Well the Sox roll into St. Pete's for a three game set against those pesky new improved Rays.  Hopefully the effects of the flu that has swept through the clubhouse is almost over.  I know one thing, watching that bullpen has sure made me ill.

Here is tonight's line-up

Red Sox:

1. CF -- Jacoby Ellsbury
2. 2B -- Dustin Pedroia
3. DH -- David Ortiz
4. LF -- Manny Ramirez
5. 3B -- Kevin Youkilis
6. RF -- J.D. Drew
7. 1B -- Sean Casey
8. SS -- Julio Lugo
9. C -- Kevin Cash
P -- Tim Wakefield

Devil Rays:

1. 2B -- Akinori Iwamura
2. LF -- Carl Crawford
3. CF -- B.J. Upton
4. DH -- Jonny Gomes
5. 3B -- Evan Longoria
6. 1B -- Eric Hinske
7. C -- Dioner Navarro
8. RF -- Gabe Gross
9. SS -- Jason Bartlett
P --Matt Garza

Hey Yankee fans...when was the last time the Yankees flew a new banner in the Bronx....

So if you have read Red Sox Nation Daily you will know that I am no real fan of Theo Epstein's work. That goes for his entire body of work, including the debacle that is the 2008 Red Sox bullpen.  Theo has struggled mightly constructing the Red Sox bullpens, and this year proves to be no exception.  With the exception of Jonathan Papelbon and maybe Hideki Okajima, none of these clowns can make an out when you need them to.  Manny Delcarmen, supposedly has "closer" type stuff, maybe thats true, but whats between his ears is not.  I am not sure how little Manny made the Red Sox 25 man roster out of spring training, he certainly did not earn it.  Delcarmen showed some flashes last year of potential, but then he had two meltdowns in the World Series that almost cost the Sox two games.  This year has been no different, Delcarmen has folded everytime he has pitched in a tough spot.

  The same can said of Javier Lopez, a guy who could not make in the National League, need I say more.  This waste of a Red Sox uniform is brought in time and time again, and almost everytime he fails.  Look at it this way, no matter how crappy a pitcher is, he always a better than 70% chance of recording the needed out.  Today is not the first time the Sox bullpen has imploded this badly, and it will not be the last.  This bullpen is not the blueprint of a team that can win a title in the Fall Classic.  I would discuss David Aardsma, and Mike Timlin, but I am almost out of insults.  They both stink on wheat, the end.  Oh yea I almost forgot about Julian Tavarez, well you never know what you are gonna get with him, either a guy with a lights out sinker, or a guy that is giving up meatballs that might knock out the lights at Fenway.

  I would rip Theo on the starting pitching that he has put together, but I will save it for another day.  What the hell, I can't resist, I heard that Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell had worked with both Jon Lester and Dice-K on thier pitch selection, and keeping thier pitch counts down.  Looks like both guys need a re-fresher course, as neither one can go more that five freaking innings without throwing over a 100 pitches.

  I guess we will move onto good Theo.  This off-season, Theo & the brass signed Sean Casey to a free agent contract.  At the time I thought the move was a waste of time.  it looked like a Jay Payton, J.T. Snow type of deal where the guy would crying six weeks into the season about playing time.  Nothing could be further from the truth with Casey.  He has been a great addition to the Sox, and he has stepped right in and filled the void left by Mike Lowell.  Though Casey does not hit for power, he does hit for average, and has come thru many times this month in situational spots for the Sox.  I guess I have concluded the good Theo section.  There will more to come I guess when Theo makes a move worthy of praise.  Until then, always take the over when betting on the Sox in 2008

Today the Red Sox called up Justin Masterson from AA, and he was A plus good.  Masterson looked like a seasoned pro, going six strong innings, allowing only two hits and one run.  I hope that Jon Lester was watching his performance today, maybe he learned something.  I will tell you who was not watching, the crappy Boston bullpen.  So far today they have given up six runs in three innings of work, dreadful.  It continues to be helter skelter with Javier Lopez, and Manny Delcarman.  Both of these guys suck beyond belief.  It has hard to remember either one of them pitching a clean inning of work.  My god, how hard can it be, to get three outs without allowing a run.  Masterson just made these guys look like chumps today, although, little Manny and Lopez look like chumps most days.

So last night's Red Sox game for me was one of the most surreal moments I
have ever had as a Sox fan.  First off, I was able to walk around on
the field before the game.  Second, I was sitting behind home plate,
unreal seats, highly choice, I suggest always sitting behind home plate at Fenway if
you have the means.  Now the bad part, I was only able to do all these
things because I am friends with a guy that pitches for the opposing
team. I wondered what would happen if Josh came in the game in a
critical spot. What if they brought him in to get a sinker ball to get out of an
inning to kill a Sox rally, how would I react to that?   

So, as it turns out, Josh was brought into kill a rally last night.  However, the Sox were already way ahead. So I cheered for the Sox for the first few batters that Josh faced, even cheered when he gave up those first few runs, besides those two runs were going to be charged to the starter. However I really did feel bad for him when Dustin Pedoria crushed his 90mph fastball, and dumped it over the Green Monster. 

The score turned to 9-1, the Sox were safely ahead. So from that point on I
cheered for Josh Rupe, well that statement is mostly true, I did boo him
when he plunked Big Papi, totally unintentionally by the way according
to Rupe. From that shakey fourth inning Rupe was able to cruise, only
giving up two more hits and no runs in three full innings. He was able
to get Manny Rameriz to roll over twice into a force out, no small feat
considering Manny is one of the hottest hitters in baseball.  Look at
it this way, Yankees pitcher Chien Ming Wang could not pitch a scoreless
inning against the Sox, in Yankee Stadium to boot.  Rupe was able to
quiet the Sox in a crazy Fenway atmospere.  

So all in all, it was the complete experience, the Sox crushed the visting Rangers, ending my personal Fenway losing streak, and I got the unbelievable experience of
watching a friend have his name put on the John Hancock sign in
centerfield, and pitch very well against one of the toughest line-ups in baseball.
Not quite Field of Dreams, but only becuase Shoeless Joe was not
there........

So I think last night I predicted this was going to be a slugfest, boy I did not know how right I was.  Both the Yankees and Sox exploded last night, to the tune of 24 runs.  The Sox however were on the short end of the explosion, scoring only nine runs.  The Sox twice rallied from three and four runs down, only to give the lead back to the Yankees.

  Both starting pitchers did not have it last night, you could tell that Buhholtz may have been nervous in his Yankee Stadium debut, that was his excuse I guess, but was wrong with Wang, who gave up the most runs he had given up in a year, followed by his shortest out since the ALDS.  Luckily, neither pitcher figured in the decision.

Mike Timlin and Julian Taveraz were both horrific last night, and pitched like they had money on the game.  Timlin has now made four appearance's and had been rocked in all but one of them.  Though Timlin is a fan favorite, it may be time to cut ties with him, either waiving him or sending him back to AAA to work out whatever is wrong with him.

  Tonight is a replay of last Saturdays game, featuring the Red Sox ace Josh Beckett and that tool Mike Mussina.  Hopefully the Sox can get this one and get back to Beantown with a split.

Well the boys are at it again, only two days removed from thier last encounter.  Let's hope that tonight's game moves a little quicker than Sunday Night and Monday morning baseball did the other day.  The good news for people that don't have MLB TV or live outside New York or Boston, is that the game will be nationally televised on ESPN, otherwise known as the eastern sports programming network.

  Tonight is a re-match of last friday night's pitchers duel.  Something tells me that both sides will have a little more lumber for both pitchers tonight.  Here are the line-ups for tonights game

Red Sox

1. Ellsbury, CF
2. Pedroia, 2B
3. Ortiz, 1B
4. Ramirez, LF
5. Youkilis, 3B
6. Drew, RF
7. Varitek, C
8. Casey, 1B
9. Lugo, SS

Buchholz, P

Yankees

1. Cabrera, CF
2. Jeter, SS
3. Abreu, RF
4. Rodriguez, 3B
5. Matsui, LF
6. Posada, DH
7. Giambi, 1B
8. Cano, 2B
9. Moeller, C

Wang, P

For the second night in a row, the Cleveland Indians got a taste of that Red Sox magic.  The Sox finished off the Indians in this two game mini-series the same way they did monday, via a homerun in the 9th.  It had to be deja vu all over again for the Indians, who trailed in this game for only one inning, much like last night.  All total the Indians spent only three innings out of the 18 trailing the Sox, however two of those innings were the 9th.

  The good news for the Sox is they were able to get victories in games started by the back of thier rotation, although neither Jon Lester nor Tim Wakefield got wins, they pitched well enough to keep the Sox in the games.  The bad news for the Indians is that is it for games versus the Sox in Cleveland, if they want to prove something, it will have to be to the Fenway faithful, and not thier hometown Indians fans.

  How bout the highly touted Jed Lowrie last night, he had a hit and three runs batted in.  Not a bad debut, now he is only two r.b.i's behind Big Papi's season total.  Speaking of Papi, he did manage a hit last night, to raise his average in the series to .300, for the season though he is still hovering around .115 or so.

  Now the Sox's head to New York for another short series, where it will be Clay Bucholtz versus Chien Ming Wang, and Josh Beckett versus Mike Mussina.  Speaking of deja vu, this is the second time in a week these teams have played, and the second time we have had these exact match-ups.  I know MLB would like to pick up some steam, after the hype of opening week has died down, but really, Yanks vs the Sox again in week three.  I always wonder why the Sox don't play more games throughout the season, its because the are overloaded in April and September, and not much in between.

One can wonder what tonights action will have in store for us.  What creative way can Cleveland give this one away.  I guess we will tune in and see....

So it really did feel like October last night, playoff type atmosphere, wind chill in the mid 30's, and of course the Indians doing what they do best, choking away game that was seemingly in the bag for them.  For the second time in this short season, the Red Sox stage a rally in the nineth via a two run homer.  This time it was Manny being Manny that provided the theatrics.

  For the most part, this game was a drag, Jon Lester was his usual lights out self for a few innings, then he did his usual meltdown, to the tune of four hits and four runs over the course of one inning.  Then Lester was pulled with one out in the 5th, with bases loaded.  Francona brought in Julian Taverez, which to me signaled the end of the game, however Taverez was brilliant, striking out the next two batters and going 2.2 innings without allowing a run.  In fact the bullpen was lights out again, going four and two thirds innings without allowing a run.  The Red Sox bullpen has now gone ten and two thirds of an inning and allowed only one run, not bad.

  For the Sox they finish up tonight thier series in Cleveland with Tim Wakefield on the mound.  He will face Paul Byrd, who is 0-2 this season.  This will also be the Sox only visit to the mistake by the lake this year.  The rest of the games versus Cleveland will be in the Indians house o horrors, Fenway Park.

Seems like we were just at the Jake, trying to stave off elimination, my how quickly time flies.  The Sox try for three in a row tonight.  Oh yea, this just in, Big Papi stinks, lets hope he gets back on track.  Here are the line-ups.....

Red Sox

1. Coco Crisp, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Manny Ramirez, LF
5. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
6. J.D. Drew, RF
7. Jason Varitek, C
8. Sean Casey, 1B
9. Julio Lugo, SS
-- Jon Lester, P

Indians

1. Grady Sizemore, CF
2. Asdrubal Cabrera, 2B
3. Travis Hafner, DH
4. Victor Martinez, C
5. Jhonny Peralta, SS
6. Ryan Garko, 1B
7. Jason Michaels, LF
8. Franklin Gutierrez, RF
9. Casey Blake, 3B
-- Jake Westbrook, P

So yesterday had to be a painfull day in the life of most Yankee fans.  First off, Tiger Woods fails to rally to win the Masters, falling short of "his" expectations of a grand slam.  Then that was followed by that excruciating game last night, that was as painful to watch as it was long. Several good things came out of it, one of course being the victory of course to help the Sox take the first series from the Yanks, and two, Manny kept crusing, and Papi of course got a well needed night off.

  As predicted by me yesterday, last nights game, was of course the one in that script that was supposed to be a blow-out, and for the most part it was.  Both starting pitchers last night were really bad.  Phil Hughes threw 40 pitches in the first, and it was all down hill for him from there.  Dice-K's good twin was muged in the parking lot, so his evil bad pitching twin was on the mound in Fenway last night.  Dice-K was so bad, at one point in the 5th inning Jon Miller annouced that 50% of the batters he faced last night had reached base, yikes how is it even possible that Yanks lost this game.  This was most certainly a game the Yanks lost via pitching, but Dice-K tried to give it back to them.  His numbers were almost as bad as Hughes, five innings, five hits, and six walks.  Are you kidding me six walks in five innings, and oh yea, he threw 116 pitches just to get to the 5th.

  Both bullpens were game last night, the Yanks pen went six innings, giving up only one run.  The Sox pen was equally good, though shakey at times, however they only gave up one run thru four innings pitched.  Mike Timlin continues to stink, as he gave up another homer to Giambi, followed by two hits.  Bad news for Yankees and Jason Giambi, no more Mike Timlin for a few days, so Giambi will have to find someone else to get a hit from.  For the record Giambi has three hits, two of them homeruns, and both off them off Timlin, yikes.  Oh yea, A-Rod was super clutch last night, going 0-5.  So I guess we will see these same Yankees in a few days down the road in the Bronx.

Well you heard it here first, Terry Francona must be a Red Sox Nation Daily reader.  A few days ago I suggested giving Ortiz a rest in favor of Manny in the D.H. spot, and low and behold thats what the Sox are doing tonight.  Papi is in a slump like he and few others have seen, he is 3-43, and who knows when the last time he got a hit was.  I will do an internet search and see what I can find in the ancient archives and get back to you.  Here are the line-ups.....

Red Sox

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, LF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. J.D. Drew, RF
4. Manny Ramirez, DH
5. Kevin Youkilis, 3B
6. Sean Casey, 1B
7. Jason Varitek, C
8. Coco Crisp, CF
9. Julio Lugo, SS

Daisuke Matsuzaka, SP

Yankees

1. Johnny Damon, CF
2. Robinson Cano, 2B
3. Bobby Abreu, RF
4. Alex Rodriguez, 3B
5. Hideki Matsui, LF
6. Jorge Posada, DH
7. Jason Giambi, 1B
8. Jose Molina, C
9. Alberto Gonzalez, SS

Phil Hughes, SP

For those that say the Yanks and Sox is all a bunch of hype, then I say show me better baseball theater in April than this. I watch a lot of baseball, I do not limit myself to just AL east competion, and none of it can match this excitement, epecially this early in the season.  Both starting pitchers were really great, and both were able to go long into the game, keeping the bullpens for the most part out of the issue.

  There are some that would say that Joe Torre would not have pitched to Manny with two out and two on, who knows what Torre would have done, I know what Giraridi did, and the end result of that decision was a loss for the Yankees.  I know the Fox guys were speculating about it, they also were questioning Terry Francona;s decision to send Papelbon out to face A-rod as well.  Thats baseball, sometimes the numbers work for you and sometimes they don't.

  It is amazing how Sox and Yank's game manage to find the theater within the theater.  A two hour rain delay, that left two and two out, with A-rod looming large.  Fox dug up the famous 0-2 count from last year that A-rod took from Papelbon and dumped in the Boston bullpen, like that had anything to do with yesterdays game.  A-rod of course went down pretty easily, 1-2-3 strikes and he was out, and that pretty much was the ballgame as they say.

  Today we get a look at Red Sox present and Yankee futur-ish.  The Yanks will send Phil Hughes to face Dice-K tonight on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball, ugh I guess that means Joe Morgan, no chance the farmed this game out to the guys at NESN to do the telecast.  We have had two close ones so far, and if history has anything to say about it, tonights game should be a blow-out.  You never know, you got a rookie and a guy who has an evil twin that may show up and pitch.

For awhile this game had all the makings of an instant ESPN classic.  I guess it probably was for fans of the New York Yankees.  Tonight the Sox and Yanks squared off in round one of the 2008 edition of the great rivalry.  Clay Bucholtz, tonight looked like the heir apparent that he is supposed to be, going six strong innings, giving up only one run on four hits.  Bucholtz had a shakey 5th inning, but other than that, he was a good as you could ask for against a potent line-up like the Yanks.  The bullpen, however was another story, once again failing to it's job, giving up six hits and three runs in just three innings.  There are some guys in this bullpen that cannot pitch to no more than a batter or two without having massive problems.  Mike Timlin was not as good as we had heard all spring, and he looked like total crap in his short stint.  Javier Lopez as looked really bad again, a common theme in this early season.

  I guess I will say a little something about the Red Sox offense tonight, they stunk, the end.  If not for a miss played ball by Bobby Abreu, the Sox would have gone hitless and scoreless.  J.D. Drew continues to be Mr. April in Boston, hitting a solo shot in the 5th that broke up Wang's no-no and shut-out.

  On the more bad news catagory, David Ortiz continues his horrible career worst slump tonight, again failing to get a hit or even sniff at a hit.  It may be passed time to say it or do it, but  Papi may need a rest.  This slump looks like the kind that may not be able to be worked out in game situations.  Francona, who always sticks with his players longer than he should, maybe should consider sitting Papi in favor of Manny in the D.H. spot and Coco and Ellsbury in the outfield.  I know it sounds bad and disloyal, but this may be in Papi's best interest for saving his season.  One thing is for sure, you cannot have a guy in the three hole hitting under .050, not with the bullpen this team has.

Well it looks likeit's that time again, though there is still a little nip in the air for most of the northeast, tonight looks to heat things up.  So far it seems like less hype than years past.  Maybe its due to the fact both teams have stumbled out the gate, or maybe it's because the Sox recent dominance in the playoffs have leveled the playing field.  Whatever the reason, I don't think I have seen one promo yet for the three game set at Fenway this weekend.  Oh yeah, there is a little golf tourney going on somewhere in Georgia, big deal...this is Sox versus the Yanks, and it only happens every year, twenty or so times.

  The Sox have thier work cut out for them tonight, as the send no so hot rookie Clay Bucholtz to face the Yanks number one starter Chein Mein Wang.  Wang as pitched pretty well versus the Sox in his time, and Bucholtz has not pitched well since throwing a no hitter last fall.  Could be a long night for the Sox, that combined with the fact that Bucholtz could have a short night, only means the Yanks can get into that crappy Red Sox bullpen.  Personally I like Saturday and Sunday's match-ups a little better for the Sox.  Either way, these games usually always live up to the hype, no matter what the calender says, and no matter what the temp. is outside.

 So the beauty and glory of returning home is now officially over.  After blanking the Tigers in game one, the Sox's and thier mediocre pitching staff may have awakened a sleeping tiger.  Detroit scored a season high seven runs last night, against pitching that would have to be described as aaa level at best.  Jon Lester continues his helter skelter like ways, as seems to be his pattern.  Lester, for the second time this year, failed to qualify for a quality start going 5.1 innings.  The bullpen was equally as bad last night, as Bryan(I am heading back to Pawtucket) Corey failed to record two outs for the second time in four days.

  The Boston pitching staff is not alone in it's mediocre ways.  The Sox left a small farm team on the base paths last night.  Twice leaving them loaded, and once with two aboard.  It is early, and it's hard to tell how much is fatigue from the Japan trip, but this Red Sox squad looks very average, and very inconsistant in every phase of the game.  The only good news from last nights game was it looks like Mike Lowell's injury is only a day-to-day deal, and Sean Casey was 2-4 in his place last night.

 It was great see Bill Buckner back at Fenway Park yesterday.  In honor of that appearance, I have dug up this little gem I blogged about in june of 2006.  I think when you read it , you will come to the same conclusion most Sox fans have over the years, that it was not Buckners fault at all.  I was touched listening to Bill Buckner's comments to the media last night, you could tell he did not come by this decision to return to Fenway lightly. As someone who has met Mr. Buckner, it does not take you long to figure out that he is a person filled with bitterness and anger about how he has been remembered for his 22 season of MLB service.  In this world there are probably few people who can truly understand what Bill Buckner has gone through. Steve Bartman for one comes to mind.  I am glad that the Red Sox have done right by Bill Buckner, I only hope that the media can do the same, and tell the entire story of the 1986 World Series.

20 Years Later Who Do You Blame?

• Posted on June 28, 2006 at 11:37 AM
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Hey Yankee fans, remember when you guys had ring ceremonies, and unfurled banners on openind day.  Well that was then and this is now, at Red Sox Nation we're better than you, and we know it.

On to the game, and what a game it was, a suprise start, with Bill Buckner throwing out the first pitch.  The other good news of the day was the appearance of Dice-K's good twin today.  the good Dice-K went 6.2 innings, striking out seven, and allowed no earned runs.  The bullpen finally did it's job, allowing no runs over the last 3.1 innings of the game.  Big Papi is still swinging a cold stick, but Yoouuk went 3-3 with 2 r.b.i.'s.  Man-Ram had an inside the park homerun, kinda-off.  It was a triple with a rare throwing error by Placido Planco.

  Tommorrow is new day though, and the Sox hope to keep it going, sending John Lester to the hill to face Jeremy Bonderman.  You gotta think the Tigers are due, I hope it's not against Boston though.  If you are scoring at home, the sox are 4-4, however they are undeafeated in the U.S.A.

UNREAL......THATS ALL I CAN SAY ABOUT THE OPENING DAY CEROMONIES....BILL BUCKNER WAS MOVED TO TEARS BEFORE THROWING OUT THE FIRST PITCH.....WHO SAYS SOX FANS DON'T HAVE A HEART.....IT WAS QUITE A SIGHT....

Here is todays line-up...and a juicy tid-bit....New England's favorite son Bill Buckner has returned to throw out the first pitch.....WOWZER!!!!!

Red Sox
1. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
2. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Manny Ramirez, LF
5. Mike Lowell, 3B
6. J.D. Drew, RF
7. Jason Varitek, C
8. Coco Crisp, CF
9. Julio Lugo, SS

P -- Daisuke Matsuzaka

Tigers
1. Edgar Renteria, SS
2. Placido Polonco, 2B
3. Gary Sheffield, DH
4. Magglio Ordonez, RF
5. Miguel Cabrera, 3B
6. Carlos Guillen, 1B
7. Ivan Rodriguez, C
8. Jacque Jones, LF
9. Brandon Inge, CF

P -- Kenny Rogers

Well today is the special rite of spring that we could all get you used too.  Opening day at Fenway Park, and once again, Fenway will host a ceremony for the World Champions.  I don't think it will be as dramatic as last time though.  If you remember in 2005 we hosted the Yankees, and it was also homecoming week, as Derek Lowe and Dave Roberts made thier returns to Fenway Park to collect thier hardware.

  Today the Sox host a struggling Detroit Tiger team that looks to feast on some bad Red Sox pitching.  The Tigers are 0-6, and the weight of expections has been a little more than this uber hitting line-up can handle. By default todays contest should be close, as the Tigers send Kenny Rogers to the mound, and as we know, the Sox stink on wheat against any left handed pitcher, even if he is 63 years old and pitching from a wheel-chair.  The Red Sox will counter with Dice-K today.  As you know there are two Dice-K's, so you never know which one will show up.  It will either be the nibbler or the strike out king.  Either way, win or lose, it is ring day in Beantown!!!

Man do I stink right now.......

So here is the good news, the Sox did manage to win 3 games on the road trip from hell.  The other good news is, they have played and pitched like total crap, yet still there have been flashes of the team that won the most games in basebal last season. Now the bad news, this team is really old, and really young, and not much in the middle.  Wyatt "Curt Schilling" Earp is on the DL for the year pretty much, so that takes away a very vital element to the Sox.  Oh yea, another tid-bit, after a brief flirtation with greatness, Fartolo Colon has returned to the DL, his home away from home the last few years.

  It also looks like beyond Papelbon and Okajima, that bullpen is total and complete disaster.  Remember sports fans, that hitting is supposed to be behind pitching this early in the season.  That has certainly not been the case when the Boston bullpen has been on the mound.  It always makes me wonder, how you can spend 133 million constructing a team, and forget the pullpen.  I guess Yankee fans understand that feeling, as their team spends over 200 million every year, and thier best solution for a #5 starter was a burned out human growth experiment.

  Lets hope that home cooking will be sweet for the Sox as they get to hang new banners and oh yea, they get thier 2007 World Series Rings.  The Red Sox also get the 0-6 Detroit Tigers.  Something tells me that the Tigers bats will come to life during thier three games in Fenway. 

So I have said on this site, no matter how many games and championships the Sox win under Theo Epstein and Terry Francona, neither one will ever persuade me that either knows much about managinig a bullpen. That fact was never more evident on Sunday, when Francona brought in Manny Delcarman in with bases loaded, to face Frank Thomas.  It does not take a genius to figure out the only pitch Delcarmen can command is his fastball, a fact that was not lost on Frank Thomas, as he took that first pitch, turned on it and dumped in deep left.  That in effect was the ball game, ruining Josh Becketts otherwise pretty good outing.  I am not quite sure if Delcarmen has something on Francona, but it seems that since last year Francona has been trusting little Manny in those spots, and he has been consistant in failing in those spots, bigtime.

  The Sox are swept again by the Jays, and they have now lost the last seven times they have faced the Jays.  That trend will need to be fixed if the Sox  hope to contend in the very competive AL East.  Day off today for boys, and then thier home opener in Fenway on Tuesday.

Well the strain of six games in three countries looks like it may be taking it's toll on the Red Sox.  So far they have been outscored by the Blue Jays 16-5 in the two games played in the Rogers Centre so far.  The task of scoring runs gets no easier tommorrow as the Sox face ace Roy Holliday in the series finale, or as the Jays call it in Canada, sweeping the Red Sox day.

  Today the Sox sent super rookie Clay Bucholtz to the mound, and although he was not great, he was no worse than you average number five starter.  Bucholtz gave the Sox a chance today going five innings, giving up three earned runs.  The bullpen however stunk up the joint for the second straight day.  Today the bullpen went three innings giving up six earned runs.  The offense again was fairly average, again for the 5th time in 6 games.  David Ortiz continues to stay mired in his slump, going hitless for the second day in a row, a continued trend for Ortiz this season so far.

  The silver lining to todays outcome was the same as last nights, the hated Yankees lost to the Rays, in Yankee Stadium.  So as bad as 3-3 is, at least the Sox have done this on the road.  Which is not as bad as 2-3 at home, Yankee magic, catch it.  Yankee fans are facing the same kind of growing pains the Sox faithful will experience this year, inconsistant pitching by young and old dudes alike.  Maybe thats why so many pundits think the Jays can win the AL East this year.  So far they have certainly looked like a strong contender, playing the Yankees tough in all three games, and blowing out the Sox in their two games so far.

  Josh Beckett returns to the hill tommorrow, facing major league hitters for the first time since last October.  It will be interesting to see how he fares against the hot hitting Jays.  To make room for Beckett, it looks like the Sox and Kyle Synder will part company for good.  Synder is out of options, and has been designated for assignment.  His Sox has been one of extremes, either extremely bad or just plain mediocre, but hey somebody has pitch those blowouts, and Eric Gagne pitches for the Brewers now...........