Red Sox Sign Both Hanley Ramirez & Pablo Sandoval, Because Why The Hell Not?

Two out of the last three seasons, the Red Sox have finished in last place in the AL East. That's not acceptable by any means and the fact that they won the 2013 World Series in between is still nearly impossible to explain. With no salary cap in baseball, an extremely loyal fan base that pays the highest tickets prices in MLB and filthy rich owners, Boston has no excuse but to spend like crazy this offseason to regain their relevance both regionally and nationally.

The Red Sox took a big step forward in terms of wins in 2015 and beyond by signing both shortstop Hanley Ramirez and third baseman Pablo Sandoval. Ramirez, the former Red Sox prized prospect that was traded to Florida in the Josh Beckett deal (November 2005), is reportedly getting a four-year deal worth $88 million with a vesting fifth year worth an additional $22 million. The figures on Sandoval's deal aren't known yet but it is thought to be in the five-year and $90 million range.

Take a breath. The interesting part about this is that while Sandoval was rumored to be coming here for weeks, Ramirez's name wasn't mentioned at all until it was basically signed, sealed and delivered yesterday. They both come with issues: Ramirez has missed a bunch of games the last two seasons with the Dodgers due to various injuries while Sandoval's weight is a constant battle. Ramirez is willing to move away from shortstop which will probably be the case here unless the Red Sox trade Xander Bogaerts (no!). His defense at shortstop wasn't great anymore and as we've seen time and again, any schmoe can play a decent left field at Fenway Park. Sandoval is two years younger (30-28) than Ramirez and while he doesn't have the same tools, he has been a more consistent performer in the postseason (.344 average in 39 games) as he helped San Francisco win three of the last five World Series crowns.

Even before these two moves (the Red Sox will have a press conference to introduce them on Tuesday at 1pm), we knew that the team's biggest need was top of the rotation starting pitching. This certainly improves their lineup but they won't go anywhere without a true ace (Jon Lester?) and a solid number two (James Shields or Cole Hamels?). You worry a bit that both guys have played their entire careers in the kinder, gentler National League, plus they are each coming from California which couldn't be more different than Massachusetts.

The money and risk is worth it because this is the Red Sox who can afford to make high-profile mistakes. I'm not wishing that on them with these guys or predicting it but honestly, what do they have to lose at this point? Ramirez won the NL batting title in 2009 and led the NL in OPS last season (.283, 13 HRs, 71 RBIs, .369 OBP, .448 SLG). Sandoval's regular season numbers won't blow you away (.279 with 16 HRs, 73 RBIs, .324 OBP, .415 SLG) last season) but keep in mind the lack of protection he played with in the Giants' lineup and also what a pitcher's park AT&T has proven to be. Oh and third base was a black hole for Boston last season so anything would be an improvement over that.

There is no question that these two make the Red Sox way better than they were yesterday without them and isn't that ultimately what this is all about? Sure we might not be in love with the player (on paper at least) or the contract (remember it's not our money) but you have to appreciate Boston's attitude here: they are going for it, again, after some truly awful years that should rarely happen to them.

UPDATE 11/25: It's a five-year deal for Sandoval-the 2012 World Series MVP-with an option for 2020.



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The Red Sox Finally Start To Learn From Their Mistakes Over The Last Few Years

If only there was a way the Dodgers could take John Lackey and deploy Bobby Valentine as a clubhouse attendant-a job that's much more his speed these days. Still, getting rid of $262.5 million owed to Josh Beckett, Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Nick Punto means that Boston is finally admitting that they needed a big change in terms of players.

James Loney is an average MLB first baseman and who knows if right-hand pitchers Allen Webster and Rubby De La Rosa or outfielder Jerry Sands will pan out for the Red Sox at the Major League level. That's besides the point and obviously, on paper in terms of talent the players that the Red Sox gave up are on a whole other level than the Dodgers.

No, this was a salary dump as the stubborn Red Sox owners and front office were able to get rid of the team's biggest pain in the ass-Beckett. Gonzalez is a fine player but he proved in his year and a half here that he's not East Coast material. He's not a leader and he seems like a guy that only really cares about his personal numbers. If the team wins or loses, well that doesn't matter as much. Bottom line, he's not a winner. He is one of the most skilled first basemen in MLB but that doesn't make him clutch or likable for that matter. He never understood that we care way too much about the Red Sox and we overanalyze everything. He's from California so I'm sure he'll be comfortable in LA. The fans (when they show up) just want to be seen there and have fun, that's all they care about.

As for Crawford, his signing even more than Gonzalez in that ill-fated week in December of 2010 never made much sense. The Red Sox already had a center fielder and leadoff hitter-Jacoby Ellsbury-that is a better all-around player than Crawford. He was wildly overpaid and clearly pressed from day one to try and justify it. Unlike Beckett who is an asshole or Gonzalez who is clueless, Crawford is a decent guy. He wanted fans to like him and with his salary and lack of production, that was probably never going to happen. After last season's nightmare, he couldn't stay healthy this season. I honestly hope he is healthy next season with the Dodgers so he can get back to the player he used to be with the Rays.

What is there left to say about the Texas Toughguy? He morphed into a super villain, the likes of which I can never recall on the Boston sports scene. He kept digging himself into a deeper hole with his terrible performances capped off by ridiculous comments to the media and general surliness. In the last year, he has dragged down many teammates around him, notably Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz. By shipping him out of town and hopefully getting rid of Lackey this winter, there is hope that the Red Sox will start to get part of their soul back.

Maybe the failure of these big-ticket players, along with Daisuke Matsuzaka whose career in Boston is quickly winding down, will make the Red Sox change how they evaluate free agents going forward. It is one thing to have good numbers in Tampa Bay, Florida (now Miami) or San Diego. Those markets are nothing like Boston and the inherit pressures you get by playing here. Boston now has plenty of money to use the next few offseasons. This was a huge step in the right direction, by also moving on from Lackey and Dice-K while (please God) not bringing back Bobby Valentine, the fans will return. We can live with some rebuilding if the team suddenly is likable easy to cheer for again.

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When Ichiro Suzuki Is Hitting Tape-Measure Bombs Against You, Might As Well Look For Another Profession

Chew on this: with 40 games left in their 2012 regular season, the Red Sox could go 40-0 and they still wouldn't win 100 games.

Boston (59-63, 30-29 away) went quietly in the night with a 4-1 loss to New York (72-49, 39-24 home) to wrap up a series loss (2-1) at Yankee Stadium. The Red Sox fell to 4-8 against the Yankees this season. There are two more series between these woefully mismatched rivals: at Fenway in September and closing out the regular season in the Bronx the first few days of October.

Josh Beckett (5-11) couldn't contain one of MLB's best sluggers as Ichiro Suzuki took him deep for solo homers in the fourth and sixth innings. The Texas Toughguy had about his best outing possible: six innings, four earned runs, seven hits, six strikeouts, three walks and two home runs allowed but he still lost.

Even with Beckett's extended breaks between pitches, this one was over in 2 hours and 51 minutes which has to be the quickest Red Sox-Yankees contest in years. Boston ended their 10-game, 11-day road trip (longest of the season) at 4-6.

Hiroki Kuroda (12-8, 2.96 ERA), who was a free agent that the Red Sox easily could have signed last winter, proved to be yet another wrong choice they have made in the last year-plus. He shut down Boston for eight innings, allowing one earned run on four hits with four strikeouts and no walks.

Rafael Soriano worked the ninth for his 31st save of the season and second of the weekend.

Curtis Granderson had an RBI double in the first since Beckett automatically has to give up at least one run every first inning. Derek Jeter (3 for 4, 2 doubles, stolen base) scored on a wild pitch in the third inning for a 2-0 New York lead.

The Red Sox had five total hits in the game and it would have been a shutout if not for the heroics of Adrian Gonzalez (15th of the season), who continued to pad his stats with a worthless solo homer in the seventh.

Boston returns to Fenway for seven games after an off-day tomorrow. We should all be thankful that they give us time to concentrate on the utterly meaningless Patriots-Eagles preseason matchup. There is a weird scheduling quirk since the Red Sox haven't played the Angels all season but Los Angeles (62-60, 3rd AL West) is in Boston starting Tuesday then the Red Sox are in Anaheim next week.

Aaron Cook (3-6) faces Ervin Santana (6-10) on Tuesday night (7:10 p.m., NESN), Clay Buchholz (11-3) gets Jered Weaver (15-3) on Wednesday night (7:10 p.m., NESN) in what could be a classic pitcher's duel and Franklin Morales (3-4) takes the hill against fellow lefty C.J. Wilson (9-9) in the finale on Wednesday night (7:10 p.m., NESN).

I'm just excited to see Mike Trout and see up close why the Angels have struggled so much lately when it looks like they put together a powerhouse team. They should benefit greatly from playing the Red Sox six times in 10 days.

After that, Boston takes on Kansas City in four mind-numbing games wrapped around this weekend.

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I Have Never Seen A Local Team Be Toxic In Every Conceivable Way Possible, Until Now

If you want to see a dysfunctional team, in every way possible, tune into a Red Sox game in 2012. Better yet, don't even watch but just read some of their assorted daily drama that is constantly stirred up by these malcontents, out of touch owners and wacky manager.

I have never cared less about a local squad (Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, Red Sox) than this one. Things get more predictable by the day, it's like paint by numbers. Tonight, Josh Beckett (5-10) "pitched" and the Red Sox (57-60, 28-26 away) lost the series opener 7-1 to the Orioles (63-53, 31-28 home) at Camden Yards.

The end of the season can't come soon enough for this truly hateable team. The Texas Toughguy went 5.1 innings, allowing six earned runs on six hits with two strikeouts, two walks and two home runs allowed. After Matt Wieters reached on an infield single (scoring a run) and Chris Davis (2 hits, walk) had an RBI single in the sixth, Beckett was pulled from the game by Bobby Valentine. Would you believe Mark Melancon gave up a three-run bomb to Mark Reynolds (his second of the game) on the next pitch? Haha unbelievable, pass me a couple beers Lackey.

Not that it mattered anyway. Baltimore has the look of a playoff team this season despite the fact that their lineup isn't very good, their rotation is average at best and they play terrible defense (worst in the AL). Still, they make up for it by hitting homers, having a good bullpen and being clutch. What a concept!

Their de-facto ace Wei-Yin Chen (11-7) went six innings, allowing one earned run on nine hits with four strikeouts and a walk. Baltimore's bullpen kept the lead intact as Darren O'Day, JC Romero and Matt Lindstrom all threw scoreless frames. Too bad nobody in Baltimore has figured out yet that the O's are a team to get behind, I guess they are all busy on the corners like in The Wire.

The Red Sox actually outhit the Orioles 11-7 but they were 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position and they left 12 men on base. You couldn't be that ineffective if you tried, you have to give Boston credit for that. Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia (double, triple, walk), Cody Ross (run, double) and Carl Crawford all had two hits in the loss.

Mighty Omar Quintanilla-Orioles No. 9 hitter-took Beckett deep in the third, a solo shot and his 3rd of the season. Crawford tied it with an RBI single in the fourth but Reynolds woke up with a solo homer in the fifth (his 10th of the season) and Baltimore was on their way.

All was not lost for the Red Sox though since Danny Valencia got his first hit for them while Andrew Bailey made his debut. The former A's closer walked Davis then struck out Reynolds to end the eighth. Too bad he couldn't have returned oh I don't know, a month ago. Oh well, like I said before, it doesn't matter.

Aaron Cook (3-5) takes the ball against Miguel Gonzalez (4-2) tomorrow night (7:05 p.m., NESN) in the middle game of this three-game series. At least I can stomach watching Cook play baseball, Beckett literally makes me sick.

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The Umpires Gift A 4-1 6-Inning Win To The Red Sox Against The Tigers In A Rainstorm

There is no other way to describe tonight's rain-shortened game at Fenway Park than bizarre. The Red Sox (53-51, 27-28 home) earned a very cheap 4-1 win (their fourth straight) vs. the Tigers (54-50, 26-29 away) in six innings.

Justin Verlander's (11-7) 63-game streak of going 6+ innings ended thanks to Mother Nature and a high pitch count (107). Truth be told, he didn't have it either (5 innings, 6 hits, 4 runs, 3 earned, 6 strikeout, 4 walks).

Detroit said they would file a complaint with the commissioner's office (Bud Selig should get that memo in about four months) since the game was called when they had the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the sixth. I can't say I've ever seen a contest end prematurely with the go-ahead run at the plate, it was very shady.

After not being traded, lazy slug Josh Beckett responded by pitching 2.2 innings then leaving with "back spasms." Shocking that such an incredible, well-conditioned athlete that never breaks down could fall victim to that. I can't hate on a guy for being injured but with his checkered history, who knows what the real story might have been.

Luckily, Clayton Mortensen (1-0) wanted to pitch and he threw 2.2 innings of scoreless relief. Franklin Morales recorded one out and appeared to be in trouble after an infield hit and walk loaded the bases. However, he ended up getting credit for his first save of the season which should go down as one of the cheapest in MLB history.

Miguel Cabrera walked with the bases loaded in the third to make it 1-0 Tigers but Mortensen put out Beckett's fire by getting Prince Fielder to fly out to end the inning.

The Red Sox scored all of their runs in the fourth on Pedro Ciriaco's RBI single, a bases loaded walk by Jacoby Ellsbury and two runs scored on Carl Crawford's infield hit/Omar Infante's error.

In their last regular season meeting of 2012, Aaron Cook (2-4) faces Rick Porcello (7-6) tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) as the Red Sox go for a three-game sweep and their fifth win in a row.

UPDATE 8/1: Daniel Nava was placed on the DL with a left wrist sprain. Catcher Ryan Lavarnway was called up from Pawtucket to take his place in Boston. Also, Craig Breslow arrived and is active which means that Mortensen was optioned back to the PawSox.

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The Red Sox Absolutely Have To Trade Josh Beckett, It's The Only Solution

Honestly, what else will it take for the Red Sox to realize that trading Josh Beckett in the next 10 days would be the best move they've made in years? The Texas Toughguy (5-8) just doesn't care anymore and the team will never get anywhere with him stinking up the clubhouse and dugout, not to mention his often abysmal starts.

Tonight, Boston (48-46, 25-26 home) was down 4-0 in the second inning and never really had a chance (I've said that before) as Toronto (46-47, 21-27 away) won the series opener 6-1 at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox' offense certainly didn't help matters as they only avoided a shutout by scoring a run in garbage time-down 6-0 in the ninth with a fielder's choice by Mike Aviles. Boston had nine hits, including two apiece from Will Middlebrooks and Kelly Shoppach but as a team they were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

Aaron Laffey (2-1) added seven shutout innings to the six he threw at Fenway nearly a month ago. He allowed eight hits with four strikeouts and no walks.

Beckett went six innings but he gave up five runs (four earned) on seven hits with seven strikeouts and three walks.

The Blue Jays scored twice in the first, on Edwin Encarnacion's (2 runs, single, walk) fielder's choice and J.P. Arencibia's RBI single. Toronto added two more in the second on a two-run double by Colby Rasmus (run, triple).

Adam Lind (2 hits) had an RBI single in the fifth and my man Yan Gomes pushed across the final run with an RBI single in the ninth. Toronto went 4-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

Aaron Cook (2-2) faces Carlos Villanueva (4-0) tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) in the middle game of this three-game set.

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I Almost Can't Believe It But The Red Sox Won A Series In Tampa Bay

Even Josh Beckett's killer hangover couldn't derail the Red Sox this afternoon as they picked up a series win in Tampa Bay thanks to a 7-3 victory at Tropicana Field.

Boston (45-44, 23-20 away) won two out of three in its first series of the 2012 second half thanks to some solid pitching that held Tampa Bay (46-43, 25-21 home) to nine total runs. Alfredo Aceves made it interesting by walking the bases loaded in the ninth but he got Hideki Matsui to fly out to the warning track to end it.

You must forgive the Texas Toughguy for allowing three runs in the first inning. After all, he was pounding Bud Heavies with Jon Lester and Clay Buchholz the night before at a swanky Tampa hotel (an oxymoron if I've ever made one up). That has to be the reason he's now given up eight runs in the first during his last two starts (5 against the Yankees).

I will give Beckett (5-7) credit (mark it down, since this will rarely happen) but he quieted the Rays' punchless lineup after that. Beckett went six innings, allowing three earned runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.

James Shields (8-6) also allowed three runs in the first for Tampa Bay and he ended up not really recovering. In five innings (113 pitches!), Shields gave up six earned runs on 11 hits with five strikeouts and three walks. For what it's worth, him and Beckett (4.44) have the exact same ERA this season. Wonder if James likes golf?

The Red Sox lineup showed life this weekend thanks to the return of Jacoby Ellsbury (3 hits, run, double) and Will Middlebrooks (3 hits, double, 2 RBIs, run). Mike Aviles (2 hits, 2 RBIs, run), Adrian Gonzalez (2 hits, run, RBI) and David Ortiz (2 hits, walk) also each contributed multiple hits in the slow as molasses win on Sunday (3 hours, 36 minutes). Would you believe that Aviles (46) and Gonzalez have the same amount of RBIs this season? What a nightmare.

Ben Zobrist led the Rays (3 hits, double, run, RBI, walk) while Will Rhymes (2 hits, run), Carlos Pena (2 hits, run) and Elliot Johnson (2 hits, double and walk) all had good days at the plate. Still, Tampa Bay's playoff hopes likely rest on Evan Longoria's tender hamstring. Without his presence, their offense is awful and the starting pitching has been good but far from great.

After missing the first two games with back spasms (picked up while shaking hands with a kid at the mall, haha or so he said), Gonzalez returned with an RBI single in the first inning.

The Rays went ahead 3-1 on Zobrist's infield single that scored a run and Desmond Jennings' two-run single.

Mike Aviles tied it with a two-run homer in the second, his 10th of the season, and Daniel Nava made it 4-3 in the fifth with his fourth homer of the season. Middlebrooks' two-run single later in the frame was the most vital hit of the entire contest.

Boston had the bases loaded with no outs in the sixth but all they could get was a sacrifice fly by Cody Ross. Regardless, the Red Sox were 4-for-12 with runners in scoring position and they left eight on base Sunday; the Rays were 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and they left 11 on base.

Junichi Tazawa made his first appearance since April (replacing Scott Atchison who went on the DL with tightness in his forearm) but he could only get one out. He was pulled after allowing two hits. Mark Melancon bailed him out by pitching 1.2 scoreless innings that included a strikeout but only took 19 pitches.

Some sweaty bald guy named Kevin Youkilis comes to Fenway Park tomorrow with the White Sox (49-39, 1st place in AL Central). After four with Chicago, Boston hosts Toronto for three more games at Fenway.

Bobby V's six-man rotation will be in full effect tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) as Aaron Cook (2-2) takes on Dylan Axelrod (1-2). On Tuesday (7:10 p.m., NESN), Jon Lester (5-6) faces Philip Humber (3-4). Wednesday night (7:10, NESN) brings us that Felix Doubront (9-4) vs. Jose Quintana (4-1) matchup that the world has been clamoring for. Thursday night (7:10, NESN) should be the best game as Franklin Morales (2-2) opposes Jake Peavy (7-6).

If your eyes and ears don't bleed too much from the glut of coverage of Youk's return to Boston, after only a few weeks in the Windy City, also keep in mind that Carl Crawford is supposed to make his 2012 Red Sox debut tomorrow as well. Should be a fun night.

UPDATE 7/16: Scrub Brent Lillibridge was designated for assignment to make room for Crawford on the 25-man roster. Crawford and Youk will both hit second in tonight's respective lineups.

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Heartless In Seattle: Red Sox Suffer 2nd Walk-off Loss In 3 Nights To The Shitbum Mariners

If they're going to lose, the Red Sox should at least have the decency to get it over with in nine innings when they are out on the West Coast.

Tonight, Boston (41-37, 20-16 away) fell to 0-5 in extra innings (0-2 on the road) as they lost 3-2 in 11 innings to Seattle (34-46, 15-22 home) at Safeco Field.

Chone Figgins's sacrifice fly scored Dustin Ackley (2 hits) with the winning run. Much like John Jaso's walk-off single two nights ago, right fielder Cody Ross made a fine throw to home but once again catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia couldn't handle it. Guess he didn't practice that between games. This was a tougher play (less time, bad hop) but he's still got to make it if he is to ever going to be considered an All-Star.

For those keeping track at home, Seattle has scored a total of four runs in the first three games of this series yet they are 2-1. Boston can do no better than a split provided that they win tomorrow afternoon.

Before the game, outfielder Darnell McDonald was designated for assignment which means the Red Sox have 10 days to trade, release or send him to Pawtucket. With all the young outfielders that have come up plus Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford rehabbing, it was simply a numbers decision. D-Mac was a good teammate but his lack of production didn't justify a spot with Boston anymore. Good luck to him moving forward.

This game couldn't have fallen much more in the Red Sox' favor since Mariners starter Erasmo Ramirez left in the third inning with an injury. That meant that Seattle had to use six relievers to close it out. Somehow it all worked with Shawn Kelley (2-2) getting a 1-2-3 11th with two strikeouts to earn the win.

Boston's closer Alfredo Aceves (0-5) ended up going 2.1 innings (25 pitches) which means he could be unavailable tomorrow in a save situation.

Josh Beckett's first start in 19 days was about all you could positively expect: six innings, two earned runs on four hits with four strikeouts and three walks.

The Red Sox' inept offense killed them this evening as they went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and they left 10 guys on base, brutal numbers for a team that had pounded the ball on its most recent homestand (7-2).

John Jaso gave Seattle a 2-0 lead with a two-run double in the sixth. Boston tied it with two in the seventh on Ryan Kalish's ground out and a passed ball by Miguel Olivo which allowed Will Middlebrooks to score.

Adrian Gonzalez was 3-for-5 with a run but he also got gunned out at second base in the eighth inning trying to stretch a single into a double. Making it sting more, that was the third out.

Cody Ross had two hits and a walk for Boston while Ichiro (run, stolen base) and Olivo each produced two hits for Seattle.

Felix Doubront (8-4) faces Jason Vargas (7-7) tomorrow afternoon (4:10 p.m., NESN) in the series finale. It's a must-win for the Red Sox because losing a series 3-1 to the Triple-A worthy Mariners would be an absolute disaster.

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Red Sox Continue To Fade Into Irrelevancy & Summer's Only Just Begun!

When did it come to this? The Boston Red Sox have transformed into that awful class you had to take in high school or college. All you can think about is when it will all be over and you can move on with your life. That pretty much sums up where fans of this team feel these days.

Beginning their interleague series at Marlins Park tonight, the Red Sox (29-32, 15-13 away) fell 4-1 to the Miami Marlins (32-29, 17-16 home). It was Boston's fourth loss in a row and seventh in its last eight games overall. Miami snapped a six-game losing streak and it's all thanks to the fact that they opened the roof-something they rarely do in rainy/steamy South Florida.

You have to give the Red Sox credit for one thing: they seemingly invent new ways to piss people off on a weekly basis. The latest chapter is their constant complaining about balls and strikes. It's an epidemic that starts at the top with manager Bobby Valentine crying about umpires every chance he gets. Still lacking leadership or flat out intelligence, the players see that and buy in for some reason like a bad Little League team.

For instance, Kevin Youkilis struck out (swinging) to end tonight's game yet he was barking at the umpires as he went into the dugout and up the tunnel. Suddenly a hateable team that's borderline unwatchable becomes even worse. Amazing.

Oh yes, the game. Well Josh Johnson (4-4) shutdown the Red Sox' depleted lineup for seven innings and handed it over to an equally stingy bullpen (for this game at least). Johnson allowed one run on four hits with seven strikeouts and a walk.

For the sixth straight time, Josh Beckett (4-7) went seven innings but Boston is only 3-3 in that time span. Don't think I'll let the Texas Toughguy off the hook that easily though since he handed the Marlins a 4-0 lead by the second inning, thereby ruling out any chance the Red Sox had of winning before it had even really started. Beckett allowed four earned runs on six hits with five strikeouts and a walk. He was great after the second inning but will anyone remember that?

Before Miami's typically late arriving crowd had settled in, the Marlins posted three runs in the first. Donovan Solano had a sacrifice fly, Logan Morrison stepped away from Twitter for a second to hit an RBI double and Gaby Sanchez added an RBI single.

Solano had a sacrifice fly in the second inning to give Miami a commanding 4-0 lead which felt like 10-0 with the way Boston is hitting at the moment.

Adrian Gonzalez provided the Red Sox' only run as he drove in Scott Podsednik (3 hits, stolen base) with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.

Falmouth High alum Steve Cishek worked the eighth for his seventh hold of the season and Heath Bell struck out the side in the ninth (second game in a row that's happened to Boston) for his 13th save of the season.

Mark Melancon had a 1-2-3 eighth for Boston which is huge news for him since the last time he appeared in a Red Sox uniform, he got lit up on April 17 vs. Texas (6 earned runs, 4 hits). He's been lights out in Pawtucket so let's hope he can continue to be that guy and not the April version of himself.

As an added bonus, this game was only two hours and 35 minutes long which gave the Miami "fans" plenty of time to hit the clubs and overpriced restaurants earlier than usual.

Clay Buchholz (6-2) will look to snap the Red Sox out of their latest funk tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) when he faces former White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle (5-6).

UPDATED 6/12: Outfielder Marlon Byrd was released today by the Red Sox.

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Remember The Good Old Days: When The Red Sox Could Beat The Orioles?

It's a very sad state of affairs when the Baltimore Orioles look like a dominant team against you.

After tonight's 2-1 win at Fenway Park, the Orioles (32-24, 18-11 away) improved to 5-0 in Boston this season and 6-2 so far in 2012 vs. the Red Sox (28-28, 13-16). Baltimore has won the first two games of the series and will go for the sweep tomorrow night. Dating back to last season, the O's have beaten the Red Sox 12 of its last 15 games, they're also 7-0 in their last seven games at Fenway (a franchise record). Haha good lord, this is getting absurd.

With the result, Baltimore gained sole possession of first-place again in the American League East while Boston remains in the basement after falling back to the .500 mark with three consecutive losses.

Of course to top it all off, the Red Sox wasted what will probably end up as Josh Beckett's (4-6) best outing of the season. He went eight innings (5th straight start of 7+ innings), allowing two earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts and no walks.

Wei-Yin Chen (5-2) lasted one less inning than Beckett but that doesn't matter since the Orioles have one of the top setup man/closer combinations in baseball: Pedro Strop and Jim Johnson. Seriously. Chen allowed one earned run on seven hits with four strikeouts and no walks.

Strop worked around two walks in the eighth to record his 11th hold while Johnson had a 1-2-3 ninth including two strikeouts for his 18th save of the season (after blowing the save last night but recovering for the win in the 10th inning).

It was a strange but fast game (2:31) that featured a combined 12 hits but only one of the extra-base variety (an RBI double by Darnell McDonald).

Boston scored its lone run in the third inning when Mike Aviles drove in McDonald with a sacrifice fly. The Red Sox left eight on base and they were just 1 for 5 with runners in scoring position.

Baltimore's two runs both came in the sixth on Robert Andino's RBI single and a ground out by Endy Chavez that plated Portland, Maine native Ryan Flaherty with what turned out to be the winning run.

Clay Buchholz (5-2) is probably the last Red Sox starting pitcher you'd pick to help avoid a sweep but that will be his difficult task tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) while we sit around and wait for Celtics-Heat Game 6 to start. Brian Matusz (5-5) will get the ball for the Orioles.

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Detroit Tigers Avoid Four-Game Sweep By The Red Sox Thanks To Josh Beckett's Dud

Josh Beckett and the Red Sox weren't able to complete a four-game sweep of the Tigers tonight at Fenway Park. Detroit (24-27, 13-15 away) beat Boston (26-25, 13-14 home) 7-3 in a pretty lifeless game witnessed first-hand by my girlfriend and I.

It marked the second time (White Sox, April 29) this season that Beckett lost when the Red Sox had a chance at a four-game sweep. Boston might be safely over .500 at last but the fact that their home record (where they usually excel) is still under .500 is a troubling sign of things to come.

Beckett (4-5) went seven innings but he wasn't fooling many hitters as they touched him up for four earned runs on 10 hits with one strikeout and one walk. While I'd like to pile all the blame on the Texas Toughguy, mostly because it's so fun, the truth was that relievers Franklin Morales (1 run) and Rich Hill (2 runs) were also off their games.

Max Scherzer (5-3) won his third straight start, an adequate outing that lasted six innings. He allowed three earned runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and two walks.

It should come as no surprise that a makeshift Red Sox lineup (hello Scott Podsednik leading off) without Dustin Pedroia (injured thumb) and Will Middlebrooks (not in the lineup, don't ask me why) struggled to produce much offense. In fact, the Tigers doubled up (14-7) the Red Sox in total hits.

Quintin Berry (3 hits, 2 runs, 2 stolen bases, RBI), Delmon Young (3 hits, 2 RBIs, run), Prince Fielder (2 hits, 2 RBIs, run) and Miguel Cabrera (2 hits, run, RBI) all had multiple hits for Detroit. Only Jarrod Saltalamacchia (2 hits, 2 RBIs), who should get serious All-Star consideration if he keeps this up (.373, 6 HRs, 14 RBIs in his last 16 games), had more than one hit for Boston.

Detroit nearly scored in the second inning but Young was thrown out at home on a nice throw by Ryan Sweeney in right field. Not sure why they sent him since Young isn't fast and he was the last out of the frame. Dumb move.

The Red Sox grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second thanks to Salty's (10th of the season) solo homer to right center and Podsednik's RBI double.

Beckett coughed it right up as the Tigers scored three times in the third to take a 3-2 lead. Berry had an RBI single, Brennan Boesch had a sacrifice fly and Fielder plated Berry with an RBI single.

Saltalamacchia tied it at three with an RBI single in the third but Cabrera's RBI single in the fifth put Detroit ahead for good. Young (4th of the season) crushed a meatball from Morales over the Monster in the eighth.

Against Hill in the ninth, Fielder had an RBI triple (no joke) and Young ended his memorable night with an RBI single.

I'm calling it right now, June will be the toughest month of the season for the Red Sox: seven of the nine series are against teams with winning records. Boston begins that arduous task with three games in Toronto this weekend. The Blue Jays (27-24, 1 game ahead of Red Sox, 4th in AL East) took two of three from the Red Sox back on April 9-11 at Rogers Centre.

Clay Buchholz (4-2) faces Henderson Alvarez (3-4) tomorrow night (7:07 p.m., NESN) in the opener. Felix Doubront (5-2) opposes Kyle Drabek (4-5) on Saturday afternoon (1:07 p.m., NESN) and in the finale on Sunday afternoon (1:07 p.m., NESN), Daniel Bard (5-5) is against rookie Drew Hutchison (4-2).

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Salty's 1st Career Walk-Off HR Gives Boston A Thrilling 3-2 Win Vs. Tampa Bay

I guess all we can surmise from tonight's final result is that the Boston Red Sox flourish the most when the pressure is not on them, namely in terms of viewing audiences.

Like most, I wasn't watching it live; I actually first noticed it on my stattracker for Yahoo fantasy baseball (on my laptop) and then Twitter but it counts just the same as the Red Sox (23-23, 10-12 home) beat the Rays (28-19, 11-12 away) 3-2 on a walk-off (1st of his career) two-run homer by Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

It was the 10th comeback win for the Red Sox this season, a good sign that they might not be as average as their record suggests.

The pinch-hit bomb to right center (his 8th of the season) put Boston back at .500 (for the fourth time this season) while also causing the first blown save of the season for Rays closer Fernando Rodney (2-1), who had 15 saves in a row to start 2012.

It was a pitcher's duel as Josh Beckett and David Price both performed very well even though neither factored into the final decision. Price went seven innings, allowing one earned run on eight hits with five strikeouts and three walks. Beckett also went seven innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits with five strikeouts and no walks. He had 15 swinging strikes which has to be a season high.

As always, the only thing you can count on this season for Boston is their bullpen and tonight was no exception. Andrew Miller threw a clean eighth with a strikeout then Rich Hill (1-0) pitched a scoreless ninth and ended up getting the win.

The Red Sox broke the deadlock in the sixth on Will Middlebrooks's (2 hits) RBI single. The Rays scored both of their runs in the seventh on Ben Zobrist's sacrifice fly and an RBI single by Luke Scott.

Boston gets its fourth chance (5th if you count Opening Day) to go over .500 tomorrow afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN) as Clay Buchholz (4-2) takes on Jeremy Hellickson (4-1). It would be a shock if Buchholz is the one to get them there since he's been a complete mess basically all season despite somehow notching four fraudulent wins.

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The Beat Goes On: Red Sox Clinch Another Series Win In Philadelphia

Even though they're in different leagues, the Red Sox and Phillies play basically every season during interleague play and Boston hadn't lost a series at Citizens Bank Park since 2003.

This season was no different as the Red Sox (20-21, 11-10 away) clinched the series (2-1) this afternoon with a 5-1 win over the Phillies (21-21, 10-11), who are really missing Ryan Howard and Chase Utley's big bats in their ravaged lineup.

Boston has won eight of their last 10 games so perhaps, now is the time they finally start putting things together and beating quality opponents. This series was nice but truthfully, Philadephia has been just as mediocre as Boston so I don't read too much into the final result.

Showing what a mess the Phillies offense is, Josh Beckett (4-4) was able to completely dominate them. The Texas Toughguy went 7.2 innings, allowing one earned run on seven hits with five strikeouts and two walks. His stuff looked good today with 22 called strikes and 12 swinging strikes.

Before the game I felt this was a layup for Philadelphia with Cliff Lee (0-2) on the mound but I guess it was a classic case of a reverse lock. Lee went seven innings but he was hit hard: he allowed five earned runs on nine hits with six strikeouts and a walk.

Mike Aviles (2 hits, 2 RBIs) was the unlikely offensive star of the weekend for the Red Sox, he homered in all three games, including leadoff shots last night and today (first guy to do that for Boston since Harry Hooper in 1913). Adrian Gonzalez had two hits and scored a run while Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit the third longest home run (466 feet) so far in MLB this season.

Aviles' leadoff homer in the first was his eighth of the season. He added an RBI single in the second before Salty's (7th of the season) moonshot to center in the third inning, a three-run jack.

Philly's lone run came in the eighth on Juan Pierre's sacrifice fly. On a day when Beckett was great and Lee was average, it only made sense (in bizarro world) that David Ortiz played very well defensively at first base. Vicente Padilla relieved Beckett and walked Hunter Pence to load the bases but retired Ty Wigginton on a grounder to second.

After getting humbled by the Baltimore Orioles (27-15, first place in the AL East) in a three-game sweep May 4-6 at Fenway, the Red Sox have a chance to exact some revenge as they travel to Camden Yards for a three-game set beginning tomorrow night.

Clay Buchholz (4-2) faces Tommy Hunter (2-2) tomorrow (7:05 p.m., NESN), Felix Doubront (4-1) gets Brian Matusz (3-4) on Tuesday night (7:05 p.m., NESN) and Daniel Bard (3-5) opposes Jake Arrieta (2-4) on Wednesday afternoon (12:35 p.m., NESN).

At 3-2 so far on this eight-game road trip, Boston has extra motivation since they finally get a day off (Beckett will probably shit his camo pants) on Thursday after 20 games in 20 days.

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Red Sox Sweep The Mariners, Win 5th Straight But Head Out On The Road To Play Some MLB Teams

Thank God this homestand is over for the Red Sox, I don't know how many one-sided games I can take against these piss poor opponents.

Watching Boston (17-19, 9-11 home) beat up on shitbums like the Seattle Mariners (16-22, 9-14 away) does nothing for me, even when they roll like they did this afternoon-5-0 at rainy Fenway Park.

The Red Sox' fifth win in a row allowed them to finish 5-1 on this cakewalk homestand against Cleveland and Seattle.

To illustrate how hopeless the Mariners are, they let Josh Beckett (3-4) take a time machine back to 2007-when he was motivated and not a fat loser. He pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out nine. Seattle managed only four hits against him and he walked two. Rich Hill (8th) and Alfredo Aceves (9th) had clean innings for the shutout, something which barely alluded Jon Lester the night before.

On Tim Wakefield Day, David Ortiz (2 runs, 2 hits, walk) honored his old pal with a solo home run in the third. His eighth of the young season went into Boston's bullpen.

Mike Aviles had an RBI double in the fourth and Daniel Nava scored on the next at bat-Ryan Sweeney's ground out. Kevin Youkilis is set to start his rehab in the minors tomorrow but who cares, we've got Will Middlebrooks. The rookie third baseman provided an RBI single in the fifth while Aviles had another RBI double in the ninth to wrap it up and send Boston to the airport on a good note.

Things should really pick up in the next week and truth be told, we should know much more about this team over the next eight games: two in Tampa (23-14, first in the AL East), three in Philadelphia this weekend then three in Baltimore. The Red Sox took three of four a month ago as they faced the Rays in their season-opening home series but with the problems that Tampa Bay has given them the last few seasons, don't expect Boston to keep that up.

Tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) Clay Buchholz (4-1) faces Jeremy Hellickson (3-0) and Thursday night (7:10 p.m., NESN) Felix Doubront (3-1) opposes Matt Moore (1-3). Boston is in the middle of an insane 20 games in 20 days stretch, they've gone 6-6 so far and needless to say, these next eight games will give a good indication if the Red Sox are contenders at all this season or just a bully that beats up on bad teams (not named the Royals or A's).

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Josh Beckett Cements His Place In The Boston Sports Scumbag Hall Of Fame

It is hard to believe how far both the Boston Red Sox and Josh Beckett have fallen off the map in the last few months (going back to September). The ringleader of last season's chicken and beer fiasco, who should have been traded over the winter, has completely given up on his career. Or so it seems. There's no other way to explain it since a guy with his talent should never be this consistently awful.

The Cleveland Indians (18-13, 10-3 away) beat the Red Sox (12-19, 4-11 home) 8-3 tonight in the series opener at Fenway Park. Boston has now lost three games in a row and eight out of nine overall plus 11 of its last 12 games at Fenway.

Beckett (2-4) had his shortest start in nearly four years as he couldn't make it out of the third inning, against a weak hitting team. In the first start since his golf trip last week, the Texas Toughguy showed his true colors by folding easier than anyone could have possibly imagined. In 2.1 innings, he allowed seven earned runs on seven hits with two strikeouts and two walks.

The best part was that Bobby Valentine had to take him out of the middle of the third so that allowed the crowd to really get on Beckett. If the Red Sox are going to go down in flames like this, at least we can all enjoy booing the hell out of a worthless piece of shit like him.

Cleveland scored two runs in the second and four in the third. Former Red Sox first baseman Casey Kotchman opened the floodgates with a sacrifice fly. Jack Hannahan (3rd of the season) hit a two-run homer to right.

It only got worse for Beckett as Jason Kipnis (6th of the season) hit a solo homer to right in the third, followed by Shin-Soo Choo's RBI double and Michael Brantley's (4 hits) double that scored two.

Former Red Sox pitcher Derek Lowe (5-1), who is a few weeks away from his 39th birthday, proved that some guys are winners and never lose the desire to compete in MLB. The sinkerballer went six easy innings, allowing two earned runs on nine hits with three strikeouts and a walk. And to think, the Red Sox easily could have picked him up with a throwaway trade to the Braves.

Daniel Nava had an RBI double in the fifth, his first game in 2012 with Boston, then Dustin Pedroia (5th of the season) homered to right in the seventh. Pedroia actually came to the plate as the tying run with two outs in the eighth and the bases loaded but he popped up.

Carlos Santana tacked on one more Indians run in the ninth with a sacrifice fly.

The main reason that the Red Sox have been so brutal is that their starting rotation is nothing less than a nightmare. You keep waiting for somebody to step up and throw a gem but other than Lester's win in Chicago, that has been severely lacking. I've said the bullpen has sucked (and it has at times) but who can blame them when they've been forced to throw 3+ innings every single game.

Ubaldo Jimenez (3-2) faces Clay Buchholz (3-1) tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) and if you want to make some money: bet against Boston. I'm serious, for whatever reason they were pretty big favorites tonight. We might as well get something tangible from this lost season, it's only a matter of time before Vegas figures out that this team is hopeless and changes up the lines.

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Red Sox Fall in Series/Road Trip Finale To White Sox, 4-1

The Red Sox weren't able to complete a 7-0 road trip (or go over .500 for the first time this season) as they lost 4-1 to the White Sox this afternoon at U.S. Cellular Field. Boston's six-game win streak was snapped while Chicago ended its five-game losing streak.

Still, 6-1 is perfectly acceptable for Boston (10-11, 7-6 away) who scored one run for the second game in a row. The Red Sox combined for seven hits between Saturday and Sunday so clearly it's time to get back to Fenway Park. Josh Beckett (2-3) pitched fine but he was no match for Gavin Floyd (2-3) who no-hit the Red Sox for 6.1 innings before Dustin Pedroia broke it up with a single.

The White Sox got all the runs they would need in the first as Alex Rios knocked in Alejando De Aza with an RBI single and Adam Dunn (5th of the season) hooked a two-run shot to right.

To his credit, Beckett didn't allow another run and lasted 6.2 innings. He threw an insane 128 pitches (tying a career high), allowing three earned runs on six hits with eight strikeouts and three walks.

Floyd is a decent pitcher but for some reason, he steps it up to another level when he faces the Red Sox. In 6.2 innings, he allowed one earned run on three hits with nine strikeouts and a walk.

Cody Ross drove in Dustin Pedroia for the only Boston run, in the seventh but Chicago reliever Addison Reed was able to get Nick Punto to ground out with runners on first and third with two outs.

The Red Sox never threatened after that; Dayan Viciedo added an RBI single in the eighth off Junichi Tazawa but charged to Rich Hill (making his 2012 debut) and Matt Thornton retired the last four batters for his first save of the season.

After winning its first three games at Fenway this season, Boston lost its last five before they headed out of town following the Sunday rainout against the Yankees. Here's hoping that this homestand goes a little smoother and I don't see why it shouldn't since they play three against Oakland, an off-day then three against Baltimore. Both of those teams have overachieved so far, there's no way they'll keep this up (the Orioles particularly).

The A's (11-12) series begins tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) with Clay Buchholz (2-1) facing Tommy Milone (3-1). On Tuesday night aka May 1 (7:10 p.m., NESN), Felix Doubront (1-0) meets Jarrod Parker (0-0; making his third MLB start) and Daniel Bard (2-2) gets Brandon McCarthy (1-3) in the finale on Wednesday (7:10 p.m., NESN). Old friends Josh Reddick and Coco Crisp will return to face their former team and teammates.

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Red Sox Win A Laugher Over The Twins, 11-2

Can you imagine how many games the Red Sox would win every season if they played in the AL Central?

That's all I can think about after they pounded the Minnesota Twins (5-13, 2-6 home) 11-2 tonight at Target Field for their second consecutive win in the series. The funny part is that the Twins aren't even the worst team in their division, that would be the Royals who have already lost 12 straight.

If Boston (6-10, 3-5 away) played Cleveland, Chicago, Minnesota and Kansas City way more every year, it wouldn't even be entertaining. I guess in a perverse way, I'm happy that they are the AL East-still MLB's best division-since I enjoy good competition. Blowouts might be cool when you are a kid but not when you get older.

Led by new lead-off hitter extraordinaire Mike Aviles (4 hits, 3 runs, 2 RBIs), the Red Sox pounded out 18 hits meaning that they have 30 over the last two nights. Adrian Gonzalez was 3-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs, David Ortiz had three RBIs, two hits and a run while Ryan Sweeney (run, RBI), Kevin Youkilis and Marlon Byrd (run) all had two hits. Dustin Pedroia scored two runs.

Josh Willingham (who's going on paternity leave tomorrow) had two doubles, Denard Span had two hits and Jamey Carroll scored twice.

Josh Beckett (2-2) was staked to a 3-0 lead in the first and he benefited from two more in the third and two more in the fourth against Nick Blackburn (0-2). The Texas Toughguy struggled with his command and lost his composure with home plate umpire Adrian Johnson but only allowed one run in the first despite throwing nearly 40 pitches.

After an even 100 pitches, Beckett was done after six innings. He allowed two earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts and three walks.

Blackburn was rocked; in three innings, he allowed five earned runs on eight hits with two strikeouts and a walk.

Sweeney and Ortiz had RBI singles in the first and Cody Ross drove in a run with a ground out. Justin Morneau got a run back by walking with the bases loaded in the home half of the first but Beckett managed to strike out Ryan Doumit and get Danny Valencia to ground out. Commence barking at Johnson.

The Red Sox really opened it up as Ortiz crushed a two-run homer to right in the third, his third of the season, then Aviles roped a solo shot just fair to left in the following frame to make it 6-1. Gonzalez also had an RBI single in the fourth.

Aviles, Pedroia and Gonzalez all had RBI doubles in the fifth before the Twins finally scored another lone run in the fifth on Willingham's RBI double.

Pinch hitter Lars Anderson scored in the eighth on Darnell McDonald's (another pinch hitter) ground out.

This was exactly what the Red Sox needed after last night's nail-biter, an easy win against an overmatched opponent. Their lineup dominated, Beckett worked through some early trouble and the only relievers used were Scott Atchison and Matt Albers.

Boston will go for the sweep tomorrow night with another pitching matchup that really favors them: Clay Buchholz (1-1) faces rookie Liam Hendriks (0-0). Yes, Buchholz has been awful and no I don't know one thing about Hendriks but this is a layup against a pathetic lineup and team. It is a game that Clay has to win if he wants to start getting his season on the right path.

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The Rangers Are Unbeatable, At Least To The Red Sox

Thank God the Texas Rangers were only in town for two games because this could have gotten pretty ugly.

Texas (10-2, 5-0 away) rang up its sixth straight win, 6-3 tonight at Fenway Park against the going nowhere Boston Red Sox (4-8. 3-3 home). The Rangers swept the two-game series, outscoring the Red Sox 24-6 in just 18 innings.

Boston has now lost three in a row. At least they got some good news earlier in the day when it was revealed that Jacoby Ellsbury won't need surgery on his shoulder.

Two things best sum up my feelings about the hometown team and also how poorly they're playing: 1) my favorite time is off-days (like tomorrow) for this miserable squad. I'm serious too, that's not a line. 2) They made some noise in the ninth against Rangers closer Joe Nathan-in a non-save situation-but Jarrod Saltalamacchia lined into a double play for the final two outs as he pulled it right to first basemen Brandon Snyder, who was able to touch the bag. Salty represented the tying run after Boston had scored once.

It was the Josh Hamilton (3 hits, run, RBI, walk) and Mike Napoli (4 RBIs, 3 hits, run) show as the Red Sox pitchers did their best to enshrine that powerful tandem in Cooperstown, NY before the series was even over.

Josh Beckett (1-2) actually gave Boston a good start considering the loaded lineup he had to face: seven innings, three earned runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts and a walk. The problem was that the Red Sox scored the first runs of the night for the second game in a row, but then the Rangers proceeded to pummel them with a monster surge of their own.

Mr. Hustle aka Kevin Youkilis hit his first home run of the season, a two-run shot off Derek Holland (2-0) in the second inning. Holland (2-0) predictably settled down after that and ended up lasting seven innings himself. He allowed two earned runs on four hits with seven strikeouts and three walks.

Hamilton drove in Texas' first run on an infield single in the third. They added five more before Boston scored one meaningless run in the ninth. Napoli hit a two-run homer in the fourth (his fourth of the season) then Franklin Morales unraveled with the bases loaded in the eighth. He hit Craig Gentry then allowed a two-run double by Napoli.

Ryan Sweeney had a pinch-hit RBI single in the ninth that scored Cody Ross.

In case you forgot, and how could you, the 100th anniversary of Fenway will be celebrated on Friday. What great timing huh? The New York Yankees will also be in the house and the teams will wear throwback jerseys on Friday afternoon (3:05 p.m., NESN). It's Red Sox vs. Yankees so you know the drill: Saturday afternoon game on Fox then Sunday Night game on ESPN.

The Yanks (6-6) aren't exactly lighting the world on fire either but they look much better than the Red Sox (who doesn't?). Clay Buchholz (1-0) faces Ivan Nova (2-0) on Friday. Felix Doubront (0-0) goes against Freddy Garcia (0-1) on Saturday and Daniel Bard (0-2) meets C.C. Sabathia (1-0) Sunday in a game which might take five hours.

With no Red Sox tomorrow, only Bruins-Capitals in Game 4, let's be thankful that the NHL playoffs exist and the B's are great which takes away much of the focus from the trainwreck on Yawkey Way.

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Red Sox Roll Over The Rays In Home Opener But Ellsbury Got Seriously Hurt

Well this was one busy Opening Day at Fenway that potentially could have repercussions for a long time this season.

The Red Sox (2-5) scored eight runs in the eighth inning to put away the Tampa Bay Rays (4-3) in a 12-2 afternoon matinee. It was the eighth straight home opener that Boston has captured (a franchise record).

Josh Beckett (1-1) was excellent but that shouldn't be much of a surprise when you consider that he's 4-0 with an 0.84 ERA in his last six starts against Tampa Bay. He looked nothing like the chump that was throwing batting practice slop to the Tigers last Saturday. He went eight innings-he could have gone the whole way-allowing one run (earned) on five hits with one strikeout and one walk on an economical 94 pitches.

Boston put up 16 hits, 12 runs, 12 RBIs and six walks. The negative part which I think overshadowed everything else was that Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, run, RBI) left in the top of the fifth inning with what appeared to be a serious shoulder injury. He slid into second base and Rays shortstop Reid Brignac landed awkwardly on Ellsbury with his right shoulder taking the brunt of the fall. He appeared to be in plenty of pain and as he walked off the field, he was holding his arm to his chest. Gulp.

David Price (1-1) pitched like a guy with an injury or something else on his mind. He only lasted three innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits with three strikeouts and three walks.

Fittingly against his former team, new Red Sox backup catcher Kelly Shoppach (Beckett's personal catcher?) led Boston with three runs, three hits, two RBIs and the first stolen base of his career that was completed like a belly flop. Adrian Gonzalez (3 hits, run, RBI), Kevin Youkilis (3 RBIs, 2 hits, run) and David Ortiz (2 hits, 2 RBIs) were the other Red Sox with multiple hits.

Tampa Bay actually scored the first and last runs of the game but ironically, that's all they had. Jeff Keppinger had an RBI double in the second and Ben Zobrist (2 hits, 2 runs) crushed a solo homer in garbage time-ninth inning-against Mark Melancon. You read that right, Melancon has already been delegated to mop-up duty.

Boston scored three times in the third inning, one in the fourth then they exploded for eight in the eighth.

Tomorrow afternoon, Clay Buchholz takes on Jeremy Hellickson at 4:05 p.m. Just like Beckett, the Red Sox need Buchholz to show that they can count on him this season. Otherwise, they have a huge hole-No. 3 starter-to fill. Hellickson is expected to start even though he got hit in the head during batting practice yesterday. Who knew pitchers had it so tough shagging flies in the outfield?

UPDATE 4/14: Ellsbury could miss 6-8 weeks and he was placed on the 15-day DL today with a partially dislocated right shoulder. Pawtucket outfield Che-Hsuan Lin was called up to take his place on the 25-man roster.

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Tigers Hit 5 Homers, Roll Over Beckett & Red Sox

What a promising start to the season for Josh Beckett.

The Texas Toughguy gave up a career-high (he did it in 2009 vs. the Yankees too) five home runs this afternoon as the Detroit Tigers (2-0) stomped on the Boston Red Sox (0-2) 10-0 at Comerica Park.

Detroit starting pitcher Doug Fister left after 3.2 innings (and later went on the DL with an injury) but it didn't matter since the Tigers pounded Red Sox pitching for 12 hits, including seven against Beckett (0-1) in only 4.2 innings. Duane Below (1-0) went 2.1 innings after Fister to earn the win.

Miguel Cabrera (3 RBIs) and Prince Fielder (2 RBIs) both had two homers while Alex Avila added a two-run bomb of his own.

Adrian Gonzalez and Ryan Sweeney both had two hits for the Red Sox but Boston only had one extra-base hit (a double by Jarrod Saltlamacchia). In two games, the Red Sox have scored just two runs and those were each in the ninth inning on Thursday.

Cabrera hit a two-run shot in the first inning before Fox had even made excuses for Beckett by talking about his phantom thumb injury. In the fourth, Fielder hit a solo homer then Avila crushed a two-run blast. In the fifth, the AL's most dynamic power duo went back-to-back as Cabrera and Fielder hit solo homers in a matter of a few pitches, turning it into a complete joke of a game.

Boston will try to leave the Motor City with some semblance of dignity as Clay Buchholz takes on Max Scherzer tomorrow afternoon in an Easter matinee. The Red Sox desperately need a win but be aware that the first 15 games are pretty much guaranteed to be ugly: at Tigers, at Blue Jays, Rays, Rangers, Yankees. Yikes.

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