1 Last Soul-Crushing Defeat To Throw On The Dumpster Fire As Red Sox Secure Last Place In AL East

If you thought the Red Sox, the worst team in franchise history since 1966 was going to go out quietly, well you are lucky since you haven't been paying attention to this entire shitshow of a season. Or 13 months to be exact.

In the penultimate contest of their 2012, Boston (69-92, 35-45 away) had a 3-1 lead on the Yankees (94-47, 50-30 home) heading into the bottom of the ninth at Yankee Stadium. No sooner had I tweeted "not over yet" but Curtis Granderson (2 runs, 2 hits, walk, stolen base) singled and pinch-hitter Raul Ibanez tied it with a two-run homer (his 19th of the season) off closer Andrew Bailey (3rd blown save).

Ibanez was the hero again in the 12th with an RBI single against Andrew Miller (3-2) that scored Francisco Cervelli with the winning run. If you're looking for something to root for Red Sox-related tomorrow night (7:05 p.m., NESN) in Game 162, you want Boston to lose and Miami to win. If that happens, they'll "earn" the No. 6 draft pick in 2013. By virtue of their loss and Toronto's win, the Red Sox sealed last place in the AL East for the first time in 20 years. Marvelous.

The Yankees all too predictable comeback win was extremely important to them since Baltimore had already beaten Tampa Bay 1-0. This means both teams are tied heading into the final regular season game with the AL East up for grabs.

Playing with a broken finger, Dustin Pedroia (2 for 3, run, walk) was an inspiration with his RBI double in the first inning. Cody Ross knocked him in with a sacrifice fly and the Red Sox led 2-0.

Jon Lester went five innings, allowing one run (0 earned) on eight hits with one strikeout and one walk. David Phelps went 5.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits with four strikeouts and two walks.

Eduardo Nunez (2 for 3 with double) got the Yanks a run with an infield single in the second inning. James Loney (2 hits) hit a solo homer (2nd with the Red Sox) off Rafael Soriano in the 9th which gave Boston a temporary 3-1 advantage.

Mark Melancon (1.2 scoreless innings) and Vicente Padilla (1 scoreless inning) were able to clean up Bailey's mess but the final salt in the wound was that our old drinking buddy Derek Lowe (9-11) earned the win for New York with two scoreless innings of his own.

Pedro Ciriaco was 2 for 4 with a walk and stolen base in the loss. Derek Jeter (double), Nick Swisher (double, 2 walks), Alex Rodriguez and Robinson Cano each had two hits for the Bombers.

If you like car crashes-and who doesn't-make sure to check out the season finale of the Dead Man Walking Red Sox. Witness Bobby Valentine and Daisuke Matsuzaka's (1-6) last game in a Red Sox uniform. Hiroki Kuroda (15-11) gets to send this historically bad team to another tumultuous offseason filled with drama. I can't even predict what wacky thing those two jokers will pull? Perhaps Bobby V gets thrown out during batting practice or Dice-K finally unleashes the gyro ball? Whatever happens, it is destined to be hilarious.

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So Yeah, This Weekend At Fenway Could Get Pretty Ugly For The Red Sox

It only took one inning of tonight's game to get us back into full Red Sox-Yankees marathon mode. Josh Beckett allowed five runs in the top of the first but Hiroki Kuroda did the same in the bottom of the first. The tone was set as it would be a slow-pitch softball game (that took 3 hours, 59 minutes) in the guise of an AL East meeting at Fenway Park.

Boston (42-41, 21-22 home) rallied once but they couldn't do it twice as Beckett and their bullpen let them down in a 10-8 series opening loss to New York (50-32, 25-16 away). The Red Sox lost their fourth straight game overall as they fell to 0-3 against the Yankees this season (all at Fenway).

This excruciating loss was a microcosm of the Red Sox' terrible first half: they got unexpected contributions from nobodies like Mauro Gomez (2 for 5, RBI) and Nick Punto (double, threw A-Rod out at home) but when it came time for a star to step up he didn't do it.

Adrian Gonzalez (3 hits, double, 2 runs, RBI) extended his hitting streak to 16 games but in the biggest at bat of the game, he couldn't produce. With runners on first and second with two outs in the eighth, Yankees closer Rafael Soriano came in to face Gonzalez. The former Rays closer got Gonzalez to ground out then he had a 1-2-3 ninth for his 20th save of the season. That's Gonzalez in a nutshell: he puts up numbers that look good at first glance but when you see him up close every day, he is not that impressive. Well at least not this season.

The Red Sox wasted 14 hits by leaving nine guys on base. This wasn't the offense's fault though as Beckett, Andrew Miller and Vicente Padilla all failed to contain the Yankees. The Texas Toughguy had nothing to start and New York scored five runs on a bases-loaded walk to Robinson Cano (run, hit, RBI), Mark Teixeira's (2 runs, 2 hits, 4 RBIs) two-run single and sacrifice flies by Nick Swisher and Eric Chavez (2 hits, 2 RBIs).

Boston tied it on Ryan Kalish's sacrifice fly, Gonzalez's RBI double and Jarrod Saltalamacchia's three-run homer (his 17th of the season, a career-high).

A run scored on Rodriguez's (3 hits, 2 runs, 2 stolen bases) ground out in the second but David Ortiz (3 hits, walk, run) made it 6-6 with an RBI single in the home half of the second.

With a day-night doubleheader looming tomorrow, both teams had no choice but to stick with their ineffective starters. They actually settled down and didn't allow any runs in the third or fourth which was shocking. Gomez's RBI single in the fifth gave the Red Sox their only lead at 6-5.

Ironically, as news of Ray Allen going to Miami broke in the seventh inning, Miller and Padilla decided to shit the bed. Miller walked Curtis Granderson (3 runs, 2 hits) and allowed an infield single to A-Rod. That was nothing compared to Teixeira greeting Padilla with a two-run triple which put the Yanks ahead for good. Raul Ibanez (2 hits, run) added an RBI double and Chavez's RBI single increased the margin to 10-7 New York.

Cody Ross blasted a solo homer (13th of the season) off Boone Logan (4-0) in the seventh but the Yankees bullpen was still able to outperform the Red Sox'. David Robertson struck out two in the eighth for his ninth hold of the season while Soriano struck out two of the three he faced in the ninth.

Matt Albers pitched a scoreless sixth but the most promising development in the loss for Boston's bullpen was Mark Melancon, who has been lights out since he returned from Pawtucket (hope Daniel Bard is watching). He only allowed one hit and struck out two in a scoreless eighth and ninth.

Franklin Morales (1-1) faces Phil Hughes (9-6) tomorrow afternoon (12:35 p.m., NESN) then Felix Doubront (8-4) opposes Freddy Garcia (2-2) in the nightcap (7:15 p.m., Fox). On paper, I feel (and hope) that the first game will be fast and low scoring with the exact opposite happening in the second game. We shall see. All I ask is that they go by a little more quickly and oh I don't know, maybe the Red Sox can win a game if that's not too much to ask.

UPDATE 7/7: The Red Sox recalled Clayton Mortensen for today's doubleheader.

Prior to Game 2, Ryan Sweeney was activated off the DL and he'll start in center field. Ryan Kalish is expected to be sent down to Pawtucket.

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The Philadelphia Phillies Are The Best Team In Baseball, No Doubt About It

Well the Boston Red Sox are so desperate for runs that they put their franchise player (Adrian Gonzalez) in right field (for only the second time in his MLB career) just so they could have his bat and David Ortiz's (first base) in the same lineup.

All the panic and worry by Red Sox fans and media proved to be a joke (no surprise) as both managed to live through nine innings at their respective positions.

The bigger problem is that the team is struggling big time, losing 2-1 last night to the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

The Red Sox (45-34) have lost six of their last seven interleague games and they are in desperate need of a win today to turn things around.

Phillies (51-30) rookie Vance Worley (3-1) wasn't as good as Cliff Lee the night before but he still submitted an outstanding outing. He went seven innings, allowing one earned run on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

Another rookie Michael Stutes pitched a 1-2-3 eighth while Antonio Bastardo had a clean ninth for his third save of the season.

The ironic part about the loss was that Red Sox starter John Lackey (5-7) had one of his best starts ever for Boston. He went 7.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on eight hits with a walk and five strikeouts. He was pulled at 90 pitches and for once, I agreed with him that he should have stayed in there. Luckily Franklin Morales came on to retire Ryan Howard on a deep fly ball to center (with Chase Utley on third) to end the eighth.

Raul Ibanez (3 for 3, 2 RBIs, run) provided all the offense Philadelphia needed as he drove in Shane Victorino with an RBI single in the second and broke a 1-1 tie with a solo homer in the seventh. Ibanez was familiar with Lackey and had much success against him during their AL West days when he was on the Mariners and Lackey was on the Angels.

Josh Reddick (2 hits) was the only Red Sox with multiple hits as they were limited to five as a team. Lackey had the only RBI as he crushed an RBI double to center in the fifth to tie it at 1-1.

Two of MLB's best lefties and pitchers, Jon Lester and Cole Hamels, are set to go this afternoon in the series finale. Boston needs a win to salvage something from this stop.

Ortiz is out of the lineup again while Kevin Youkilis is out with a foot injury (getting X-Rays). The best news is that the team just designated Mike Cameron for assignment; his two years in Boston have been nothing short of a complete joke. Who thought he would have any success? He's the definition of washed up, good riddance Cammy.

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