A Laugher, Just What The Red Sox Desperately Needed

Let's be honest, yesterday's loss given the length (11 innings) and outside factors (Beckett getting hurt, Yankees winning) was one of the worst ones of the second half for the Boston Red Sox.

Their annual August choke job seems to have taken a vacation and begun a few weeks later, in early September. Therefore it was nice that for one night at least, thoughts of Beckett's ankle and Clay Buchholz's back were put aside for a moment as Boston (85-56) absolutely crushed Toronto (70-72) 14-0 at the Rogers Centre.

With Jon Lester (15-6) on the mound, the Red Sox were heavily favored especially with the Blue Jays countering with a bad reliever that they're trying to convert into a starter-Luis Perez (3-3)-does that ever work?

Lester's ERA has dipped below 3.00 (2.93) as he has really found a groove in the stretch run. He went seven crisp innings, allowing three hits with one walk and 11 strikeouts in 100 pitches. Rookie Kyle Weiland threw two scoreless innings, getting his feet wet for another start on Saturday (in Tampa Bay; for Beckett).

This was over almost immediately as Perez was tagged for eight earned runs on ten hits in 2.2 innings.

Boston put up two or more runs in each of the first five frames.

The offensive stars in the 20-hit, 14-RBI night included Marco Scutaro (4 hits, 4 RBIS, 2 runs), David Ortiz (4 hits, 3 runs, 2 RBIs), Adrian Gonzalez (3 hits, 3 runs, 2 RBIs), Kevin Youkilis (2 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, RBI), Jacoby Ellsbury (2 runs, 2 hits) and Darnell McDonald (2 hits, RBI).

Ironically, with all those runs (two touchdowns and PATs) the Red Sox only had two home runs. Jarrod Saltalamacchia (two-run; his 15th) and Josh Reddick (solo; 7th) had the honors.

Tim Wakefield faces Brandon Morrow in game three of the series tomorrow night.

As of this post, Boston trails New York by two games. Believe it or not, the Yankees are currently in the sixth (leading 3-2) vs. the Orioles. Their game started at 11pm in the Bronx due to the rain. Really. I'm sure the Bombers will pull it out, all you can count on from the Orioles is a whole bunch of losing.

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Beckett Sprains Ankle, Lawrie Hits Walkoff Homer in 11th

All I can say is thank God I was at the beach for all of today's game.

Well, to be specific, I listened to the first 10+ innings of the Red Sox-Blue Jays game at the Rogers Centre on the radio and was walking back into our condo when Toronto (70-71) rookie Brett Lawrie (haha great picture by the way) hit a walk-off homer in the 11th against Dan Wheeler (2-2).

Why does that always seem to happen? You invest so much time into a baseball game and then it's over in one second when you're not paying attention.

The sting of a 1-0 loss in 11 innings for Boston (84-56) would have been much easier to take with the sun in the sky and the sand at my feet. Back home, the bleak reality set in. First, Red Sox starter Josh Beckett left in the fourth inning with a sprained ankle. He had been cruising, striking out six and only giving up three hits in 3.2 innings.

With Erik Bedard skipping a start due to his back and Beckett being sent back to Boston for a further examination, this is not the time for the Red Sox rotation to be falling apart.

Second, the Yankees beat the Orioles this afternoon meaning that New York is now 2.5 games ahead of Boston in the AL East.

As always, a rookie pitcher facing the Red Sox for the first time excelled. 21-year-old Henderson Alvarez went six innings for Toronto, scattering four hits with a walk and four strikeouts.

Charlie Villanueva (1 inning), Casey Janssen (1 inning), Frank Francisco (2 innings) all paved the way for Shawn Camp (3-3) who got a 1-2-3 top of the 11th.

Among other things, this loss wasted another outstanding effort by Alfredo Aceves. Summoned early, Boston's unsung hero went 3.2 innings, allowing only one hit with three walks and four strikeouts.

Daniel Bard got the last five outs in the eighth and ninth leading to Jonathan Papelbon who was sketchy (as always in a non-save situation) but was able to wiggle out of a bases-loaded jam in the 10th.

Josh Reddick and Marco Scutaro each had two hits in the loss.

Jon Lester and rookie Luis Perez will get the starts tomorrow night in the second of four in Toronto.

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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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Patriots Set To Sign Brian Waters

As Brandon Meriweather proved, the fact that you made a Pro Bowl doesn't mean that you're anything special. In some cases, it's almost impossible to explain.

Offensive lineman more than any other position seem to make the Pro Bowl and All-Pro on reputation, much like MLB's Gold Gloves, rather than on-field performance which is hard to tangibly quantify for the guys in the trenches.

Still, it's exciting to note that the Patriots have apparently agreed to terms with Brian Waters, a former Kansas City Chief who made five Pro Bowls (including last season) and two All-Pro teams (2004, 2005).

He worked out in Foxborough on Saturday and the Pats didn't waste any time getting him signed. This also means that they'll need to make a corresponding move since they set their 53-man roster yesterday.

Released by Kansas City in late July, Waters was looking to join a championship contender and he seems to have picked the right spot. More importantly, he'll probably see time right away as right guard Dan Connolly left the preseason game against Detroit with a leg injury and his primary backup Rich Ohrnberger went on IR yesterday.

Welcome to New England big guy, like Fat Albert, Chad Ochocinco, Shaun Ellis and Andre Carter before you, hope you have something left in the tank.

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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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Farwell To The Big Bang Clock As Patriots Cut Down to 53-Man Roster

The rumors had been in the air since training camp started and now it's official: the New England Patriots are done with the Big Bang Clock himself Brandon Meriweather.

The two-time Pro Bowler (what a joke) safety was the biggest named to be cut today as the Pats whittled their roster down to 53 players. By no means is the roster final since the NFL being the way it is and Bill Belichick being how he is, expect a million more moves during the regular season.

To put it simply, Meriweather's time in New England had run out. No doubt, the franchise was sick of his off the field antics not to mention his inconsistent play on it. The former University of Miami star could make a big hit in one series then get torched for a touchdown on the next one.

The fact that Patrick Chung and Sergio Brown figure to be the starters on Monday, September 12 when they open in Miami with Josh Barrett and James Ihedigbo as the likely backups tells you all you need to know about how far Meriweather had fallen.

He played big minutes in the preseason games and appeared clueless (big surprise) that he was on the bubble in terms of the roster. Good riddance, let some other team deal with that clown.

Other players released today with a quick summary of why I think they're gone.

Sammy Morris-Classy veteran got squeezed out after Shane Vereen and Stevan Ridley were drafted. A little long in the tooth and injury prone didn't help his chances.

Brandon Tate-Tony Simmons, Chad Jackson, Bethel Johnson. New England always has an obsession with fast receivers who have terrible hands. Predictably Tate's time here ended since they figured out in a few years that he'd probably never be a good receiver. Plus, with the new kickoff rules, his value on kickoffs has mostly vanished there.

Eric Moore-One of the more surprising cuts, the Pats seemed to like him since they brought him in last season. With Andre Carter, Mark Anderson and Shaun Ellis on the team, the need to have Moore was lessened dramatically. He'll find a job somewhere else.

Landon Cohen and Aaron Lavarias-two defensive linemen that were lucky to make it this far. Preseason heroes in every sense of the phrase that I just coined.

Niko Koutouvides-like Ricky Brown (released earlier this weekend), the local product couldn't stick around long enough to make the opening day roster. Too bad.

Markell Carter-rookie will likely be put on the practice squad you'd have to think. Showed some promise and was a late-round pick so don't be shocked to see him stick around.

Tiquan Underwood-Devin McCourty's BFF from Rutgers was a late addition to the team and his most notable contribution was his hightop fade. Kid N'Play must be pissed he is without a job.

Thomas Austin-offensive lineman I've never heard of.

Eric Kettani-no name running back that has already been put on the practice squad.

Ross Ventrone-The Ventrone brothers are like Rudy. Belichick loves them but they'll never do anything in the NFL. The world needs ditchdiggers too.

Alex Silvestro-a defensive end that I never saw do anything. Thanks for coming out.

Lee Smith-not the famous MLB closer, Smith was a bit of a surprise to be cut since the Pats used a middle round draft pick on him.

Will Yeatman-reports indicated that he made the team as a third tight end but I guess not. I'd say he'd be on the practice squad but apparently other teams will snatch him up before then.

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Yankees Win Marathon 9-Inning Game, Burnett Shocks World By Not Imploding

The super slow motion of a typical Red Sox-Yankees game is bad enough but when somebody like A.J. Burnett wins for New York, a contest that takes way too long turns into a marathon (four hours and twenty one minutes) of torture.

The Yankees (82-53) took two out of three at Fenway Park as they beat the Red Sox (82-53) 4-2 tonight. Boston is back to the slim half game lead atop the AL East while the season series moves to 11-4 in favor of the Red Sox (three left in NY in a few weeks).

Logic dictated the first two outcomes of this latest series: CC Sabathia was due for a win against the Red Sox while Josh Beckett is light years ahead of Phil Hughes at this point. This was the game that on paper that seemed to be a lock for the home team since Jon Lester was starting. As the crappy cliche goes, that's why they play the game.

Burnett got a no-decision but by not completely shitting the bed, he was wildly successful. He went 5.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts.

A high pitch count (114 pitches) was the thing that caused Lester to crumble. He lasted only five innings, allowing one earned run on seven hits with three walks and six strikeouts.

Robinson Cano's (2 doubles) first inning double drove in Curtis Granderson (2 hits) for a 1-0 Yankees lead.

With both starters out relatively early, it became a battle of the bullpens and to their credit, New York was better. Alfredo Aceves (9-2) was charged with two earned runs and Daniel Bard gave up an earned run and two hits.

Russell Martin put New York ahead with a two-run double in the seventh and pinch-hitter Eric Chavez came through with an RBI single for a 4-2 cushion. Those guys have both been Red Sox killers this season.

Boone Logan got an out, Cory Wade got an out (and earned a fraudulent win) while Rafael Soriano pitched a scoreless seventh and David Robertson had a scoreless eighth. Mariano Rivera had to work in the ninth, loading the bases with two outs and Adrian Gonzalez at bat but Rivera struck him out looking with his 28th pitch to get his 36th save.

One positive for Boston is that Felix Doubrant made his first appearance since April 17 and it was a good one. He recorded four outs, gave up no hits and struck out two. If he can give them anything, it could be big since they desperately need a lefty out of the bullpen for the playoffs that's not named Franklin Morales.

The Texas Rangers come to town this weekend for a three-game series: Andrew Miller vs. Derek Holland tomorrow night, Erik Bedard vs. Colby Lewis on Saturday afternoon and John Lackey vs. Matt Harrison on Sunday afternoon. Hopefully the Red Sox can keep their momentum going vs. the Rangers that they gained last week in the Lonestar State.

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