks) but he only allowed the two runs in five innings before giving way to five relievers who combined to put up four shutout innings. Former scrub Tommy Hunter (6-4) got the last two outs in the eighth to earn the win. Baltimore closer Jim Johnson has been very shaky at times this season but he struck out Bogaerts to end it (for his 46th save), stranding pinch-runner Quintin Berry at second base.

I pray that these are the final days of Ryan Dempster in Boston's rotation in 2013 so enjoy the mediocrity while it lasts. He actually pitched well, going six innings and allowing two earned runs on three hits with five strikeouts and four walks. Brian Roberts' grounder scored former Red Sox great Danny Valencia (two walks) in the fifth and Chris Davis tied it with his 51st homer of the season (a new Orioles record), a solo shot to center in the sixth.

Craig Breslow did an incredible job to work out of a jam (runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs) in the eighth without allowing a run. You knew Koji Uehara's (4-1) mind-boggling stretch would end at some point and I'm happy that it occurred in September rather than October. Valencia led off the ninth with a triple against Uehara to end his streak of 37 straight batters retired. Matt Wieters' sacrifice fly meant Uehara allowed his first run since July 7 (30 2/3 innings and 27 scoreless outings ago) and he was charged with his first loss of the season.

Jake Peavy (11-5) and Wei-Yin Chen (7-7) get to do the honors tomorrow night (7:10, NESN). With tonight's victory, Baltimore pulled to within two games of Texas and Tampa Bay for the AL Wild Cards. In other words, this series means plenty to both teams hence why it felt like a playoff game in the opener.

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Red Sox Keep Finding Ways To Win & Quiet The Few Remaining Naysayers

Everyone enjoys winning and the Red Sox have done plenty of that this season but one of the things that has made them so extra enjoyable to watch is that it feels like they're competitive in every single game. Indeed, the Orioles (70-61 overall, 32-32 away) led 3-1 in the seventh inning tonight at Fenway Park but choked that two-run lead away as Boston (79-55 overall, 42-23 home) won their fourth straight contest by a score of 4-3.

There were plenty of heroes for the Red Sox' cause: pinch hitter Mike Carp drove in the winning run-Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, run, walk, 2 stolen bases) with a bloop RBI single to left field. Craig Breslow (4-2) sneaked away with the win after getting the last two outs in the eighth and Koji Uehara had a 1-2-3 ninth with a strikeout for his 14th save of the season.

Early on it was the Chris Davis and Manny Machado show. Davis had an RBI double in the first and he clocked his MLB-best 47th homer in the sixth for a 3-1 O's lead. Machado (2 hits, 2 runs) had a solo homer of his own in the third inning. Boston hung around as Shane Victorino got them on the board with an RBI single in the third and Dustin Pedroia (2 walks) came through with a clutch two-run single in the seventh.

Stephen Drew doubled, walked twice and scored two runs while Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 2 for 4 with a double and run. The Red Sox chased Bud Norris after 5.1 innings, he had only allowed one earned run on five hits but his pitch count was 105. John Lackey lasted two innings more and threw 13 less pitches. It wasn't his best performance but as always, he gave them innings and didn't walk anybody (1 walk).

Boston will try to sweep the series tomorrow night (7:10, NESN) and throw a serious wrench into any plans Baltimore had of making the playoffs for the second year in a row. Jon Lester (12-7) meets Chris Tillman (14-4).

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Red Sox Lose 3-2 In 11 innings To A's In 1st Half Finale But There Is Plenty To Be Excited About

Technically we're well past the halfway point of the 2013 MLB regular season but this afternoon in Oakland represented the unofficial end of the first half as the A's (56-39 overall, 30-15 home) snuck away with a 3-2 win in 11 innings over the Red Sox (58-39 overall, 27-23 away) thanks to Josh Donaldson's walk-off bloop single. Despite losing the series to the A's (2-1), Boston only needs to go 32-33 after the All-Star break to reach 90 wins which is a good marker for possible playoff squads.

With the most wins in MLB, Boston is up 2.5 games on Tampa Bay and 4.5 games on Baltimore for first place in the American League East. Nobody expected them to play this well so far and I mean absolutely nobody. Losing the final two contests in Oakland and scoring a grand total of two runs in those games means that the Red Sox hit the All-Star break at the perfect time.

In his first MLB start, Brandon Workman had a no-hit bid ended in the top of the seventh and no outs when Coco Crisp legged out an infield single. Workman's day was over soon after that but he should be proud of what he accomplished: 6.1 IP, 2 ER, 2 hits, 5 strikeouts and 1 walk. Former Red Sox legend Bartolo Colon (6.1 IP, 2 ER, 8 hits, 4 strikeouts) was nearly as sharp which is impressive since the 2013 All-Star must have been daydreaming about all the food he'll throw down in New York this week.

Boston was 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position and they left nine runners on base so it's not hard to figure out why they lost. Jacoby Ellsbury (3 for 5, run) wrapped up an excellent (minus the vanishing power) first half with another three-hit game. Dustin Pedroia (2 hits, double, walk) put the Red Sox up 1-0 with an RBI single in the sixth and Brock Holt made it 2-0 with an RBI single of his own in the seventh.

The A's only managed five hits as a team with Donaldson providing all the thunder: he tied it with a two-run bomb (438 feet) to dead center off Workman in the seventh.

Fittingly, the Red Sox bullpen was busy. Craig Breslow got five outs and Koji Uehara pitched two scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Matt Thornton's (0-4) Red Sox debut was not a memorable one, at least for the right reasons, as he walked two and allowed Donaldson's game-winning single.

Sean Doolittle got five outs for Oakland then Grant Balfour struck out the side in the ninth. Ryan Cook (2-2) was shaky but he ended up with two scoreless innings after striking out Holt (looking) to end the Top of the 11th with the bases loaded.

I wouldn't say this about many teams in MLB but the Red Sox definitely earned a four day break. Clay Buchholz (still on the DL), David Ortiz and Pedroia head to New York for the All-Star Game at Citi Field while the rest of the team gets a short vacation.

Boston just survived a 10-game road trip (5-5) so when they return to action on Friday, it'll be the start of two series at Fenway Park: three vs. Yankees (51-44 overall, 4th in AL East) and four vs. Rays. Their next home game isn't until July 26 at Baltimore which is only five days before the trade deadline.

Enjoy your time away from baseball (I'm not counting the silly Home Run Derby and All-Star game) although these next four days have to be the worst in the sports calendar every single year with so little going on of any importance.

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I'll Never Badmouth Stephen Drew Again, Haha Yeah Right

When Stephen Drew gets elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame, we'll all remember this night. Haha I'll try again. When the Red Sox win the World Series this October, May 6 will be a game we should point to as a turning point. Ok that's unlikely but at least somewhat in the realm of possibilities.

Boston (21-11 overall, 12-5 home) desperately needed a win after getting humbled and swept by the Rangers this past weekend in Texas. They made it harder on themselves than it had to be since Joel Hanrahan blew a save in the ninth but ultimately the Red Sox got a 6-5 win over Minnesota (13-15 overall, 6-9 away) in 11 innings tonight at Fenway Park. Drew (4 for 5 w/HR, 3 RBIs) was the hero with a walk-off double that scored Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Another reason that the Red Sox couldn't afford a loss is because their ace-Clay Buchholz-was going against a bad team, at home. The reverse lock struck again as Buchholz struggled (relative term) for the first time this season: 6 innings, 4 earned runs, 7 hits, 9 strikeouts, 2 walks.

The Twins actually had a 3-0 lead thanks to an RBI double by Josh Willingham and RBI single by Justin Morneau in the first inning followed by an RBI double by Aaron Hicks in the fourth. Former Phillies great Vance Worley (5 innings, 3 earned runs, 9 hits, 3 strikeouts) couldn't protect the lead. His former teammate Shane Victorino hit his first home run as a Red Sox (to right field) to cut it to 3-1 in the fourth.

Morneau made it 4-1 with a sacrifice fly in the fifth but Drew's RBI single in the fifth, Mike Napoli's RBI single in the sixth and Drew's solo homer to right in the seventh (2nd of the season) tied it at four. Dustin Pedroia also hit his first homer of the season, over the Monster in the eighth to give Boston a 5-4 lead.

With Andrew Bailey placed on the 15-day DL (right biceps strain) earlier today, Craig Breslow was called up from Pawtucket (where he was rehabbing) and he had a 1-2-3 eighth with one strikeout. The road predictably got much bumpier in the ninth where tub of goo Joel Hanrahan couldn't nail down the save against the Twins (great sign). Brian Dozier tied it with a solo shot to center. Later in the inning, Hanrahan left with another injury (he recently recovered from a hamstring issue), what they termed "right forearm tightness." Maybe the Red Sox should stop trading for injury prone closers from terrible teams? Just a thought.

No worries, we all knew that Drew would wind up leading Boston to victory for one fleeting game. His double off the scoreboard on the Monster was a nice moment for a guy that has been a disaster so far in his brief Red Sox career. Clayton Mortensen (1-2) picked up the win with 2.1 scoreless innings of relief.
If Boston is in a save situation tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN), I have no idea who will take the hill. All I know is that Ryan Dempster (2-2) gets the start against young lefty Scott Diamond (2-2).

UPDATE 5/7: Step right up Junichi Tazawa, you're the next Red Sox closer (for a few days at least before you inevitably get hurt or aren't effective)!

UPDATE 5/7: Hanrahan went on the DL again, Allen Webster was called up to start tomorrow night's game and Felix Doubront was sent to the bullpen. Doubront will reportedly be available in relief beginning tonight.

UPDATE 5/9: That tub of goo Hanrahan went on the 60-day DL and he's going to see Dr. James Andrews on Friday so I doubt we'll see him again this season. Webster was sent back to the PawSox and Jose De La Torre was called up. For now, Junichi Tazawa is Boston's closer.

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Red Sox Beat The Rays Again, 7-5 This Time

When the Rays look back on the 2012 season after they miss the playoffs, they can point to the last two nights as one of the main reasons they are watching October on TV like the rest of us slobs. Somehow a nine-inning affair took 4:09 and honestly, it felt like longer than that.

The Red Sox (68-81, 35-38 away) rallied for a 7-5 win tonight at Tropicana Field, the second game in a row that they've beaten Tampa Bay (78-70, 39-34 home) to start this critical series for the sons of Joe Maddon.

Ironically, Boston has won four of five and looks somewhat rejuvenated while Tampa Bay appears lifeless and accepting of the fact that they are done. The Rays have lost seven of their last eight games and four straight. Unbelievably, the Red Sox are 9-5 against the Rays this season, including a 5-2 mark at the Trop.

Felix Doubront (11-9) was effectively wild. In six innings, he allowed three earned runs on one hit with five strikeouts and five walks. After Ben Zobrist's two-run single in the third and Evan Longoria's sacrifice fly, he settled down immensely.

Jeremy Hellickson was kept on a short leash. He went four innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.

The Red Sox chipped away as the Rays struggled to get anything going at the plate (3 hits, 8 walks). James Loney had an RBI single in the fourth then Boston tied it with two in the fifth on Jacoby Ellsbury's RBI single and Dustin Pedroia's sacrifice fly.

The go-ahead run scored on an error by Sean Rodriguez in the sixth. Jarrod Saltalamacchia had an RBI single in the seventh and Ryan Lavarnway (2 hits, run, walk) stroked an opposite field two-run double in the following at bat.

Clayton Mortensen was charged with two runs in the seventh (on a two-run single by Zobrist) but Craig Breslow had a clean eighth inning after inheriting a runner and Andrew Bailey recorded his fifth save with a scoreless ninth.

Cody Ross was 2 for 4 with a double, two runs, a walk and stolen base.

Daisuke Matsuzaka (1-5) faces rookie Chris Archer (0-3) tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) in what amounts to a must-win for Tampa Bay.

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Jacoby Ellsbury's Walk-off Hit Pushes The Red Sox To A 4-3 Win Over The Yankees

For the first time in weeks, maybe months, baseball was fun again for one night at Fenway Park. Jacoby Ellsbury (4 hits, double, 2 RBIs, run, stolen base) celebrated his 29th birthday in style by hitting a walk-off RBI single as the Red Sox beat the Yankees 4-3 in a better than expected series opener.

These games mean nothing on the surface to Boston (64-78, 33-41 home) while New York (79-62, 38-34 away) fell back into a first-place tie in the AL East with the surging Orioles (who beat the Rays 9-2).

Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia (3 hits, 2 RBIs) and Yankees killer Pedro Ciriaco (2 hits, 2 runs) did most of the damage with nine of Boston's 12 hits. The reason the Red Sox won a game (seems weird to write that) is because they were 5 for 12 with runners in scoring position. The Yankees were 1 for 12 which will never get it done when you want to make the playoffs.

Jon Lester (3 earned runs, 5 hits, 5 strikeouts) was extremely wild, issuing seven walks in 5.1 innings but the Red Sox bullpen picked him up. Junichi Tazawa (1.2 scoreless innings) struck out three, Craig Breslow had a scoreless eighth and Andrew Bailey (1-0) earned the win with a scoreless ninth.

Hiroki Kuroda (6.1 innings, 3 earned runs, 8 hits, 6 strikeouts) also had a no-decision but David Robertson (1-7) was the scapegoat for New York since he allowed three hits including Ellsbury's walkoff.

Robinson Cano gave the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the first with a ground out. Ellsbury and Pedroia's RBI singles made it 2-1 Red Sox in the third. Derek Jeter put New York back on top with a two-run double in the sixth. Pedroia (15th of the season, 3rd in 4 games) answered with a solo shot in the home half of the frame, that set the stage for Ellsbury's memorable single to right which scored Ciriaco with the winning run ahead of Ichiro's throw.

Aaron Cook (3-9) faces David Phelps (3-4) tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) in a game that has no chance to match the excitement of this one. I guarantee it.

UPDATE 9/12: Scott Atchison was activated off the 60-Day DL and Franklin Morales went on it to make room on the 40-man roster.

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The Aaron Cook Experiment Settles Into A Predictable Fate

After four good starts in a row since returning from the DL, the wheels have started to fall off for sinkerballer Aaron Cook (2-5). He's struggled in his last three starts (especially the past two) and as a result, hasn't recorded a win since June 29.

Boston (53-52, 27-29 home) weren't able to complete the three-game sweep of Detroit (55-50, 27-29) as the Tigers jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the fifth tonight vs. Cook and held on for a 7-5 win at Fenway Park. It also snapped the Red Sox' four-game win streak.

Cook doesn't walk anybody (4 walks all season) but he also doesn't strike anybody out (4) which means he's pitching to contact. Lately, he's been leaving fastballs and hanging curveballs up in the zone, leading to many home runs. The game got out of reach when Miguel Cabrera (2 hits) hit a two-run homer (26th of the season) over everything in left in the fifth which was followed by Prince Fielder's (2 hits) solo homer to center (17th of the season), making it 6-1 Detroit.

In 4.2 innings, Cook allowed six earned runs on nine hits. Rick Porcello (8-6) usually struggles against the Red Sox and he wasn't great this evening (5.2 innings, 4 earned runs, 8 hits, 6 strikeouts, 2 walks) but he handed it over to a nearly flawless bullpen.

Phil Coke allowed a solo homer to Carl Crawford (2nd of the season) in the seventh to make it 6-5 Detroit but Octavio Dotel (1 inning, 1 strikeout), Joaquin Benoit (1 inning, 1 strikeout) and Jose Valverde (1 inning, 2 strikeouts; 21st save) combined for three perfect innings.

Cody Ross (2 hits) gave Boston a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the first. Brennan Boesch tied it with an RBI single in the fourth then the Tigers scored five runs in the fifth. Austin Jackson added an RBI single and a run scored on Quintin Berry's ground out before the long balls from Cabrera and Fielder.

The Red Sox showed signs of life with three runs in the sixth. Jarrod Saltalamacchia grounded into a double play but a run scored. Pedro Ciriaco and Will Middlebrooks kept the inning alive with RBI singles.

In the eighth, Delmon Young's (2 hits) homer to right (12th of the season), that wrapped around Pesky's pole proved to be a valuable insurance run.

Adrian Gonzalez was 2-for-3 with a run and walk in the loss. Craig Breslow made his first appearance back with the Red Sox (he played with them briefly in 2006) as he was the first guy out of the bullpen. He went 1.1 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out two.

The schedule does the Red Sox a huge favor as the terrible Minnesota Twins (44-60, AL Central) come to Fenway this weekend and they will meet four times. I would normally say that they have to take at least three but we all know that the middling Red Sox will probably win twice.

Jon Lester (5-8) faces rookie Samuel Deduno (2-0) tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) to open the series. Felix Doubront (10-5) gets Brian Duensing (2-6) on Friday night (7:10 p.m., NESN). Clay Buchholz (9-3) opposes rookie Cole De Vries (2-2) on Saturday night (7:10 p.m., NESN) and Josh Beckett (5-9) meets Nick Blackburn (4-6) on Sunday afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN). If Lester and Beckett can't beat the Twins, they might not win another game respectively in 2012.

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Red Sox Mostly Stand Pat At Trade Deadline: Acquire Craig Breslow, Deal Away Lars Anderson In Separate Moves

We all tried to lie to ourselves for the last few weeks but we should have known all along that the Red Sox wouldn't do anything big at the 2012 MLB Trade Deadline. Josh Beckett is still here (although he could be moved in a waiver deal in August) and he'll start tonight against Justin Verlander and the Tigers.

Boston made two minor moves: they traded right-handed reliever Matt Albers and PawSox outfielder Scott Podsednik to the Arizona Diamondbacks for lefty reliever Craig Breslow; PawSox first baseman Lars Anderson was sent to the Cleveland Indians for Double-A knuckleballer Steven Wright (not the comedian), who will report to the Portland Sea Dogs.

A New Haven, CT native and Yale graduate, Breslow actually appeared in 13 games for the Red Sox in 2006 before being released after the season. It seems like ever since then (maybe because Theo Epstein also went to Yale), Boston had always coveted him and tried to bring him back.

He's played for six MLB teams (Padres, Red Sox, Indians, Twins, A's and Diamondbacks) over seven seasons. Understandably given his role, Breslow isn't much of a name nationally but he's been one of the best and most consistent players at his specialized position. His career ERA is 3.02 with a 1.24 WHIP. Earlier in his career, he was regarded as a lefty specialist but now he faces righties as well. In 40 appearances for Arizona this season, he had a 2.70 ERA with 1.18 WHIP and 42 strikeouts in 43.1 innings.

Albers had a misleading 2.29 ERA this season in 39 1/3 innings with 25 strikeouts and 15 walks. He played for Boston the last year and a half after signing as a free agent. After an outstanding first half in 2011, he came crashing back to Earth and while his numbers look good in 2012, Bobby Valentine clearly didn't trust him since he never pitched in late innings or particularly tough situations.

That trade means that Franklin Morales will probably have the chance to go back to the starting rotation since now Boston has three lefties in the bullpen: Breslow, Andrew Miller and Morales.

Podsednik (.387 average in 19 games with the Red Sox) was outstanding in his brief time with Boston this season. However, he's 36 and after he got hurt then rehabbed in Pawtucket, he lost his spot with Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford returning to action. Who knows how much he has left in the tank anyway?

Once upon a time, Anderson was a big-time prospect but playing first base, he was never going to find consistent playing time with Adrian Gonzalez (signed through 2018) ahead of him and light years better to begin with.

The best we can hope is that they can get rid of Beckett via a waiver deal; today was the non-waiver deadline. Until then, please boo him as much as possible if you go to a game that he starts. Boston had a chance to really shake it up but rookie GM Ben Cherington didn't have the balls to find a way to trade Beckett (who has 10-5 veto rights) or something else that would change the chemistry in that toxic clubhouse. So yeah, looks like the Red Sox still aren't going anywhere in 2012. Oh joy.

UPDATE 7/31: Clayton Mortensen was brought up for tonight from Pawtucket since Breslow isn't in town yet.

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