With Nothing Left To Play For In '23, Red Sox Get A Jump On The Offseason By Firing Chaim Bloom

 

    On the precipice of possibly their third last-place finish in the past four seasons and with playoff baseball only a memory, the Red Sox (74-72) had no other choice this afternoon than to fire chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom. Other than 2021's improbable run to the ALCS (where they fell to Houston in six games), Bloom has done his best to steer this once proud franchise straight into the ground. Of course, this mess was never all his fault since principal owner John Henry, chairman Tom Werner and president Sam Kennedy need to show much more dedication to putting a winning product on the baseball diamond instead of focusing most of their time and efforts (and hefty bank accounts) on other sports ventures. Still, what a disappointment and fraud that Bloom turned out to be: he worked in Tampa Bay for 15 years but never in a huge role so it should not have been a surprise that he was not built for this lofty position.

    We were told that Bloom was one of if not the best nerd in MLB and that could not be further from the truth. Sure, he went to Yale but all he seems to care about is building a farm system while results with the major league team were secondary and not all that important. Ironically, Boston's minor league teams are not in much better shape than they were before Bloom. Did he ever realize that the Red Sox are in one of the biggest markets (and few places that still cares about baseball) and not in Tampa where nobody pays attention or cares so you can be an anonymous robot lurking in the shadows and basically playing fantasy baseball with your dweeby buddies? Baseball America rankings mean nothing in the real world but don't tell that to Bloom and his pals.

    No matter who is the next nerd to replace Bloom-and get over it, MLB is riddled with dorks in powerful spots-Boston will never get back to being a perennial power without the owners buying in once again. It is empty talk at press conferences when people like Kennedy go on about how winning the World Series is important, the fans deserve this or that, blah blah blah. Sports fans in New England are not stupid and all you needed to see this week were Red Sox-Yankees (73-73) tickets going for $1 as the former best rivalry in baseball is relegated to a complete afterthought. Did I mention that the stands have been mostly empty this week for these games? Nevermind that Monday and Wednesday's contests were both rained out so there were doubleheaders on Tuesday and today but could you have ever imagined that it would come to this? 

    Looking around MLB, it is quite possible to win at the Major League level and also produce top talent that can both help you win said games while simultaneously helping to acquire the needed pieces to win a World Series title. Just ask the Dodgers (88-57), Braves (96-50) and Astros (83-64) who have been able to do both things at the same time, what a concept! There is no salary cap in MLB so it is imperative that the Red Sox owners remember that and use their financial advantages to get back on top. Ben Cherington, Dave Dombrowski and Bloom all basically got the same amount of time before they were fired from the Red Sox. 

    Regardless of who gets this very important job next, the bottom line is that Boston has to have a clear and focused plan starting from the top. Too often in recent years, they appear reactionary instead of trusting their decision makers and most importantly, backing them up with blank checks. Finally, Boston manager Alex Cora won his death match with Bloom and he might actually be the rare guy who survives a regime change. Typically, a new GM or chief baseball officer will handpick their own manager so we will have to wait and see if Cora makes it much longer than his buddy Chaim. 

On The Eve Of The MLB Trade Deadline, The Red Sox Flipped Christian Vazquez To The Astros

 

    With the Red Sox (52-52 overall, 26-25 road) firmly going nowhere this season, they finally started to make some notable moves with the MLB Trade Deadline now less than 24 hours away (Tuesday night at 6 pm EST). Ironically, they opened a three-game series tonight in Houston (67-37 overall, 33-16 home) and actually beat the Astros 3-2 but the move that the Red Sox made right before the game was particularly memorable since it involved catcher Christian Vazquez going to Houston. The homegrown catcher who is having a career-year offensively, was dealt for a pair of minor leaguers: infielder Enmanuel Valdez and outfielder Wilyer Abreu. I will not pretend to know anything about either of those guys but apparently, they are both supposed to be pretty good (at the Triple A and Double A levels respectively). 

    He nearly made his first All-Star team this season as the 31-year-old Vazquez is batting .282/.327/.432 with eight home runs and 42 RBIs. Heading into free agency this winter, he was an obvious asset to use since catcher is one of Houston's only weaknesses as they seek another World Series title. It's a good move personally for him since he will get to go for his second championship and cash in after he helped Boston win the 2018 World Series. The scary part for the Red Sox is that they have absolutely no other decent catcher at the Major League level (haha Kevin Plawecki is the definition of a terrible backup catcher at best in MLB) or in chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom's beloved farm system. The role of catcher has become pretty irrelevant at least offensively as evidenced by the fact that Vazquez is one of the better hitting catchers in the game these days. He was known much more for his defensive prowess when he made his Red Sox debut in 2014 but as the years have gone on, his bat has gotten way better (in 2019 he topped out with 23 HRs and 72 RBIs). 

    In the other two much less important moves of the day, Boston acquired outfielder Tommy Pham from the Reds for a player to be named later or cash considerations. Also, they traded their crappy lefty reliever Jake Diekman to the White Sox for a backup catcher who stinks named Reece McGuire. Rumors have swirled for weeks with Boston's season going down the drain that starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi (who pitched really well tonight) and designated hitter J.D. Martinez are the other biggest names that could be moved before the deadline now that (thankfully) third baseman Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts are both said to be off the table. The addition of a third Wild Card team in the playoffs makes some people want to believe that the Red Sox are still in it since they are only three games out of that last spot but if you've watched this team at all in 2022, there is a reason (or rather many) that they are in last place in the AL East.

    Nobody needs a better deadline than Bloom since the shine has quickly come off of him in what has all the makings of a lost season. From what we can tell (since we rarely see that robot or hear from him), he still thinks that he works for the Tampa Bay Rays and operates on a shoestring budget with a media and fan base that is non-existent and therefore does not care. Baseball in general and the Red Sox certainly are not what they used to be in terms of relevance both nationally and locally but this is one of the few markets where it does still matter. With their basically unlimited payroll, Boston should never be this average (if you're being nice) or fatally flawed. It is wonderful that he has built their minor league clubs up (apparently) but so far, many of his top prospects have performed like far from gamechangers when they have finally reached the Red Sox. The Dodgers have also proven lately that you can be a World Series contender every year while still fielding a great farm system as well. Losing Vazquez stings and he is another guy (much like Kyle Schwarber with the Phillies and Hunter Renfroe with the Brewers this season) who will immediately do well on another better team than Boston. The clock is ticking on Bloom, he has to turn things around soon or else they will need to go in another direction ASAP before things get damaged any further.

The Astros Blanked The Red Sox 5-0 To Reach The World Series For The Third Time In Five Years

 

    The improbable 2021 postseason ride for the Red Sox ended abruptly tonight at Minute Maid Park as the Astros shut them out 5-0 in Game 6 of the ALCS. Houston advances to their third World Series in five years so it's safe to say that the better team ultimately won. It was quite a turnaround after the Sox led the ALCS 2-1 with their offense seemingly firing on all cylanders. Since then, they were blown out 9-2 in Game 4 after giving up seven runs in the ninth inning and they were embarrassed 9-1 in Game 5. Are you sensing a pattern here? Boston's bats went completely silent one last time as they could only manage two total hits and two walks against rookie Luis Garcia (5.2 IP, 1 hit, 7 Ks, 1 BB) and four Astros relievers. Houston will face either the Braves or the Dodgers in the World Series starting on Tuesday night, Atlanta currently leads the NLCS 3-2 with Game 6 tomorrow night (8:08, TBS). 

    With Boston sports fans high expectations, any season that doesn't end in a championship is always a disappointment but if we take a step back, you have to remember where these Red Sox were coming from after last year's nightmare Covid-19 season. They overachieved and it is pretty remarkable that they got this far with all their obvious issues and shortcomings. Let's hope this run inspires Boston's chief robot nerd Chaim Bloom to invest some money in starting pitching, relievers and even a few veteran utility players. This group can no longer sneak up on anyone and likewise, their expectations for next season will be way higher so the Red Sox will have to find more talent because the gap between them and the Astros was sizable as the three straight losses to close the series proved. 

    There were signs right away that this wouldn't be Boston's night as center fielder Kike Hernandez (who was incredible in the playoffs) dropped a long fly ball by DH and ALCS MVP Yordan Alvarez (4-for-4, 2 runs, 2B, 3B, RBI) in the first inning that scored Houston third baseman Alex Bregman. Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi (4.1 IP, 1 ER, 4 Ks, 1 BB) pitched well enough in a very tough spot but his teammates completely let him down. Hernandez barely missed another home run by mere inches in the sixth inning as his triple hit just below the yellow line on the left center field wall. Unfortunately, there were already two outs so the next batter-third baseman Rafael Devers-popped up to strand Kike at third base with Boston's best scoring chance of the evening.

    Alvarez scored on a double play ball in the bottom of the sixth inning for a 2-0 Houston lead and the Astros officially sealed it in the eighth inning when right fielder Kyle Tucker hit a three-run bomb to left field off Boston reliever Adam Ottavino that plated Alvarez and shortstop Carlos Correa. It was such a crazy season for the Red Sox in terms of some awesome highs and many terrible lows. However, I think the lasting memory from this year's club is that they helped bring (some) people back to the team. Particularly in October, they were wildly entertaining and hopefully this season will serve as a springboard for future campaigns and more titles. The Patriots (2-4) are not winning a Super Bowl anytime soon, the Celtics (0-2) appear to be regressing and the Bruins (2-1) are good but they will fold in the playoffs as usual so believe it or not, I think the Sox are the closest Boston team to a title (unless you count the Revs but who really does?). Baseball will never be what it once was in terms of popularity both here and in other markets but at its core, Boston is still a baseball city when the Red Sox are at least competitive. 

The Red Sox Took A 2-1 Series Lead After A 12-3 Demolition Of The Astros In Game 3 Of The ALCS

 

    So it turns out even in the weird time of openers and starting pitchers being less coveted than ever in MLB that they actually do still matter more than the analytics nerds want you to believe. Just ask the Astros who currently are in full scramble mode without hardly any legitimate starters left to turn to in the ALCS. The result is that the Red Sox destroyed them 12-3 tonight in Game 3 at Fenway Park. For those keeping track, Boston has outscored Houston 21-8 in Games 2 and 3 to take a 2-1 series lead with the next two games also at Fenway the following two nights. 

    This one was over fast since the Sox scored six runs in the second inning keyed by first baseman Kyle Schwarber's grand slam (the MLB record third of the playoffs for the Sox and his first HR of this round) that came on a 3-0 pitcher from Astros starter Jose Urquidy who had last appeared on Oct. 3 vs. Oakland-the regular season finale. Boston tacked on three more runs in the third inning and cruised from there as their starter Eduardo Rodriguez (6 IP, 3 ER, 5 hits, 7 Ks, 0 BBs) was superb except for a harmless three-run bomb allowed to Houston's promising young right fielder Kyle Tucker in the fourth inning when his team trailed 9-0. 

    The first two runs for the Red Sox came on an RBI single by catcher Christian Vazquez that plated left fielder Alex Verdugo then DH J.D. Martinez came around to score on a ground out. Vazquez added another RBI single in the third that scored right fielder Hunter Renfroe then second baseman Christian Arroyo hit a line drive that just cleared the Green Monster for a two-run homer (his 1st of the series). No matter what scrub reliever that Astros manager Dusty Baker used (and he inserted five of them after Urquidy was done in the second inning), it hardly mattered as Boston scored more runs off of four of them. 

    Martinez crushed a two-run homer (his second of the series) of his own that went over the Monster in the sixth inning which scored third baseman Rafael Devers. Raffy put the final exclamation on an evening full of fireworks with an opposite field shot over the Monster in the eighth inning-also his second home run of the series. That vaunted Houston offense never really showed up in Game 3 as a trio of Red Sox relievers-Hansel Robles, Martin Perez and Hirokazu Sawamura-each pitched scoreless frames on 12 pitches or less. You can't overstate how important E-Rod's performance was in terms of saving the bullpen for other games.   

    I don't believe it's hyperbole to say that Game 4 tomorrow night (8:08, FS1) is basically a must-win for the Astros. Their pitching is in shambles therefore I can't see them reeling off three consecutive wins against Boston's on fire offense. Nick Pivetta gets his first start of the postseason for the Red Sox against the ghost of Zack Greinke who like Urquidy before tonight's beating hasn't appeared yet in the playoffs. Haha what could possibly go wrong there? Improbably, the Sox are only two wins away from the World Series and if they take care of business at Fenway these next few games, they won't even have to return to Houston.

Red Sox Earn The Split In Houston With A 9-5 Victory In Game 2 Behind A Pair Of Grand Slams

 

    Coming into the ALCS, we were all fearful of Houston's lethal offense and for good reason: they are deep and loaded with playoff experience. At the same time, we also have to recognize that Boston's lineup is just as dangerous as illustarted by today's 9-5 win by the Red Sox in Game 2 at Minute Maid Park. With that important victory, the series heads to Boston tied 1-1 with the next three games at Fenway Park. The final score is a bit misleading since Boston was up 8-0 in the second inning after a grand slams by DH J.D. Martinez and third baseman Rafael Devers (the first time in MLB history that a team hit two grand slams in the same playoff game) in consecutive frames. Boston's center fielder Kike Hernandez continued to be the hottest hitter on the planet as he crushed his fifth home run of the postseason (tying a Red Sox record for most HRs in an entire postseason) and Nathan Eovaldi (5.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 hits, 3 Ks, 1 BB) gave the Sox another solid outing.

    Houston's rookie starting pitcher Leury Garcia was no match for Eovaldi as he only lasted 1+ inning before he was pulled with a fake injury (right knee discomfort). Former Rays great Jake Odorizzi followed Garcia and he also got knocked around as he allowed four earned runs and seven hits in four innings. Martinez's grand slam went to the opposite field as it scored first baseman Kyle Schwarber, Devers and Verdugo. Devers' grand slam in the next inning landed in a similar spot down the right field line and it plated catcher Kevin Plawecki, second baseman Christian Arroyo and Hernandez. Both of those memorable blasts were the first home runs of the series for Martinez and Devers while Hernandez already has three in the first two games against the Astros following his solo shot to left field in the fourth inning. 

    Houston got on the board in the fourth with an RBI double from right fielder Kyle Tucker that scored DH Yordan Alvarez. First baseman Yuli Gurriel followed with a two-run single that brought in shortstop Carlos Correa and Tucker. Red Sox manager Alex Cora's bullpen was good at first as Northeastern's Adam Ottavino got the last two outs in the sixth inning before the superb Garrett Whitlock pitched two scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts. Lefty scrub Darwinzon Hernandez came on in the ninth inning with a 9-3 advantage but it was not nearly enough as he gave up solo home runs to Gurriel and pinch hitter Jason Castro. This forced Cora to bring in Ryan Brasier who retired Astros second baseman Jose Altuve on a deep fly ball to center field to end it. Whew. 

    I'm not saying it's going to happen since I believe that Houston is a better team than Tampa Bay but the Rays did win Game 1 of the ALDS before losing Game 2 at home and coming to Boston where they lost Games 3 and 4 to get eliminated from the playoffs. With three games in three days at Fenway starting on Monday night (8:08, FS1), the Sox have a wonderful opportunity to take control of this series and put themselves in a great position to reach yet another World Series. Including the Wild Card game vs. the Yankees, Boston is 3-0 at home this postseason and it should be an awesome atmosphere for these pivotal ALCS contests against a budding rival.

Martin Perez Throws A Gem To Help The Red Sox Avoid A Four-Game Sweep In Houston & Win 5-1

 

    After losing their first three games of the series in Houston (31-25 overall, 20-13 home) and scoring a grand total of four runs in said defeats, the Red Sox (33-23 overall, 17-10 away) were in desperate need of a win this afternoon at Minute Maid Park. Boston's fifth starter Martin Perez (4-2)-who has been sneaky good all season-picked a great time to have his best outing in two years with the Sox. He went 7.2 scoreless innings (his longest outing since May 2, 2019), striking out four and walking only one as Boston won 5-1. Considering that this week-long road trip continues this weekend in New York with their first series against the Yankees (31-26 overall), this was one of the more meaningful victories so far in 2021 for the Red Sox. 

    Astros starter Jake Odorizzi (3 IP, 3 ER, 2 Ks, 3 BBs) wasn't nearly as economical with his pitches as Perez was, Boston's starter only needed 82 pitches to come four outs away from a complete game while the former Ray and Twin labored through 76 pitches in less than half as many innings of work. All of the Red Sox' offense came from two swings of the bat: second baseman Christian Arroyo hit a three-run home run to left field in the second inning that just reached the seats. Third baseman Rafael Devers (2B, two BBs) and right fielder Hunter Renfroe (1B, BB) scored on Arroyo's first homer of the season/as a Red Sox. Shortstop Xander Bogaerts was in his first extended slump of this campaign (0-for-24) at the plate but hopefully he broke out of it with a two-run double in the seventh inning that plated DH J.D. Martinez (two 2Bs) and left fielder Alex Verdugo (two BBs, 1B). 

    Red Sox manager Alex Cora got ejected earlier in the game for dumping on home plate umpire Lance Barrett's terrible strike zone. I mention this only because bench coach Will Venable was in charge when the time came to either pull Perez or let him try to get out of his first jam of the day (runners on 1st and 2nd). Venable took the cautious approach and lifted Perez in favor of Northeastern's Adam Ottavino who got Houston star Alex Bregman to fly out to center to end the threat. Brandon Workman is back with the Red Sox and he made his first appearance of the season in the ninth. Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel (3-for-4) hit a solo home run to left (his 8th of the season) but it only meant that the Sox would not get a shutout, oh well. 

    While the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry isn't what it used to be, it is still one of the best in MLB, especially when they haven't met for the first two months of the regular season. Just like the old days, it will get the primetime TV slots: Nathan Eovaldi (6-2) goes for the Sox tomorrow night (7:05, NESN) vs. TBA; on Saturday night (7:15, FOX), it will be the struggling Eduardo Rodriguez (5-4) against Jameson Taillon (1-4); for Sunday Night Baseball (7:08, ESPN) Garrett Richards (4-4) takes on Domingo German (4-3). Boston enters the three-game set with a 2.5-game lead on New York with a game in hand. After today's 9-2 loss to the first-place Rays (36-22 overall and 2 games ahead of the Sox), the Yanks are 3-7 in their last 10 games while the Red Sox are 5-5 in their last 10. Boston also lucked out that NY's ace Gerrit Cole (6-3) pitched this afternoon so they won't being seeing him in action this weekend. Two out of three wins in the Bronx is what I'm realistically wishing for and I think that is an attainable goal for the Red Sox.

Red Sox Finally End Their Fake Manager Search & Rehire Alex Cora Like We All Knew They Would

 

    Quick question, who was the Red Sox manager in the utterly forgettable 60-game season of the 2020 Covid-19 campaign? Answer: good old Ron Roenicke. Thankfully nobody was watching since the team was a wretched 24-36 as they didn't even pretend to try to win. Sadly, they couldn't even tank properly in the shortest regular season in MLB history and thus earn the No. 1 pick (it would have been a 1st in franchise history) in the 2021 MLB Draft. Well the pandemic is still here in a big way and despite having our Presidential Election on Tuesday, as I write this late on Friday night, the race still hasn't been officially called in favor of Joe Biden but it's getting mighty close my friends. Anywho, back to the Sox who did their classic Friday night news dump (bonus points for having the balls to do it during this national nightmare) this evening with the much-expected announcement that Alex Cora is back from purgatory to manage the team. He gets a two-year deal with a two-year club option for 2023 and 2024.

    Alex picked a perfect time to get punished for cheating with the 2017 Astros (when he was their bench coach) by skipping out on this fake season. Boston had no choice but to fire him in January after all the sordid revelations (and most importantly for the Red Sox owners: bad publicity) came to light. The Red Sox and MLB in general have plenty of issues to get back to relevance since nobody under the age of 95 watches or cares about baseball even a little bit but for Boston, this was a most obvious quick fix. Let's be real, managers in MLB have very little to do with winning or losing, they are more like the figure heads of their franchises. They need to make sure the star players are happy and keep everyone else's spirits up while the nerds in the team's analytics departments give them lengthy print outs to closely follow in each game. 

    Look no further than the 2020 World Series for an example of how useless managers have become in baseball: Tampa Bay's Kevin Cash pulled ace Blake Snell in a must-win Game 6 way too early (because that's what the spreadsheets said to do) and the Dodgers ended up rallying to capture their first World Series title since 1988. Thanks dorks! Whatever happened to having a feel for the game? I guess that doesn't exist anymore or more likely, it's not a thing to the Sabermetics crowd. Oddly enough, the two managers that preceded Cora with the Red Sox also won World Series crowns in their first years in charge: Terry Francona in 2004 and John Farrell in 2013. Cora's 2018 was perfect as the team put up a franchise-record 108 wins in the regular season then they barely sweated en route to their fourth World Series title in 15 years. 

    Way back when, Boston used to be a brutal market to handle for managers and top Red Sox players alike but those days are long gone. I would argue that for most ages outside of senior citizens, the Sox have fallen to fourth-place in terms of popularity behind the Patriots, Celtics and yes even the Bruins. You can't expect Cora to turn things around right away unless the ownership group fortifies this terrible roster with some more talent-namely starting pitchers-but that would force owner John Henry to open up his wallet. After all, his second year was a complete flop as the Sox went 84-78 in 2019. Nope, Cora's biggest role for the time being is to bring positive attention back to the club (which would sound crazy to say years ago but it is 100% valid now) and also supporting the Latino players-Xavier Bogaerts, Rafael Devers, Eduardo Rodriguez, Christian Vazquez and J.D. Martinez who happen to still be most of their best players. At age 45 not to mention being a proud Puerto Rican, Cora by nature is able to relate so much better to modern players than the typical old white guy baseball lifer that happens to be a manager in MLB.

    I'd like to think that baseball will learn from its myriad mistakes from this past doomed summer: letting teams stay at home and travel to road games while not utilizing a bubble until the postseason was a mind-numbingly stupid decision although not quite on par with allowing LA's third baseman Justin Turner to run around after Game 6 without a mask when he had tested positive for Coronavirus but I digress. For that reason, I doubt that fans will be allowed anytime soon back in Fenway Park assuming that it starts on a somewhat normal schedule. Speaking of which, can they please get rid of the 162-game regular season? Nobody besides ESPN's Tim Kurkjian needs that much baseball in their lives every year. 

    Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom's pick for manager had to be former Rays outfielder Sam Fuld (currently the Phillies' Director of Integrative Performance-whatever that means) as it apparently came down to Cora and Fuld after the original list of nine candidates had been whittled down to those two guys. Fuld has to be really smart since he graduated from Stanford so you know that Bloom was dying to geek out with him over a shared love of baseball analytics. Unfortunately for them, nobody except the most die-hard fans (which don't really exist anymore for this dying sport) knows who Fuld is or anything about him. Conversely, Cora brings instant name recognition both locally and nationally. I honestly doubt that many people even care that much about the cheating scandal anymore with what else has transpired in the worst year ever. After all, the Astros' manager at the time-A.J. Hinch-was fired by Houston then also suspended for this past season but he was hired just last week to be Detroit's manager. These guys have paid their penance and honestly, baseball more than any other sport has always been a game built on cheating in one form or another: sign-stealing, steroids, pine tar, corked bats, spit balls, etc. Not to get too cheesy here (it is baseball so come on!) but things couldn't be much worse both for our country and the Red Sox at the moment, however with any luck Biden and Cora are the perfect guys to start to turn things around and bring some positive energy back to their respective vitally important positions. 

Red Sox End The Miserable First Portion of Their Season By Knocking Around the Astros

Time will tell if Boston (43-52 overall, 20-26 away) can gain any momentum in the second half (final 67 games) from taking four out of their last five contests heading into the All-Star break or it was just a result of playing the terrible White Sox and Astros (40-56 overall, 21-28) back-to-back? Houston's woes need no introduction as Clay Buchholz (complete game, 3 hits, 12 strikeouts, 0 walks; 1st Red Sox to strike out 12 w/no walks since Hideo Nomo in 2001) completely broke their sprit from the beginning en route to one of his best starts ever (obviously the no-hitter his rookie year trumps it).

The Red Sox cruised to an 11-0 victory at half-empty (if we're being generous) Minute Maid Park. It was the fifth career shutout for Buchholz and the 12 strikeouts set a new career-high.

With a few days off now, it was only right that Brock Holt (5 for 6 with 2 runs) had a career-day including a leadoff homer (his 3rd of the season) in front of his family (he's from Texas) and former college teammates at Rice. The immortal Brad Peacock (3-6) couldn't get three outs let alone two so he had the rare opportunity to be pulled after one out in the first for the Astros.

Dustin Pedroia (2 for 4), Daniel Nava (2 for 4 w/2 runs), Stephen Drew (2 for 4 w/run, walk) and Christian Vazquez (2 for 4 two RBIs and one run) all had multiple hits as well, Boston notched a season-high in runs and 16 hits as a team. Boston added two runs in the third on Jackie Bradley Jr.'s RBI single and a sacrifice fly by Xander Bogaerts (remember him?). Houston allowed two runs on the same play in the fifth: an infield single by Vazquez scored one run then on a throwing error by All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve.

Things started to get out of hand for the second time this weekend (in Boston's favor, they won two out of three) when the Red Sox pushed across two more runs in the seventh on Vazquez's sacrifice fly and a bases loaded walk by David Ortiz. Mike Carp had a pinch hit two-run triple because why not and the final run scored on Ortiz's groundout. Buchholz has looked way better recently since returning from the DL but I don't know how much you can take away from even a gem like that vs. Houston.

Not to plan the week ahead for you but the Home Run Derby is tomorrow night, the All-Star Game is on Tuesday and the 2014 ESPYs are on Wednesday hosted by Drake. MLB is off for the next four days so expect many lucky bastards to take exotic vacations. Boston returns with three games against Kansas City (48-46, 2nd in AL Central) next weekend at Fenway Park.

UPDATE 7/16: That bucket of crap A.J. Pierzynski was officially released today after nobody wanted to trade for him, shocking I know.

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I Can't Believe That I'm Saying This But Did We Count Out the Red Sox Too Soon?

Let's be honest: it would take one hell of a turnaround for the Red Sox to push for a Wild Card spot let alone compete in the upside down AL East. Still, the last few days have been a revelation in terms of showing us that maybe there is a reason to tune in and hope for the improbable for the rest of 2014.

Boston (42-51 overall, 19-25 away) won their third straight game as they opened the final series before the All-Star break with an 8-3 win at Houston's (39-55 overall, 20-27 home) Minute Maid Park. The Red Sox had 12 hits and led 8-1 in the sixth inning en route to a very rare laugher (in a good way). They are within eight games of the second Wild Card spot and 9.5 behind first-place Baltimore.

Pitching in his home state, John Lackey (10-6) became the first Red Sox pitcher to reach double digit wins this season. His usual pinpoint control was off (3 strikeouts/5 walks) but he still lasted six innings and only allowed two earned runs on four hits.

For once, Boston built an early lead and proceeded to increase it over the next few innings just like a good team. Brock Holt (2 for 4, double, 2 runs, walk) had an RBI triple in the third and Dustin Pedroia followed with an RBI double for the 2-0 advantage. Rookie catcher Christian Vazquez had quite a memorable night: recording his first MLB hit, extra base hit and RBI. He added an RBI double in the fourth as the Red Sox went up 3-0 on the hapless Astros.

Enrique Hernandez's RBI single cut it to 3-1 in the fourth but Scott Feldman (4-6) couldn't keep it even that close as he was charged with seven earned runs on 11 hits in 5.1 innings. Vazquez notched a two-run double in the sixth and David Ortiz greeted lefty Darin Downs with a bases clearing double that put this in the win column for the Red Sox.

Chris Carter went over .200 and boosted his stats with a pair of garbage time solo homers in the sixth and eighth (his 18th and 19th of the season). Houston finished 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position and they left 10 men on base. Daniel Nava and Jackie Bradley Jr. each collected two singles and scored a run in the victory.

Assuming that he's not traded before first pitch (4:10, NESN)-a very real possibility-Jake Peavy (1-7) will take the mound tomorrow vs. Brett Oberholtzer (2-7). As you can tell by their records, this is unlikely to be a pitcher's duel but rather a battle of bullpens and a long game so stock up on some adult beverages to get through it comfortably.

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Red Sox Must Be Sad That They'll No Longer Face The Astros This Season

Admit it, you knew somehow the Red Sox were going to pull out tonight's game. Given Boston's (70-46 overall, 31-25 away) propensity for rallying (18 wins in their last at bat) this season, it came as no surprise when they came back for the second night in a row to beat the hopeless Astros (37-76 overall, 19-39 home) 7-5 at Minute Maid Park.

The win gave Boston the series (2-1) as they finished 6-1 against Houston in 2013-Welcome to the AL! The Red Sox trailed 5-4 in the ninth but former Sea Dogs/PawSox pitcher Josh Fields (who got the save on Monday) couldn't get his new job done. After a single by Mike Carp and walk for Jonny Gomes, Stephen Drew (2 hits, walk) was the hero for the second time in a week with a three-run homer (his 9th of the season) to right field.

Junichi Tazawa (5-3) earned the win with two excellent innings of relief (0 hits, 0 walks, 2 strikeouts) and Koji Uehara worked around a single in the ninth to strike out the side for his 11th save of the season.

Oh by the way, the Red Sox have now passed last season's pathetic win total so let's never speak of it (especially Bobby Valentine) again. The good news kept pouring in as the Rays even lost to the Diamondbacks meaning that Boston grabbed a 2.5 game lead on Tampa Bay for first place in the AL East.

Boston actually led 2-0 after a ground out by Brock Holt in the second and a run scored on Carp's double play ball in the third. Ryan Dempster (5 earned runs, 7 hits) wasn't able to take advantage of the lead though as he promptly gave up a two-run homer to Robbie Grossman (double, run) to tie it at two in the third.

The Astros scored three more runs in the sixth on Jose Altuve's RBI single, Jason Castro's (2 hits, run) RBI double and a sacrifice fly by Marc Krauss. I admit that I totally thought Gomes (3 walks, 3 runs) was a worthless pickup when the Red Sox signed him over the winter but I'm happy to say boy was I ever wrong. Mr. Clutch came up with yet another big hit-a two-run homer to left in the seventh (his 10th of the season) that jumpstarted his slumbering teammates.

Both teams had guys ejected as Shane Victorino was tossed for arguing from the dugout in the seventh then Astros manager Bo Porter (Bo Knows Baseball!) became the first member of his team to be thrown out all season (how's that possible?) when he took exception to a bad call (should have been a foul tip) that went against Houston in the ninth.

For the second game in a row, David Ortiz had four hits and they were all singles. Jarrod Saltalamacchia was 2 for 4 with a double and walk in the win. Brett Wallace was 2 for 4 in the loss.

This was just the start of Boston's 10-game road trip. From here, they don't get a day off as they proceed directly to Kansas City where they have four games with the much improved Royals (58-53 overall, 3rd in AL Central) beginning tomorrow night (8:10, NESN) with Jon Lester (10-6) facing the immortal Bruce Chen (4-0). On Friday (8:10, NESN), Jake Peavy (9-4) makes his first start on the road for his new club and he takes on Ervin Santana (8-6). On Saturday, Felix Doubront (8-5) meets former Oriole Jeremy Guthrie (12-7) who the Red Sox have always owned. Then assuming his ankle doesn't blow up too much, John Lackey (7-9) takes the mound on Sunday afternoon (2:10, NESN) vs. former Rays standout James Shields (6-8).

Not that I don't enjoy predictable results against the worst team in MLB (Houston) but this weekend should be way more entertaining since we might actually see some good baseball, unlike the slop at Minute Maid Park the last few nights. The Royals are an MLB-best 16-4 since the All-Star break and they finally appear to be making strides after countless years of losing.

UPDATE 8/8: Daniel Nava was reinstated from the paternity list and Steven Wright was sent back to Pawtucket.

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Red Sox Win Softball Game vs. Astros, 15-10

After losing 2-0 to MLB's worst team last night then falling behind 5-0 in the second inning tonight at Minute Maid Park, something was seriously wrong with the Red Sox. Luckily they woke up in time to beat the Astros 15-10 in a game that more closely resembled a beer league softball game than professional baseball.

Boston (69-46 overall, 30-25 away) has now equaled its win total from 2012 and I'm going to bet that they'll surpass it this season with 47 more chances to top it. With Tampa Bay's loss, they also moved 1.5 games ahead of the Rays for first place in the AL East. Steven Wright's first career MLB start was a disaster thanks to four passed balls by Ryan Lavarnway and a wild pitch equaled three runs for Houston (37-75 overall, 19-38 home) in the first inning.

The top of the Red Sox lineup was lethal: Jacoby Ellsbury (2 for 4 with 2 HRs, 4 runs, 3 RBIs and 2 walks), Shane Victorino (3 for 5 with double, 4 runs and walk), Dustin Pedroia (2 for 5 with double, 2 RBIs and run) and David Ortiz (4 for 4 with 2 RBIs, 2 runs and walk) were all unstoppable.

It would take forever to recap this game that took 3:54 (and it felt like twice that amount of time). Boston scored five runs in both the fifth and sixth to take the lead for good. Ellsbury's homers were his sixth and seventh of the season and Jonny Gomes (4 RBIs) had a pinch-hit three-run bomb (his fourth pinch hit homer of the season).

Brandon Workman (2-1) got the win in relief despite allowing six earned runs, yep it was that kind of endless night. Robbie Grossman (3 RBIs, 2 runs and walk) had a two-run homer for the Astros with Brett Wallace and Jake Elmore (2 runs) adding solo shots in the soul-crushing loss (in a season full of them).

Rubby De La Rosa made his Red Sox debut in the ninth and looked pretty damn good throwing heat; he had a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts which in this marathon felt like a perfect game.

Ryan Dempster (6-8) faces rookie Jarred Cosart (1-0) in the series finale tomorrow night (8:10, NESN). Given how unpredictable these first two games have been, I honestly have no idea what to expect in that one. Boston is 5-1 against Houston this season and they'll try to end the season series 6-1.

UPDATE 8/7: Matt Thornton was put on the DL today with a right oblique strain so Pedro Beato was recalled from Pawtucket.

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You Won't Convince Me That There Aren't At Least A Couple Triple-A Teams Better Than The Astros

The Houston Doormats I mean Astros are a hell of a team, the Red Sox certainly enjoyed playing those scrubs this weekend at Fenway Park. This afternoon, Boston (18-7 overall, 11-5 home) padded its MLB-best record with an easy 6-1 victory over the Astros (7-18 overall, 3-10 road). All other teams in the AL should be doing cartwheels over having the worst team in MLB in the league.

I have no idea how Houston has already won seven games since they are beyond wretched. Boston beat them by five runs on Thursday, four runs on Friday and Saturday then five today. You know a team is truly hopeless when John Lackey (1-1) looks like a decent pitcher (6 innings, 1 run, 5 hits, 4 strikeouts, 2 walks) against them.

Houston scored first on Ronny Cedeno's RBI single in the first but it was all predictably downhill from there. David Ortiz (2 hits, 2 RBIs) tied it with an RBI single in Boston's first at bats and the Red Sox were off. Stephen Drew had a two-run triple in the fourth, Dustin Pedroia and Mike Carp (2 hits, run, walk) had RBI doubles in the firth and Ortiz closed out his fantastic homestand with an RBI double in the sixth.

Daniel Nava was 2 for 4 with a double and three runs in the win for Boston. He also made a sick diving catch for the last out of the game.

The Red Sox earned their day off tomorrow after going 7-3 at Fenway during their longest homestand of the season. They have won their last five games heading into a six-game road trip.

Less than a month into the season, Boston gets its second trip to Toronto. The Blue Jays (9-17 overall, 5th in AL East) are off to a miserable start. The Red Sox have a chance to bury them even further so early on. The pitching matchups certainly line up well for Boston with Jon Lester (4-0) facing Brandon Morrow (0-2) on Tuesday (7:07 p.m., NESN), Clay Buchholz (5-0) opposing Mark Buehrle (1-1) on Wednesday (7:07 p.m., NESN) and Ryan Dempster (1-2) gets Josh Johnson (0-1) on Thursday (7:07 p.m., NESN).

After that series, Boston goes to Texas for three games next weekend against the Rangers (16-9 overall, 1st in AL West) who have been the second best team in the American League in April.

UPDATE 4/28: Daniel Bard was sent back to Portland (Double-A) and Joel Hanrahan is expected to be recalled from Pawtucket (Triple-A).

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Not One Minute Men

The Boston Red Sox made their first game in Houston's Minute Maid Park a memorable one, taking a 6-1 win over the Astros last night.

Dice-K was back to his early season top-notch self, improving to 9-1 after five scoreless innings. Matsuzaka gave up two hits with three walks and four strikeouts. He was yanked after 87 pitches as Terry Francona didn't want to stretch him out too much in his second start for the Sox after coming back from the DL.

Kevin Youkilis had four hits, the locked in Dustin Pedroia was 3 for 5 with two runs, one walk and an RBI while J.D. Drew (three-run homer) and Mike Lowell (two-run single) had the most important swings of the game.

The Sox (50-32) jumped out to the 3-0 lead in the third with Drew's home run. Pedroia extended the advantage to 4-0 with an RBI single in the seventh which drove in Julio Lugo.

Craig Hansen and Manny Delcarmen each put up scoreless innings (the sixth and seventh respectively) before the increasingly shaky Hideki Okajima gave up two hits, including a solo home run to Houston's (37-43) Reggie Abercrombie.

Jonathan Papelbon came in to strike out Lance Berkman with a nasty splitter, stranding Miguel Tejada at first.

Lowell's two-run single gave the Sox some more breathing room in the ninth and Papelbon recorded the final three outs for his 24th save of the season.

Jon Lester-who's been in a groove lately-goes for the Red Sox tonight against the Astros' Brandon Backe.