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 Orioles 3-1 In Fenway Opener Behind Buchholz's Gem & Nava's Blast

It was a perfect day for the Red Sox' 2013 home opener at Fenway Park: it was sunny, the temperature was mild and most importantly, Boston beat Baltimore 3-1 this afternoon.

Clay Buchholz (2-0) pieced together his second quality start of the season and this one topped last week's effort vs. the Yankees since he went seven scoreless innings. He allowed three hits with eight strikeouts and four walks. Boston's (5-2 overall, 1-0 home) bullpen looks rock solid as Andrew Bailey (1-2-3 8th with two strikeouts for his third hold) appears to be a nice fit as the setup man for closer Joel Hanrahan, who picked up his third save of the season despite allowing a solo homer to Adam Jones in the ninth.

Baltimore (3-4 overall, 2-2 away) starter Wei-Yin Chen (0-1) matched Buchholz for a while but his one mistake was a big one: a three-run homer he served up to Daniel Nava (his 2nd of the season) in the seventh inning. Chen went 6.1 innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits with three strikeouts and two walks.

Each team only notched five hits apiece with Nava (2 hits) being the only guy with multiple hits. Mike Napoli (double) and J.J. Hardy provided the other extra base hits.

Tomorrow is an off day so they'll get back at it on Wednesday night (7:10 p.m., NESN) with Ryan Dempster (0-1) facing Miguel Gonzalez (1-0) in the middle game of the series.

UPDATE 4/10: Get ready to hate Stephen Drew who was activated today while Jose Iglesias was sent down to Pawtucket. John Lackey went on the 15-day DL while Alex Wilson was called up from the PawSox. It's all happening!

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John Farrell Must Be Psyched To Be Out Of That Dump Aka Toronto

It is adorable how Toronto is pretending to care about the Blue Jays for a few days while their old manager-John Farrell-is in town with his new team. FYI the Blue Jays haven't made the playoffs in 20 years, since they won the World Series in 1993. Tonight in the series opener at a nearly sold out (which never happens) Rogers Centre, Boston (3-1 overall, 3-1 away) beat Toronto (1-3 overall, 1-3 home) 6-4.

The Red Sox jumped out to a 4-1 lead by the fifth inning but the Blue Jays tied it in the seventh before Boston scored single runs in the eighth and ninth.

Neither Felix Doubront (5 IP, 3 runs, 9 hits, 6 strikeouts, 0 walks) nor Josh Johnson (6 IP, 4 runs, 3 earned runs, 9 hits, 6 strikeouts, 2 walks) were on top of their games but who could blame them since Boston pounded out 12 hits (including 5 extra base hits) and worked six walks while Toronto had 12 hits (8 for extra bases).

The story for the Red Sox was their first two homers of the season along with some more stellar relief. Jacoby Ellsbury plated the first run of the game, in the second inning, with an RBI single. Mark DeRosa tied it with a sacrifice fly in the home half of the inning but Pedro Ciriaco (2 hits, stolen base) had an RBI single in the fourth after Jose Iglesias left the game (he was hit by a pitch on the elbow).

In the fifth inning, Mike Napoli's first homer (a two-run bomb) for Boston was a memorable one for a couple reasons: 1) it went to the opposite field and 2) it was the first Red Sox home run of 2013. Those runs proved to be vital since DeRosa cut it to 4-2 with a solo shot in the bottom of the fifth and Jose Reyes (4 for 5, 2 doubles, 2 runs) made it 4-3 with an RBI double. Reyes tied it with a solo homer in the seventh off Junichi Tazawa (1-0), who still ended up with the win.

Koji Uehara had a 1-2-3 sixth with two strikeouts for the Red Sox, Andrew Bailey had a scoreless eighth and Joel Hanrahan submitted a scoreless ninth for his second save of the season. Boston scored its last two runs with a ground out by Napoli in the eighth and a solo homer by Will Middlebrooks (double) in the ninth.

Dustin Pedroia was 2 for 3 with a double, run and walk while Shane Victorino was 2 for 5 with two runs. Rajai Davis was the only other Blue Jay with multiple hits, he was 2 for 4 with a double and run. The two teams combined to go 2 for 29 (seriously) with runners in scoring position but at least Boston made a few count (2 for 19) whereas Toronto was 0 for 10. Ouch.

Much like I boycotted Josh Beckett's starts last season, I plan to take the same action beginning tomorrow afternoon (1:07, NESN) as John Lackey makes his 2013 debut against J.A. Happ.

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Red Sox Trade For Another Closer From A Bad Team, Good Luck Joel Hanrahan

For the second off-season in a row, the Red Sox have proceeded forward with the idea that closers on inferior teams should be able to make a smooth transition to the rigors of the AL East. How did that work out last season for Mark Melancon (formerly of the Astros) and Andrew Bailey (formerly of the A's)?

After much talk about the possible trade last week, it was made official today as Boston traded Melancon along with minor leaguers Stolmy Pimentel (pitcher), Ivan De Jesus (infielder) and Jerry Sands (first baseman/outfielder) to PIttsburgh for closer Jack Hanrahan and minor league second baseman Brock Holt.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's a nice move for the Red Sox since Hanrahan is a two-time All-Star in the National League (2011, 2012) and they didn't give up much in return. Melancon was a complete disaster in 2012 (0-2, 6.20 ERA in 41 appearances) and who knows if Pimentel, De Jesus and Sands will pan out. Pimentel was in Portland (Double A) last season while De Jesus and Sands came over in the huge trade with the Dodgers. None of them were any of the Red Sox' elite prospects by any means.

Hanrahan is not young, he turned 31 in October and made his major league debut for the Nationals in 2007. After 2.5 years with Washington, he's spent the last 3.5 in Pittsburgh. So that means he played for two of the worst teams in baseball (this was before the Nationals were competitive) and hasn't sniffed a playoff spot let alone played meaningful games in September and October.

He had 40 saves in 2011 and 36 last season. In 2012, he was 5-2 with a 2.72 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in 63 appearances. In 59.2 innings, he allowed 40 hits, 18 earned runs and eight home runs with 67 strikeouts and 36 walks. Hanrahan is a big guy (6-foot-4, 250 pounds) so he's a power pitcher. It makes you wonder what Boston plans to do with Bailey (7.04 ERA, 6 saves, 3 blown saves in 19 appearances) who was injured most of last season then terrible when he finally was activated late in the miserable campaign for all involved.

There is still over two months before spring training starts so expect the Red Sox to continue making moves to bolster a roster which as it stands, still appears to be the fifth best in the AL East. Pennants aren't won in November and December but it's hard to argue with all the improvements made by the Blue Jays. The Yankees, Orioles and Rays haven't done much but they were better teams than the Red Sox to begin with so I don't think that has changed.

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