Finally, A Reason To Watch the Red Sox This Season (Well At Least Every 5th Game)

Hey gang, remember the Red Sox? They had a nice run for a while, huh? What ever happened to them? Oh that's right, they are headed on a course straight for their third last-place finish in the last four seasons. That is until tonight when rookie lefthander Eduardo Rodriguez proved to be something of a revelation in his MLB debut. The former Oriole (obtained in the Andrew Miller trade last season) and highly touted prospect went 7.2 scoreless innings, allowing only three hits with seven strikeouts and two walks as Boston (22-26 overall, 12-14 away) won the series opener 5-1 over Texas (23-25 overall, 6-14 home) at Globe Life Park in Arlington.

Obviously one starting pitcher in baseball can't make that much of a difference on a bad team but at least this gives us a reason to watch again (when he's on the hill). The reason I hadn't written about the Red Sox in weeks is that just like last year, not only are they terrible but they are also boring which is a deadly combination for an MLB team. I don't know about you but I'd like to have something to watch this summer when there is literally nothing else going on in the sports universe. That's where you come in, Red Sox.

Maybe this will be the high point of Rodriguez's career; at least we saw that he has this type of ability against a quality lineup. The same can't be said for the rest of Boston's sorry rotation. The plan before his gem was to send him back to Pawtucket but there is no chance that will happen. The immortal Nick Martinez (4-1) held the Red Sox in check until the fifth when Mookie Betts (3 for 5, triple) drove in Blake Swihart (2 for 4, run) with an RBI single.

Hanley Ramirez hit his first home run of May (his first in 85 at bats), a solo shot to left center in the sixth for a 2-0 Red Sox advantage. Martinez (7 innings, 2 earned runs, 9 hits, 5 strikeouts, 2 walks) would fit in well on the Red Sox since he pitched really well but his offense let him down to say the least. Boston got three more insurance runs in the eighth on a gift two-run single for Swihart that was misplayed by Texas second baseman Adam Rosales. Boston's final run came from an infield single by Rusney Castillo that scored the newest member of the team-outfielder Carlos Peguero.

The Rangers' lone run came in the ninth on an RBI single by Josh Hamilton (2 for 4, double) who was playing his first game back in Texas after being reacquired from the Angels. It'll be interesting to see how Rodriguez fares in his second start and so on. Now MLB teams will have more tape on him so he won't be such a mystery. Dustin Pedroia has been batting leadoff lately for Boston and it seems to be working, he was 3 for 5 this evening. Xander Bogaerts got hit on the left forearm with a pitch in the fourth inning and had to leave but his injury was termed a "forearm contusion" which doesn't sound too serious.

Steven Wright (2-1) faces Yovani Gallardo (4-6) tomorrow night (8:05, NESN) in the second game of a four-game set.

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Thank God The Patriots Preseason Games Start Tomorrow Night

Don't you wish the Red Sox could just end their 2012 season tomorrow? What good can come out of the next 50 games? Oh well, while they are playing out the string on a truly miserable season, we can at least take solace that the Patriots' first preseason game is tomorrow night (7:30 p.m. vs. New Orleans). There is nothing better than the NFL and we all need it more than ever right now.

Josh Beckett (5 innings, 8 earned runs, 8 hits, 3 home runs) provided another Fenway Turd this afternoon as Texas (65-45, 31-24 away) took the series with a 10-9 win against Boston (55-57, 29-34 home).

The sad part is that the Red Sox kept rallying, tying it at 3-3 in the third and 9-9 in the seventh but it didn't matter since Beckett could care less about competing as a professional athlete. You should never lose a game when you score nine runs.

The Texas toughguy and Jon Lester have combined for one win at Fenway Park since June 27. Since June 1, the Red Sox are 2-12 at home when Beckett or Lester start. Look on the bright side, Boston is only six games back in loss column for the second American League Wild Card going into tonight's action, oh wait.

Beckett was in a giving mood as he coughed up three runs in the first inning, three runs in the fifth and two in the sixth before Bobby Valentine finally took him out. Even the non-sellout (by my calculations) pink hat crowd booed Beckett, I guess the Red Sox front office are the only people in the world left that can't identify what a waste of a roster spot he has become. They had their chance to move him at the Trade Deadline and they didn't so here we are, watching a baseball team rot away from the inside out. What's the worst that could happen by either dumping him on waivers, releasing him or putting him on the 60-day DL for the rest of the season with a fake injury (after all, he loves those)?

Josh Hamilton was 3-for-4 with a triple, homer, 4 RBIs and two runs while Elvis Andrus was 3-for-4 with three runs and a walk in the win. Adrian Gonalez had three RBI doubles and scored three runs, Cody Ross was 3-for-4 with a homer, double, two runs, two RBIs and a walk while Dustin Pedroia had two singles and scored two runs in the loss.

The happiest guy to see Beckett do his thing was Matt Harrison (4.2 innings, 5 runs, 8 hits, 3 strikeouts, 3 walks, 1 home run) since on most days, his outing would be considered a disaster. Compared to Beckett, he looked poise to make a run at the AL Cy Young award.

Hamilton had a two-run triple in the first against what had to be a hungover and bloated Toughguy. Former Red Sox Adrian Beltre added a sacrifice fly before Beckett stumbled out of trouble. Boston answered with two runs on Gonzalez's first RBI double and an RBI single by Ross. Cody tied it in the third with a solo shot-his 17th homer of the season.

Beckett must have been drinking Lonestar in the dugout between innings, it caught up to him in the fifth as he grooved meatballs to Mitch Moreland (solo homer; 12th of the season) and Hamilton (two-run blast; 30th of the season). Gonzalez's second RBI double cut it to 6-4 in the home half of the frame then he scored on Geovany Soto's passed ball.

No worries for the Rangers as Soto blasted a two-run shot off Beckett in the sixth, his first for Texas since being traded by the Cubs. Clayton Mortensen (1-1) ran into trouble in the seventh as Nelson Cruz (18th of the season) hit the final homer of the game for the Rangers.

Roy Oswalt allowed four runs in 1.1 innings as Gonzalez's third RBI double set the stage for a three-run blast by Will Middlebrooks (15th of the season) which knotted things at nine. However, Alexi Ogando (2-0) settled things down to pitch a clean seventh and eighth inning with two strikeouts.

Alfredo Aceves is not a natural closer so he struggles with inherited runners but don't tell that to Bobby V who put him in with runners on first and third with no outs in the ninth. Oh and he let him face Hamilton rather than let Andrew Miller (a lefty) give it a shot. Beltre's second sacrifice fly turned out to be the game-winning play.

Ross hit a one-out double in the ninth but Joe Nathan struck out two for his 23rd save of the season.

Boston went 4-6 on its longest homestand of the season, now the Dead Man Walking squad hits the road for 10 games (4 in Cleveland, 3 in Baltimore, 3 in New York) in 11 days. Since there are two off-days between now and their next game at home, the Red Sox won't play at Fenway again until August 21. I shudder to think how many more games under .500 they will be by then. However, I will probably be paying much less attention to baseball with football even closer at that point. I'll be pouring over depth charts for Fantasy Football and reading Sports Illustrated's College Football preview issue.

The Indians (51-60, 3rd AL Central) snapped an 11-game losing streak today with a 6-2 win vs. Minnesota, but that doesn't mean anything when the Red Sox are coming to play you. I'm sure Boston will make them look like the powerhouse Cleveland teams of the late 90s. Felix Doubront (10-5) faces Ubaldo Jimenez (8-11) tomorrow night (7:05 p.m., NESN), Clay Buchholz (9-3) gets Chris Seddon (0-0) on Friday night (7:05 p.m., NESN), Franklin Morales (3-2) opposes Zach McAllister (4-4) on Saturday night (6:05 p.m., NESN) and Jon Lester (5-10) takes the ball against rookie Corey Kluber (0-0) on Sunday afternoon (1:05 p.m., NESN).

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Jon Lester Is A Lost Cause In 2012, Might As Well Put Him On Ice Until Next Season

2012 has been a nightmare for Jon Lester (5-10) not to mention his employers. Even when he pitches decent like his last two starts, he can't get the run support from his teammates. The bottom line remains that he is 0-5 in his last five starts at Fenway Park after a 6-3 loss to the Rangers tonight in the middle game of a three-game series.

Texas (64-45, 30-24) received a great outing from Ryan Dempster (1-0) who picked up his first win a Rangers uniform (2nd start). He went 6.2 innings and allowed three runs (0 earned) on six hits with six strikeouts and one walk. Dempster likely wouldn't have given up any runs except that Ian Kinsler kept the seventh inning alive for the Red Sox (55-56, 29-33 home) with a gift error. Pinch hitter Will Middlebrooks delivered a clutch pinch-hit home run (his 14th of the season) which cut the Rangers lead to 4-3.

Lester matched zeroes with Dempster through five innings but as it usually does for him, he became unraveled by allowing two runs in the sixth and being charged with two more in the seventh. In 6.2 innings, he gave up four earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts and two walks.

Kinsler and Josh Hamilton (2 hits, walk, run) broke the deadlock with RBI singles in the sixth. David Murphy had a sacrifice fly in the seventh and Kinsler added another run-scoring single in the frame. Nelson Cruz's RBI single in the eighth made it 5-3 and Elvis Andrus rounded out the scoreline with an RBI single in the ninth.

Texas was 5-for-11 with runners in scoring position while Boston went 1-for-6. Cody Ross and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (run) each had two hits in the loss.

Mike Adams struck out the side in the eighth for his 20th hold which was bullshit because Dustin Pedroia was called out on one of the worst calls (checked swing) that I've ever seen in MLB. Joe Nathan picked up his 22nd save in 23 chances for Texas; I thought his career was over a few years ago but it's funny what a change of scenery to an outstanding team can do to a player's career.

The Red Sox are 4-5 on their longest homestand of the season which ends tomorrow afternoon (1:35 p.m., NESN) with the Texas Toughguy (5-9) facing Matt Harrison (13-6). I could pretend that Boston a chance but unless Beckett gets hurt in pregame warmups (always a possibility), this has loss written all over it.

UPDATE 8/8: Vicente Padilla was put on the 15-day DL with a bicep strain, Clayton Mortensen was recalled from Pawtucket.

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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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2nd Entry Into Biggest Shitshow Game Of The Season Category For The Red Sox

So who else is ready for the Bobby Valentine Show to make its debut on NESN? (Crickets)

It's easy to blame Valentine but what is he supposed to do with this group of unlikable losers? He's tries to make them accountable and they immediately bristle at the thought of doing anything differently despite the fact that they've finished in third place two years in a row and ran their last manager out of town.

All this needless drama just makes nights like tonight even more painful or laughable depending on your sense of humor. The AL's best team, the Texas Rangers came into Fenway Park and pounded the crap out of Jon Lester and the Red Sox, to the tune of 18-3.

I'm sure by the end of the season it will be a long list but for now, this has to be the most embarrassing loss. Yes, even worse than the two meltdowns in the same game against the Tigers two Sundays ago. At least in that one, they tried. Texas (9-2, 4-0) looked like the powerhouse they are while Boston (4-7, 3-2 home) lost its second in a row, already erasing any good feeling left over from taking three of four against the Rays over the weekend.

In their fifth straight win, the Rangers set a season-high for hits (21) and hit their most homers (6) in a game since August 2008.

Lester (0-2) was done in the third inning, after only recording six outs. He gave up seven runs (all earned) on eight hits with two strikeouts and four walks. The Rangers hit five total home runs: one against Lester, one against Scott Atchison and three against poor Mark Melancon, who has to be a basketcase after allowing five home runs already this season in limited work. There's a real possibility that he could be sent down to Pawtucket. Talk about a hard fall.

Colby Lewis (2-0) allowed a two-run homer to Dustin Pedroia (his 3rd of the season) in the first but settled down after that to go seven innings. He allowed two earned runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts and no walks.

Josh Hamilton (3 hits, tying his career-high with 5 RBIs), Mike Napoli (3 runs, 3 hits, 4 RBIs) and Nelson Cruz (3 runs, 3 hits, 2 RBIs) treated Red Sox pitchers like it was the Home Run Derby. Even Craig Gentry was 3 for 6 with three runs. Fantasy Baseball tip: pick up any Rangers.

Napoli got it started with a two-run shot in the second inning to tie it, from there the Rangers scored 16 straight runs. After scoring four in the second, they tacked on three in the third, one in the sixth, eight in the eighth and two in the ninth. Napoli ended the incredible barrage with a two-run blast in the ninth. In between, Michael Young, Hamilton, former Red Sox 3B Adrian Beltre and Cruz all went deep as well.

Adrian Gonzalez (2nd of the season) had a solo homer in the eighth for the other Boston run. Ryan Sweeney was 3 for 4 with two doubles.

Tomorrow night (7:10 p.m., NESN) Josh Beckett (1-1) gets to prove if his win against the Rays on Opening Day at Fenway last Friday was a fluke or not. Derek Holland (1-0) starts for the Rangers in the finale of this two-game set.

UPDATE 4/18: Melancon was sent down to Pawtucket and Junichi Tazawa was called up to take his spot in the bullpen. Wow.

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Goodbye Rangers, Hope To Never See The Best Team In The American League Again This Season

I've seen all I need to see from the Texas Rangers this season. I don't care that the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have better records. For my money in October (hope the bookies aren't reading), I'd put my house (assuming I owned one) on the defending AL champions.

They concluded their 2011 season series with the Red Sox (84-55) this afternoon, leaving Fenway Park with an 11-4 win. Texas (80-61) beat Boston six out of the ten times they met this year and if the playoffs started today, they'd meet in Arlington in the ALDS (Rangers AL West champs; Red Sox AL Wild Card).

After their offense woke up yesterday, Boston's bats were mostly silent today as Matt Harrison (11-9) stifled them for seven innings. He allowed two earned runs on seven hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

I don't like the Red Sox chances in a five-game series when they would likely face C.J. Wilson twice, Harrison and Derek Holland (who helped blank Boston on Friday night).

To make things even more depressing, the Yankees beat the Blue Jays earlier today so they now lead by 1.5 games. Boston will go Toronto with four games North of the border set to begin tomorrow afternoon.

No lopsided loss for the home team would be complete without another embarrassing performance by the one and only John Lackey (12-11). Usually the beneficiary of outrageous run support, Lackey fell flat on his face today when he actually had to outduel a fellow Major Leaguer. In five innings, he gave up six earned runs on eight hits with three walks and one strikeout.

Almost a mirror image of Boston's totals from the middle game yesterday, the Rangers had 15 hits, 11 RBIs and seven walks this afternoon.

Ian Kinsler led Texas with three hits, three RBIs and a run while Mike Napoli (2 runs, 2 hits, 2 RBIs, 2 walks), David Murphy (2 runs, 2 hits), Mitch Moreland (2 hits, run, RBI) and Endy Chavez (2 hits, run) all had multiple hits.

David Ortiz (2 hits, RBI, walk) and Kevin Youkilis (2 hits, run) were the only Boston players with multiple hits. The Red Sox were held under 10 hits as a team (nine).

Napoli had an RBI single in the second and Kinsler had an RBI triple in the third before Texas put up seven more runs in the sixth. Murphy and Moreland had RBI singles, Esteban German walked with the bases loaded, Kinsler had a sacrifice fly and Josh Hamilton emptied the bases with a three-run triple.

Felix Doubront was a disaster as the first reliever out of the bullpen for Boston. He only got one out and allowed three earned runs on two hits and two walks. Desperately searching for a lefty out of the bullpen for the playoffs, the youngster does not look anywhere near capable of shouldering that type of workload or pressure. Franklin Morales it is (ducks).

The Red Sox had enough pride not to get shut out for the second time in three days. Marco Scutaro had a two-run single in the seventh while Ortiz had an RBI single in the eighth and Darnell McDonald drove in the last run with a sacrifice fly.

Napoli and Kinsler hit bombs off Michael Bowden in the ninth, one last donkey punch before the weekend was over.

Josh Beckett faces rookie Henderson Alvarez tomorrow at 1:07 p.m. in a game that the Red Sox really need to win.

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Erik Bedard Picks Up First Win For Red Sox; Carl Crawford Blasts First Grand Slam In Boston

After a pair of disheartening losses in a row (losing the series finale to the Yankees and sleepwalking through a shutout against the Rangers), the Boston Red Sox were due for a breakout game yesterday afternoon at Fenway Park.

Fittingly, it was two guys that haven't really pulled their weight much who helped pick up the team when it needed it most.

Erik Bedard (5-9) earned his first win in a Red Sox (84-54) uniform while Carl Crawford hit his first grand slam for Boston (fourth career) in a long but satisfying 12-7 win over Texas (79-61).

The Red Sox pounded out 16 hits with 12 RBIs and six walks as they dispatched the Rangers.

Bedard started off slow as Texas jumped out to an early 3-0 lead but he stayed composed as his teammates exploded for eight runs in the fourth. They were up as much as 12-3 before they lazily put it away. The lefty went six innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits with four walks and six strikeouts.

Former Red Sox David Murphy opened the scoring with an RBI single in the second. Michael Young (2 hits) added an RBI single in the third and another former Red Sox Adrian Beltre (2 RBIs) drove in a run with a groundout.

Jed Lowrie started the comeback with an RBI single in the third. He departed in the fourth with tightness in his left shoulder. What else is new? Other than J.D. Drew, Lowrie might be the most delicate human being on the planet. He can't stay healthy if his life depended on it.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia tied it up with a two-run homer off Rangers starter Colby Lewis (11-10), his 14th of the season. Pinch-hitting for Lowrie, Mike Aviles (2 hits) had an RBI single which set the table for Crawford's 11th homer of the season-the biggest one so far in his Red Sox infancy. Jacoby Ellsbury reached on an infield single, scoring another run.

Lewis was pulled after 3.1 innings. He allowed four earned runs on seven hits with three walks and three strikeouts.

Dustin Pedroia (2 hits, 3 RBIs) had the final blow, a three-run double in the sixth which put Boston up 12-3.

Texas added three garbage runs in the eighth and one in the ninth but it didn't matter.

Josh Reddick had his first career four-hit game with the Red Sox but he got plunked on the hand by a Darren Oliver pitch in the eighth. Not sure if it's because of that or simply that Matt Harrison (a lefty) is starting this afternoon for Texas but Reddick is out of the lineup with new Red Sox Conor Jackson starting in right field.

John Lackey takes the ball for Boston as they try to win their second straight series against the Rangers. The Yankees are still half a game up on the Red Sox in the AL East heading into today's action.

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