Jason Varitek Named A Special Assistant To Red Sox General Manager Ben Cherington

The 2012 regular season isn't officially over for a few more days (painful, right?) but the Red Sox began looking toward 2013 and beyond today by hiring former catcher Jason Varitek as a special assistant to general manager Ben Cherington.

From ESPNBoston.com
"Jason was one of the most respected players of his era and will be a key voice as we move forward," said Cherington. "He will be involved in a number of areas including Major League personnel decisions, evaluations, mentorship and instruction of young players. We are fortunate to have him in this role."

When he was back in town this week for the needless eighth-year anniversary of the 2004 World Series squad and the All-Fenway team the next night, Varitek admitted to the bored and beaten down media that he was on the verge of a new role in Boston. This at least temporarily ends the speculation that he could replace Bobby Valentine as manager next season. That might sound like a crazy idea but Mike Matheny (Cardinals) and Robin Ventura (White Sox) have both proven this season across MLB that prior managing experience is overrated.

We can argue about what this job really entails for Varitek but more than anything, I think it is recognition by the franchise that getting back to their championship roots would be a good thing. This is the third season in a row that the Red Sox haven't made the playoffs which is an eternity around here, especially with the type of payroll and expectations they routinely possess.

I've said all along that by far the most interesting part of 2012 for the Red Sox will begin next Thursday (the day after the regular season ends). Fingers and toes crossed that Valentine will be rightfully fired and then Cherington, John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino get a second chance to make a much better hire. If they could also speed up the process and not take way too long, that would probably help the public perception. Baby steps with this group as they try to dig out of the wreckage from the last miserable 13 months.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Saying Goodbye To Jason Varitek

When I read the other day that Jason Varitek was going to retire from the Boston Red Sox, I thought good riddance. However, after letting the last few pointless seasons wash away, the guy deserves plenty of credit for what was a superb career (up until 2007).

A three-time All-Star (2003, 2005, 2008), Gold Glover (2005) and Silver Slugger (2005) that was a two-time World Series champion (2004, 2007), Varitek also caught four no-hitters (Nomo, Lowe, Buchholz, Lester) during his 15-year career in Boston. His retirement ceremony is set for tonight at 5:30 p.m. at the Red Sox' new spring training home.

Since he was relegated to a backup catcher duty the last two years, his skills basically went off a cliff. Varitek didn't want to go out like this but nobody is really looking for 39-year-old catchers with a million miles on their bodies.

The best things you could say about him were that he was a winner basically his entire life. From the Little League World Series, a No. 1 ranking for his high school team, the College World Series, Olympics, World Series and World Baseball Classic, he played in basically every possible highest level baseball game.

His acumen for calling games and taking care of his pitchers was legendary and that's a huge part of what transformed the Red Sox from a complete joke to one of baseball's best franchises from 2003-08.

Varitek was traded to Boston during the 1997 trade deadline in one of the most lopsided moves in team history: he came to the Red Sox with Derek Lowe in return for erratic reliever Heathcliff Slocumb.

People tend to forget that for a three-year stretch (2003-05) when the Red Sox made the playoff each seasons, Varitek was also one of the best offensive catchers in MLB. In 2003, he hit .273 with 25 homers and 85 RBIs. In 2004, he hit a career-high .296 with 18 homers and 73 RBIs. Then in 2005, he hit .281 with 22 homers and 70 RBIs.

For his career, he had 1307 hits, 664 runs, 306 doubles, 193 homers, 757 RBIs with .256 batting average, .341 OBP and .435 SLG.

I'm not going to mention his phony captaincy role that was appointed by the Red Sox front office. That was a joke and a marketing ploy to entice pink hats and other fairweather fans to buy some merchandise. Truth be told, I had a red Varitek t-shirt with a C on it (that I got rid of last year).

Tim Wakefield retired a few weeks ago and David Ortiz is now the last member left of the 2004 team that broke the 86-year "curse." It's time for the next generation of Red Sox stars (Dustin Pedroia, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jon Lester) to further solidify their legacies. Varitek had a great run in Boston and Red Sox fans will always look back fondly to his playing days.

The enduring image of him will always be when he punched A-Rod in the face during the Red Sox-Yankees brawl in 2004. My favorite Varitek memories besides that will always be the last out of the 2004 World Series against the Cardinals and the 2007 World Series against the Rockies. Both ended with Varitek jumping in the pitcher's (Keith Foulke and Jonathan Papelbon) arms.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Sox Avoid Arbitration With Ryan Sweeney, Invite Jason Varitek To Spring Training

A couple quick notes about the Boston Red Sox from today. First, the team avoided arbitration and gave new outfielder Ryan Sweeney a one-year, $1.75 million contract for next season.

He made $1.4 million last season in Oakland and he should see significant time in right field for the Red Sox in 2012, assuming that Ryan Kalish isn't ready to go in April. Regardless, he's a good defensive replacement and perfect backup outfielder.

The other news which makes me puke is that the Red Sox have reportedly invited Jason Varitek to come to spring training as a non-roster invitee. As I said after the season ended in unforgettably miserable fashion, it's long overdue for the team and region to move on from Varitek. We all loved him at some point but by now this is all a charade.

This has money grab written all over it since I can see him only coming back so he can have one of those goofy retire in a Red Sox uniform ceremonies. You know the Red Sox owners want him to do it so they can sell a few more Fenway bricks to gullible rubes in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire.

If they bring Varitek or Tim Wakefield back specifically to be a pseudo mascot, shame on them (not to mention those guys). Have some pride please and let the new catchers have their time in the spotlight.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

See You Later Jason Varitek, Welcome Back Kelly Shoppach

Very slowly the Boston Red Sox are starting to make good decisions in this off-season that up until now has been nothing short of a nightmare which isn't nearly good enough considering how things ended in September.

Today, the team reached a one-year agreement with free agent catcher Kelly Shoppach, formerly of the Tampa Bay Rays and once upon a time a 2001 2nd round draft pick by the Red Sox.

I'm psyched about this move for two simple reasons: 1) it means that Jason Varitek's reign is over at Fenway. 2) It makes one of Boston's AL East rivals worse (in a not so obvious way). He'll make a base salary of $1.35 million in 2012 plus performance bonuses.

Coming out of Baylor University, Shoppach was mostly (9 games in 2005 with the Red Sox) in the minors until 2006 before he was part of a seven-player trade to Cleveland that netted Coco Crisp for Boston.

He's never been known as an offensive catcher although he had a nice season in 2008 with the Indians: 21 home runs, 55 RBIs, .261 batting average, .348 OBP and .517 slugging percentage. For his career, he's hit .224 with a .315 OBP and .417 slugging percentage. He's also coming off a brutal 2011 with the Rays: in 87 games, he had 11 home runs, 22 RBIs and hit .176 with .268 OBP and .339 slugging percentage.

So why am I excited to get this guy that can't hit? It's all because of his defensive prowess, something the Red Sox have lacked in recent years with their catchers. Shoppach led the American League in 2011 by throwing out 41% of base-runners.

I respect Varitek for all he did in the past for the Red Sox, 2004, 2007, blah blah blah (most years, games and homers in team history for a catcher) but it's a joke how long him and Tim Wakefield have basically held the team hostage. They haven't been good players for years but for the Pink Hat fan value, they've been kept around past their welcome like a washed up mall Santa (see the Christmas theme I used there?). Like Mike Felger says, the Red Sox had to get over their case of sacred cowism.

It also means that while Jarrod Saltalamacchia will be the starter for the near future, this gives promising Ryan Lavarnway time to work on his game in Pawtucket. No doubt, he'll be called up at times since catchers always get banged up and miss time during the excruciating 162 game regular season.

Since Salty struggles so much against lefties (.603 OPS) and Shoppach excels (.909 career OPS against lefties, fourth-highest in MLB), it makes perfect sense that they'll be a nice platoon combination for new manager Bobby Valentine.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Beckett Stumbles But Still Manages To Beat Yankees

Josh Beckett couldn't keep up his dominant form (3-0, 1.00 ERA) against the Yankees this season but he still found a way to win as the Red Sox triumphed 9-5 tonight at Fenway Park.

One of my childhood favorites Mo Vaughn was also in the building for the second day of the Jimmy Fund telethon.

Boston (83-52) evened the series (1-1) and moved to 11-3 vs. New York (81-53) this season while going back to a 1.5 game lead in the AL East.

Just as CC Sabathia finally found a way to beat the Red Sox yesterday, Beckett (12-5) got it done despite having far from his best outing. He gave Boston seven innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits with three walks and eight strikeouts.

Yankees starter Phil Hughes (4-5) continued his mostly forgettable 2011. He went 5.2 innings, allowing six earned runs on eight hits with two walks and four strikeouts. Remind me again who will start Game 2 of the ALDS for the Yanks?

Boston used the longball-three two-run homers-to rough up Hughes and a pair of relievers: Boone Logan and Luis Ayala.

Derek Jeter (2 hits, stolen base) gave New York a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the third. Boston answered in the bottom of the inning as Marco Scutaro scored on Dustin Pedroia's (2 hits) ground out and Jed Lowrie knocked in Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, 2 runs) with an RBI single.

David Ortiz's two-run bomb (28th of the season) put the Red Sox up 4-1 in the fifth but New York countered with four runs in the sixth. Robinson Cano and Eric Chavez had RBI doubles (two runs scored on Chavez's since Josh Reddick had an error in the right field corner) and Eduardo Nunez's sacrifice fly gave the Yankees a 5-4 advantage.

Jason Varitek's hit and run lucky swing resulted in an RBI double which tied it at five in the sixth and Ellsbury put Boston ahead for good with a two-run shot (his 24th of the season; 1st career opposite field homer) off Logan and over the Monster.

Varitek wrapped it up with his two-run blast (his 10th of the season; 11th time he's had 10+ homers). Daniel Bard got his 31st hold with a 1-2-3 hold (on 13 pitches) and Jonathan Papelbon got a 1-2-3 ninth in the non-save situation. Pap struck out a batter and all seven of his pitches were strikes. The good news is they should both be available tomorrow night too since they didn't appear on Tuesday.

Tomorrow in the series finale, Jon Lester faces Yankees train wreck A.J. Burnett in another matchup that clearly favors the home team.

Follow @RichSlate


Tweet

Red Sox Split Day-Night Doubleheader With Rays, Record First Triple Play In 17 Years

They might not have the same talent level with Carlos Pena, Carl Crawford, Rafael Soriano, Grant Balfour, Joaquin Benoit, etc. all gone but the Tampa Bay Rays are still a tough matchup for the Boston Red Sox.

There are few if any teams in MLB that draft and develop players as well as the Rays so Crawford has already been replaced by Desmond Jennings. Most importantly, they have a deep and young pitching staff: James Shields, David Price, Jeff Niemann, Jeremy Hellickson and Wade Davis.

The Red Sox (74-46) were able to beat the Rays (64-56) 3-1 this afternoon in the first tidy game of a day-night doubleheader but Tampa Bay bounced back to take the nightcap 6-2 at Fenway Park. The Yankees beat the Royals tonight as well meaning New York takes a half game lead for first-place in the AL East.

Boston's win was the direct result of the brilliance of five players: Jacoby Ellsbury, Jon Lester, Daniel Bard, Jonathan Papelbon and Dustin Pedroia. It's rare that a baseball game can be boiled down to that few elements but keep in mind, there were only six hits combined in that one and it only took two hours and 24 minutes.

Shields (11-10) went the distance in the loss, his MLB-best ninth complete game of the season. He allowed three earned runs on three hits with one walk and six strikeouts.

Lester (12-6) went one less inning but he was just a smidge more effective. The lefty went seven innings, allowing one earned run on three hits with a walk and eight strikeouts.

Tampa Bay took a 1-0 lead on the first as Jennings led off the game with a double, stole third and scored on Evan Longoria's ground out.

Boston got all of its runs in the third as Ellsbury drilled a three-run bomb over the Rays bullpen, scoring Josh Reddick and Mike Aviles.

Daniel Bard got a 1-2-3 with two strikeouts for his 28th hold of the season while Jonathan Papelbon continued his incredible stretch of work with a clean ninth for his 28th save of the season.

Pedroia ended the game with authority by snagging a B.J. Upton liner up the middle that seemed destined to be a base hit.

Game two was not so kind to the home team as Niemann (8-4) had one of the most impressive starts by an opposing pitcher that Boston will see all season.

Like Shields, he also threw a complete game (nine innings), allowing two earned runs on three hits with a walk and 10 strikeouts. I don't usually give out Fantasy Baseball tips but pick this guy up, I'm pretty sure he'll be available on most waiver wires.

Erik Bedard (4-8) is still looking for his first win in a Red Sox uniform after three starts. He went six innings, allowing three runs (one earned) on seven hits with no walks and six strikeouts. Tampa Bay got to his pitch count early-in the second-by fouling off the most amount of pitches I can ever remember (29 in his outing) by one pitcher.

Luck was not on his side even though Boston turned its first triple play since 1994 (John Valentin!). The Rays scored twice in the second on a throwing error by Jed Lowrie and a ground out by Matt Joyce.

Jason Varitek's (his eighth of the season) in the third cut it to 2-1 and Sean Rodriguez was the poor sap who grounded into the triple play in the fourth (Lowrie to Pedroia to Gonzalez: 5-4-3). That was only the 30th triple play in franchise history.

You figure that momentum could carry over but Jennings (2 hits) hit a solo homer over the Monster in the fifth and Boston had to play catch up once again. Ellsbury hit another homer (his 22nd) in the sixth but the Rays pushed across three in the eighth against Matt Albers featuring some more sloppy defense by the Red Sox (even if they weren't called errors).

B.J. Upton (3 hits, 2 runs, stolen base) had an RBI single-his first clutch hit in years-while Ben Zobrist (3 hits, 2 runs, 2 stolen bases) "stole home" on another bad throw by Lowrie. Casey Kotchman (2 hits) added an RBI single for even more of a cushion.

David Ortiz missed both games and will reportedly be in a boot for the next few days, but not go on the disabled list with a bruised heel.

The rubber match is tomorrow afternoon, yes another day game (today was a rain makeup date). John Lackey goes against David Price. The Red Sox could benefit from the win since they would take the series from the Rays and more importantly, head out on the long road trip (eight games) with renewed confidence.

Follow @RichSlate


Tweet

Red Sox Win Fourth Straight, Send Twins To Sixth Consecutive Defeat

Neither impossibly small strike zones nor early 2-0 deficits could hinder the Boston Red Sox tonight as they rallied for their third straight come-from-behind victory.

They survived home plate umpire Tim McClelland's early squeezing of Erik Bedard and the Twins' two runs in the first inning to come out on top 4-3 at Target Field.

In his second start for the Red Sox (72-43), Bedard (5 innings, 2 earned runs, 3 hits, 4 walks, 6 strikeouts) was much more impressive as he got to throw 90 pitches. If not for Michael Cuddyer's sacrifice fly and a completely bullshit bases-loaded walk by Delmon Young (two strikes were called balls), the lefty wouldn't have given up any runs at all.

Minnesota (51-65) starter Francisco Liriano wasn't the victim of Mcclelland's insanity but he still managed to walk seven batters. In six innings, the erratic lefty allowed three earned runs on four hits with four strikeouts.

It was a strange one and the easiest way to prove that is to tell you how Boston got all their runs. Darnell McDonald tied it at two with a two-run homer (his fourth of the season) in the fifth inning. Jason Varitek put the Red Sox up 3-2 in the sixth with an RBI single. After a Ysuyoshi Nishioka RBI double off Matt Albers (4-3) in the sixth, David Ortiz had the winning RBI with a gift infield single in the seventh. His easy comebacker was stabbed by Twins reliever Phil Dumatrait who promptly slipped on the non-wet infield grass.

After Franklin Morales go the first two outs of the sixth, he handed the ball over to Daniel Bard who got four more outs. Finally, Jonathan Papelbon recorded a 1-2-3 ninth (in seven pitches!) to get his 26th save of the season.

With the Yankees' loss to the Angels, Boston moved to 2.5 games ahead of New York in the AL East. They'll look to keep their winning streak (and Minnesota's losing streak) going tomorrow night as Jon Lester goes against Nick Blackburn in the series finale.

Follow @RichSlate


Tweet

Red Sox Beat Blue Jays On Walk-Off Play At The Plate That Goes Their Way

One of the great things about baseball (and why people will put up with such long seasons) is that no matter how many games you watch it at any level, you always have the chance to see something for the first time.

Last night was one of those special moments as the Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 at Fenway Park.

After Blue Jays (42-45) infielder John McDonald (2 hits) hit a two-out single to left field off Red Sox (50-35) closer Jonathan Papelbon, Edwin Encarnacion rounded third with the possible tying run.

However, Boston left fielder Darnell McDonald threw a strike to catcher Jason Varitek, who blocked the plate, and the captain was able to put a tag on Encarnacion before he scored. It was an extremely close play (replays showed that he might have swiped the plate) but he was called out and that's all that matters. A walk-off outfield assist. Crazy.

The bigger news of the contest was that Red Sox starter Jon Lester left after four no-hit innings with a left lat injury. He was placed on the DL today and won't be able to return until at least July 22.

Alfredo Aceves will get Lester's scheduled start on Sunday vs. the Orioles, the last game before the All-Star break.

Called to duty earlier than usual, Matt Albers (3-3) threw two scoreless innings with two strikeouts for the win. Franklin Morales (seventh) and Daniel Bard (eighth) added scoreless frames before Papelbon did his best to blow it when he was handed a 3-0 lead in the ninth.

He allowed four hits, including a two-run bomb (a rainbow over the Monster) by Blue Jays uber slugger Jose Bautista (his 28th of the season) but was bailed out by McDonald and Varitek to get his 18th save of the season.

Brett Cecil (1-4) went the whole way (eight innings) for Toronto. He allowed three earned runs on seven hits with two walks and six strikeouts.

Boston pushed across two in the second on Varitek's RBI double which plated David Ortiz and J.D. Drew's RBI single which scored Varitek.

Batting in the cleanup spot-with Kevin Youkilis sitting-Dustin Pedroia hit his eighth homer of the season, a solo laser show in the third. You know that awesome phrase has jumped the shark when not only does NESN use it for his home run calls but also Sportscenter.

Adrian Gonzalez is out of the lineup tonight for the first time this season as Tim Wakefield takes on Ricky Romero who is a very good lefty that seems to always get knocked around by the Red Sox.

Follow @RichSlate


Tweet

Red Sox Are 1-0 In The Post-Mike Cameron Era

Well I guess we all know what was holding the Boston Red Sox back this last week (losing six of seven): Mike Cameron.

Haha just kidding but it was still nice to see Red Sox GM Theo Epstein and Co. finally swallow their pride and designate Cameron for assignment. I'm not even trying to be funny when I say I can't remember one highlight from his 1.5 seasons in Boston.

Speaking of salvaging pride, the Red Sox (46-34) finally decided to show up against the Philadelphia Phillies (51-31) yesterday afternoon and it resulted in a 5-2 Red Sox win at Citizens Bank Park, averting a sweep in the "World Series preview."

Jon Lester (10-4) pitched like an ace, going seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks with five strikeouts.

Fortune was also on Boston's side as Phillies starter Cole Hamels left after four innings due to an injury to his right hand (Adrian Gonzalez's smoked a line drove off it). Hamels only gave up two hits and struck out two in what was shaping up to be a sweet pitcher's duel.

Instead, Phillies relievers David Herndon (0-2) allowed three earned runs on five hits in two innings and teammate Drew Carpenter allowed two earned runs on four hits in two innings.

Boston got its first two runs in the fifth as Drew Sutton (2 hits, run, RBI) and Jacoby Ellsbury (3 hits, RBI) each had RBI singles.

Jason Varitek hit a solo homer (his fourth of the season) in the sixth before Dustin Pedroia (Laser Show! His seventh of the season) and Varitek went back-to-back in the eighth. Josh Reddick (2 hits, run) almost made it three in a row as he flew out to deep right.

Daniel Bard recorded a 1-2-3 eighth on eight pitches (including a strikeout) which is pretty damn impressive.

Bobby Jenks came on to start the ninth with a 5-0 lead but clearly that's not enough for his fat ass. He promptly recorded one out, walked one, gave up a hit then a two-run bomb to Ryan Howard before he was mercifully taken out by Terry Francona. Hopefully a DFA is in his near future, he's beyond useless now.

Jonathan Papelbon got the last two outs for his 15th save of the season.

Boston wraps up its nine-game road trip and interleague play with three games in Houston this weekend. The Astros are the worst team in baseball so nothing less than two of three is acceptable for the Red Sox. Tonight, Tim Wakefield opposes Bud Norris.

Follow @RichSlate


Tweet

The Red Sox freight train is coming down the tracks, good luck stopping it

Nothing can stop the Boston Red Sox at this moment, they are the hottest team in MLB as they won their eighth straight game 16-4 yesterday afternoon at the Rogers Centre against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Boston (38-26) climbed a season-high 12 games over .500 (remember the 2-10 start?) with an 18 hit attack.

Toronto (32-33) had no chance as they were held to only six hits in their second straight loss to the Red Sox.

John Lackey (4-5) got the win but he was about the last guy on Boston that you would cite in the win since every starter in the lineup had an RBI. It was a game that was all about the offense. Lackey went six innings, allowing four earned runs on six hits with two walks and eight strikeouts.

Blue Jays starter Brandon Morrow (2-4) has always had a great arm but he walks way too many batters and as a result, his pitch count always seems to get high early on. He lasted 4.1 innings, tagged for nine earned runs on 10 hits with three walks and four strikeouts.

Marco Scutaro led Boston with four hits and three runs. Dustin Pedroia had three hits, three RBIs and two runs. David Ortiz had two hits, three RBIs and two runs and Jason Varitek added two hits, four RBIs and three runs. J.D. Drew had two hits, two runs and an RBI while Jacoby Ellsbury notched two hits, a run and RBI.

Boston scored four runs in the third to take an early 4-0 lead. It was 5-0 in the fourth after an RBI double by Pedroia. Toronto got a two-run double by Rajai Davis to make it 5-2 but that was sadly as close as they would get.

Varitek and Ortiz had three-run homers in the fifth and the rout was on for the Red Sox.

Edwin Encarnacion hit a two-run homer off Lackey in the sixth but it didn't matter.

Boston will go for the sweep and its ninth straight win this afternoon as Jon Lester takes on rookie Kyle Drabek.

Follow @RichSlate


Tweet

It's about time: J.D. Drew hits his first walk-off hit for the Red Sox (in the 14th inning)

It's only fitting that a game that goes 14 innings (the longest Boston Red Sox game of the season), complete with a four-run lead blown in the ninth and having two players ejected, that J.D. Drew delivered the first walk-off hit of his Red Sox career.

Things were going well for Boston (32-26) as they went into the bottom of the ninth up 7-3 yesterday afternoon at Fenway Park on the Oakland A's (27-32).

Then closer Jonathan Papelbon started giving up hits in a non-save situation like he always does and before you knew it, he was tossed along with catcher Jason Varitek for arguing balls and strikes.

Oakland tied it up at 7 in the ninth and both teams scored a run in the 11th before Drew (2 hits, 2 RBIs) drove in Carl Crawford (4 hits, 3 RBIs, 2 runs) in the 14th for the winning run.

Alfredo Aceves (3-1) was the unsung hero and turned out to be the winner as he went the last four innings for the Red Sox. He allowed one earned run on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

It's hard to remember since this game went five hours and 17 minutes but this started out as a tasty pitching matchup between A's stud Trevor Cahill and Red Sox ace Josh Beckett. As usual, that's not how the game unfolded.

Cahill went seven innings but he allowed five earned runs on eight hits with a walk and eight strikeouts.

Beckett went six innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits with three walks and four strikeouts.

Things got off to a good start for Boston as Adrian Gonzalez hit a solo homer (his 11th of the season) in the first. Drew added an RBI single, driving in Crawford in the fifth, for a 2-0 lead.

Josh Willingham tied it up in the sixth with a two-run single in the sixth. The Red Sox responded with three runs. Dustin Pedroia had an RBI single, Kevin Youkilis had an RBI double and Crawford had an RBI single in the frame.

Cliff Pennington drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh but Crawford's two-run double in the eighth made it 7-3 good guys.

You knew something was up in the ninth when Pedroia let a routine grounder go through his legs, scoring a run. Pennington had an RBI double and Conor Jackson tied it with an RBI single as Papelbon melted down literally and figuratively (the first ejection of his career).

Ryan Sweeney put Oakland ahead with a sacrifice fly in the 11th but Jacoby Ellsbury (4 hits, 2 steals) tied it with an RBI double which knocked in Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Boston goes for the sweep today but I wouldn't bet on them since John Lackey returns from the DL and his rehab stint in the minors. He faces Oakland lefty Brett Anderson, who is good and typically gives the Red Sox trouble.

Should I tell the Red Sox that the White Sox are terrible?

The summer weather is finally here but with the Boston Bruins in their first Stanley Cup finals in 21 years, the Boston Red Sox have a few more weeks of anonymity before everybody starts paying more attention to their games.

It's a good thing that nobody cares right now since the Red Sox (30-25) aren't playing very well at the moment. Boston dropped its third straight game overall, 10-7 last night at Fenway Park to the Chicago White Sox (26-31).

As long as Ozzie Guillen has been manager of the White Sox, they've always had lineups that could put up big numbers since they hit bombs. The lack of starting pitching and shaky bullpens has made them an afterthought in the crappy American League Central, making them miss the playoffs the last few seasons.

I don't expect Chicago to do much this season either but they look like they're about to sweep the Red Sox at Fenway which would be pretty embarrassing.

Alfredo Aceves (2-1) for Boston last night and he didn't have it after excelling in his first two spot starts. In five innings, he was knocked around for eight runs (six earned) on eight hits with three walks and a strikeout.

Journeyman Phil Humber (4-3) started for Chicago and he continued his surprisingly good season. He went 7.2 innings, allowing four earned runs on nine hits with a walk and five strikeouts.

For the second straight, the White Sox got out to a quick start and never looked back from there. They put up four runs in the second and one in the third for an early 5-0 lead. Gordon Beckham (3 hits) had an RBI single in the second, Brett Morel followed with a fielder's choice, Alexei Ramirez (4 hits, 3 RBIs) had an RBI single and A.J. Pierzynski added a ground-rule double.

Jason Varitek got the Red Sox on the board with a solo homer in the second, his second of the season.

Ramirez had another RBI single in the fourth before the White Sox put up three in the sixth on an RBI single by Juan Pierre, RBI double by Carlos Quentin and sacrifice fly by Paul Konerko.

The Red Sox added some runs in garbage time to make it close but Chris Sale came on to strike out Adrian Gonzalez on three pitches for his second save of the season.

Drew Sutton had an RBI single in the eighth and David Ortiz hit a three-run homer (his 12th of the season). Josh Reddick added a sacrifice fly in the ninth and Sutton had an RBI double.

Scott Atchison gave up two earned runs on four hits in relief. Bobby Jenks made his first appearance since May 1 and threw a scoreless eighth despite giving up two hits. Dan Wheeler had a scoreless ninth where he worked around a walk and a hit.

Tim Wakefield starts this afternoon against Gavin Floyd in the series finale. The Red Sox need a win before they have tomorrow off. Gotta get back to the roll they were on for most of May now that June is here.

Red Sox finally top the world beating Indians

After four tries in 2011, the Boston Red Sox (26-22) finally beat the Cleveland Indians (30-16) 4-2 last night at Progressive Field.

Josh Beckett (4-1) picked up his first regular season win in Cleveland (who could ever forget his legendary start there in the 2007 playoffs?) after 6.2 innings. He allowed five hits, one earned run with three walks and six strikeouts.

Fausto Carmona (3-5) went eight innings for the Indians but he allowed five hits, four earned runs with one walk and seven strikeouts.

The unlikeliest of heroes stepped up at the plate for Boston as Jason Varitek hit a two-run homer, his first in almost a year (May 30, 2010).

Jonathan Papelbon gave up a solo homer to Travis Buck in the ninth but recovered to get his ninth save of the season.

Some Amish guy named Ezequiel Carrera gave Cleveland a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the second which scored Buck.

Jed Lowrie tied it up in the third with a sacrifice fly which drove in Carl Crawford. The Red Sox went ahead for good later in the frame on Adrian Gonzalez's RBI double (scoring Jacoby Ellsbury).

Varitek's two-run bomb in the seventh plated David Ortiz.

Jon Lester takes on Mitch Talbot this afternoon in the series finale.

Adrian Gonzalez's first walk-off hit as a member of the Boston Red Sox

If the Boston Red Sox go anywhere this season, I can guarantee that highlights of last night's improbable victory over the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park will be featured prominently.

Adrian Gonzalez hit a two-run double off the Monster in the bottom of the ninth off Orioles closer Kevin Gregg giving Boston (21-20) its fourth straight win, 8-7 over Baltimore (19-21).

The Daisuke Matsuzaka experience was in full effect during a miserable, rainy night. He went 4.1 innings, allowing five hits, five earned runs, seven walks and two strikeouts. I don't know who they could put in his rotation spot but hopefully the Red Sox brass can come up with another fake injury and they can give him a seat next to John Lackey on the disabled list.

The Orioles built up a 6-0 lead with two runs in the first, one in the third, two in the fifth and one in the sixth.

Derrek Lee had an RBI double in the first and Vlad Guerrero (3 hits, 2 runs) drove in a run with a ground out. Matt Wieters had an RBI single in the third, Mark Reynolds had an RBI single in the fifth and J.J. Hardy drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Finally, Adam Jones had an RBI single in the sixth.

After Orioles starter Chris Tillman pitched five scoreless innings, Jed Lowrie (2 hits, 2 runs) got the comeback underway with an RBI double in the sixth. Jason Varitek and Gonzalez added RBI singles in the frame and Kevin Youkilis roped an two-run RBI double to pull the Red Sox within a run at 6-5.

Reynolds hit a solo homer to center off Boston reliever Alfredo Aceves (1-0) in the seventh to give the Orioles a 7-5 lead. It turned out to be the only mistake for Aceves as he went three innings for the win. He allowed two hits and struck out one for his first win with the Red Sox.

Varitek cut it to 7-6 in the seventh with another RBI single.

Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits) walked and stole second with one out in the ninth against Gregg. Pedroia worked a nine-pitch walk, setting the table for Gonzalez's sweet stroke off the Wall.

Tim Wakefield gets the ball tonight in place of Lackey. The O's counter with young lefty Zach Britton (5-2). Boston looks to sweep the two-game set and continue this stretch of good baseball.

Dice-K wishes you a Happy Easter

I didn't get to see much of the Boston Red Sox game last night against the Los Angeles Angels but I had a good excuse since the Bruins beat the Canadiens in double overtime.

From what I gathered, Daisuke Matsuzaka tossed his second gem in a row as the Red Sox (9-11) won 5-0. It was Boston's fourth win in a row and their seventh in their last eight games.

Anaheim (12-9) was limited to two hits, both infield singles, as they meekly went down to the Red Sox for the third straight night.

Matsuzaka (2-2) went eight innings, allowing one hit, three walks and nine strikeouts in 115 pitches. The long outing was especially important since both Bobby Jenks and Jonathan Papelbon were unavailable due to a ton of work lately.

Daniel Bard threw a scoreless ninth, allowing one hit and striking out two.

Once upon a time Ervin Santana (0-3) was compared to a young Pedro Martinez. Haha, must have been one of his relatives or baby mamas that came up with that ludicrous comparison. He's a good MLB pitcher but nothing close to special, ever. He went seven innings last night, allowing nine hits, five earned runs, one walk and nine strikeouts.

Boston got on the board in the second inning as Carl Crawford's (2 hits) infield single scored Jed Lowrie (2 hits).

Adrian Gonzalez had an RBI single in the third which drove in Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, 2 runs, 2 stolen bases), who looked good in the leadoff spot.

Kevin Youkilis returned after missing most of the last two games (he fouled a ball off his shin) and hit a two-run opposite field bomb for a 4-0 lead in the fifth.

Jason Varitek notched an RBI double in the sixth which scored Crawford for the final Red Sox run.

John Lackey gets the start tonight against his former team as Boston goes for the sweep against Matt Palmer and the Angels.

The Red Sox promise to make this summer slightly more memorable

While it's not exactly time for a rolling rally and a ring ceremony quite yet, I will admit that the Boston Red Sox are starting to play some baseball.

After a pathetic April, they wrapped up an 18-11 May with an 8-1 win over the Royals yesterday afternoon at Fenway.

Jon Lester (6-2) won his sixth straight start and David Ortiz continued his torrid stretch with his 10th home run of the month. It added up to only a split with Kansas City (21-30) but after losing the first two games, what can you do?

It shows how good Lester has become when he goes seven innings, allowing one run on four hits with four walks and five strikeouts and right away people say, well he didn't have his best stuff. Is it too early to start the Cy Young campaign? Not only is Lester the best left-handed pitcher in MLB, he might be the AL's best (Justin Verlander, C.C. Sabathia being his biggest competition).

And just as we were too quick to bury the Sox (29-23), we also shouldn't have been dancing on Ortiz's grave so fast. Back in his old No. 3 spot, he is crushing the ball. He had a sacrifice fly in the third to tie it and then a two-run bomb to center to put Boston up 4-1.

Mike Cameron (2 hits, 2 RBIs, 3 runs) and Marco Scutaro (3 hits, 2 RBIs) tacked on an RBI double and RBI single respectively in the sixth before Jason Varitek (2 hits, 2 runs) hit his seventh homer, a solo shot, in the eighth.

With the calendar turning to June tomorrow, Boston's schedule takes an easy turn with the AL West leading A's coming to town, followed by trips to Baltimore and Cleveland.

Nobody except pink hats and old people are really following the Sox yet, since the Celtics are in the NBA Finals, but once they're done, we might actually have a baseball team to devote way too much time to this season.

He's Dice-K, he doesn't have to make sense

Daisuke Matsuzaka is one of the great mysteries in sports. He has the ability to completely baffle hitters but he's one of the most frustrating athletes because he rarely lives up to any sort of expectations.

Like a friend or relative that's a screwup, I guess we have to go start by start with the Diceman and not dwell on past success or his recent failures. Just living in the moment.

So there he was last night at Fenway Park, toeing the rubber and unleashing a gem against the Blue Jays. Matsuzaka (2-1) went seven innings, giving up one earned run on three hits with no walks and nine strikeouts.

Boston (18-16) won 6-1 over the Blue Jays (19-16), their fifth straight win vs. Toronto this season.

The Red Sox' scrappy offense (ie. no power) continued to scratch runs out of not much substance. They got two runs in the first off a groundout and sacrifice fly.

Jason Varitek continued to swing a hot bat, crushing a solo homer in the second inning. It's his sixth home run of the season, haha he's batting .342

Boston added a run in the fourth on Darnell McDonald's RBI double and two in the fifth on a wild pitch and fielder's choice.

Toronto finally solved Dice-K in the sixth with an RBI double by Fred Lewis but that's all they get on the night.

The Sox go for the sweep with an afternoon matinee pitting Tim Wakefield against Shawn Marcum.

Beckett gets shelled but Sox still win shitshow in Toronto

I can't remember being less enthused about the Red Sox to start a season so I won't pretend I was hanging on every absurd pitch last night in Toronto.

The Bruins finished off the Sabres which was much more important than the Sox' silly 13-12 win over Toronto at the Rogers Centre.

It was nine innings but the game was the longest (4 hours, 3 minutes) nine inning game of the season thus far.

Apparently a 5-0 lead is not big enough for Josh Beckett as he gave it all back in the third as the Blue Jays (10-10) took a 6-5 lead.

I won't get into the play by play since that could take days. Boston (9-11) banged out a season-high 18 hits. Marco Scutaro (4 runs), Dustin Pedroia (3 runs, 2 RBIs, 2 steals), Kevin Youkilis, Jason Varitek (4 RBIs) and Adrian Beltre all had three hits.

Lyle Overbay led Toronto with three hits and four RBIs. Jose Bautista had a three-run bomb off Beckett and four RBIs overall while Vernon Vells and Adam Lind also had three hits.

Manny Delcarmen was the first effective pitcher for Boston after Beckett gave up eight earned runs in three innings. Delcarmen calmed things down with a scoreless sixth and seventh innings.

Hideki Okajima entered with a 13-10 lead in the eighth but promptly gave up two runs. Josh Bard struck out two and got a 1-2-3 eighth and Jonathan Papelbon went 1-2-3 in the ninth for his sixth save.

Clay Buchholz needs to go deep tonight against Shawn Marcum since the Sox' bullpen is understandably dead.

Ortiz did steroids; and this is a surprise?

You gotta love baseball and its never-ending witch hunt involving steroids.

The latest chapter hit home yesterday as David Ortiz's name (along with Manny Ramirez) was supposedly on the list of 104 players who failed PED tests in 2003.

This whole saga is too frustrating to put into words but I'll leave it at this: the fact that Ortiz was implicated is completely predictable and it's further proof that baseball can't have it both ways. They rode the popularity of sluggers in the late 90s and early millennium but now old sports writers and MLB get all self-righteous and start questioning the integrity of a game that they completely turned a blind eye to.

The average fan doesn't care what happened six years ago. We live in the moment. If they test positive today that's a different story but can't we all accept that most of the big stars have used at some point and move on? The endless leaking of names is a joke.

Of course on such a big day, Ortiz stepped up in Boston's game as he smacked a three-run homer in the seventh that put the Red Sox up 6-5 en route to an 8-5 win in the series finale vs. the Oakland Athletics.

As I said yesterday, it was almost a must-win and given the result, it could be one of the turning points of the season.

Jon Lester cruised through the first five innings with Boston (59-42) nursing a 1-0 lead but he ran into trouble in the sixth as Oakland (43-58) scored four runs.

Jason Varitek (3 hits, 3 RBIs, run) had singled home the Sox' first run in the second inning. Mike Lowell's lucky RBI double (a pop-up that fell in between first and right field and then bounced into the stands) and another Varitek RBI single cut the A's lead to 4-3.

Tommy Everidge gave Oakland a 5-3 lead in the seventh with an RBI single but that just set the stage for Ortiz's heroic moment.

In the eighth, Boston tacked on two insurance runs as Varitek knocked in J.D. Drew with a double and Jacoby Ellsbury added a sacrifice fly.

Jonathan Papelbon recorded his 26th save in the ninth.

Today is one of the most interesting days in baseball every year, the trade deadline. The Sox have made a big splash in 2004 (trading Nomar) and last year (trading Manny for Jason Bay) and this year, there's rumors of Victor Martinez, Adrian Gonzalez or Roy Halladay coming to Boston.

The Red Sox have the young prospects to make a blockbuster deal and as they've shown, they're not afraid to pull the trigger.

Boston opens up a weekend series in Baltimore tonight before heading off for Tampa Bay and finally New York. The Ortiz steroid saga is only beginning and he will face much different treatment away from the pink hats and homers of Red Sox Nation.

I'm in the club howling "A Bay Bay, A Bay Bay"

After their bats slept through Monday night's game, the Red Sox woke up last night and beat the A's 5-2 behind their All-Star contingent.

Josh Beckett (10-3) joined teammate Tim Wakefield in the 10-win club. Beckett went 6.2 innings, allowing two runs on six hits with a walk and four strikeouts.

Jason Bay broke out of his slump with a double, homer, two runs scored, a walk and two steals. Dustin Pedroia, who missed Monday night's game to be with his wife in the hospital (she's about to give birth), returned last night with an RBI single and walk.

Closer Jonathan Papelbon gave up one hit but still struck out the side in the ninth for his 21st save of the season.

Oakland (35-47) took a 1-0 lead in the first when Scott Hairston hit a solo home run off Beckett.

Boston (50-33) took a 2-1 lead in the second on Bay's homer (a bomb to the light tower in center) and a run came home when Nick Green grounded into a double play.

In the third, Jason Varitek (2 hits) plated two runs with a single.

Adam Kennedy cut it to 4-2 Boston in the fifth with an RBI double but Pedroia drove in the last run with the single in the sixth.

The Red Sox look to take the rubber game of the series tonight with Wakefield getting the start.