It was not suprising that Clay Buchholz got bombed last night.  The only real mystery was how long he would go, and how manys runs he would be tagged for.  Again, the Red Sox hitters gave Buchy a nice lead, and again he pissed it away faster than a gambler on payday.

  Last night Buchholz pitched a clean first inning, and that was about all.  That was his highlight reel.  Buchy went 2.1 innings, giving up five runs on three hits and three walks.  Buchholz faced only 14 batters, and it took him sixty pitches to get thru 2.1 innings.  The good news from last nights debacle, was the demotion of Clay Buchholz to the double a Portland.  Buchy has lost his last eight starts, has gone six innings only once, and has never been a threat to help the Sox win a game.  It is pathetic that he has been in the rotation this long.  It has been painfully obvious that Buchholz did not have the tools needed to be a big league pitcher this year.  However, Theo had his "master plan", and it included Clay Buchholz being a Red Sox starter in 2008.

  Once again the bullpen resembled a punching bag, as they took it on the chin for six earned runs.  How David Aardsma remains in a Red Sox uniform is unbelievable.  Clearly he is done in any capacity as productive member of the bullpen.  However as is usually the case, Aardsma was not alone in his failure's.  Javier Lopez stunk on wheat last night, giving up three earned runs in one whole inning of work.  Mike Timlin pitched two innings, giving up only one runs, only Hideki Okajima pitched clean for the Sox last night.

  If you are scoring at home, this is the third time in a week the Sox pitchers have given up a football like score.  A team giving up this many runs at this point in the season is no serious threat for any playoff run.  The Sox have allowed 17, 15 and 11 runs in thier last nine games. 

I am not quite sure I have ever seen a Red Sox pitcher like Dice-K.  It can be an exercise in frustration watching him pitch.  Last night was more of the same from Dice-K, alotta pitches, a ton of walks, and a whole lot of jams.  However just  like his hero Harry Houdini, Dice K managed to escape most of the jams he created.  Lets put it this way, if you see Dice-K buying a lottery ticket, try and ease drop, find out what number he is playing, and play it too, beacuse there is no one luckier than him.

Dice-K had his normal stuff last night, not too overpowering, just making pitches when he needed to.  Of course when you walk five batters over five innings, its usually going to be a short night.  Which it was, Dice-K went five innings, struck out six, walked five and allowed two earned runs on six hits.  For his efforts, Dice threw 105 pitches to just to make it five innings. 

  I am not quite sure what I am amazed by more, the fact that Dice-K has 15 wins, or how he gets them.  Think about the luck involved in getting 15 wins, the offense providing him the runs.  The bullpen holding up, usually for three or more innings, especially the Red Sox bullpen.  Whatever the case, Dice-K has now won 15 games in back to back season for the Sox.

  Someone wearing a #33 Red Sox jersey has been playing in Jason Varitek's place these last games in Baltimore.  Tek had a multi hit night and a multi r.b.i. night last night.  He has also homered in back-to-back games for the first time all season.

  The Sox managed to score seven runs with Jason Varitek, Alex Cora and Coco Crisp rounding out the bottom half of the line-up.  Every Boston starter managed to get a hit, as the offense continues to stay on track.  The Sox were again light Nancy Drew's services, as he sat out another game with beotch-ites. 

As a life long Red Sox fan I find that I am very superstious, and I was a believer in the curse.  I think I am the taylor made Red Sox fan, and sometimes my life has mirrored that of the Red Sox.

  Today is my birthday, August 15th, and luckily for me, there was another cool guy born on todays date.  His name is Ben Affleck, he also shares my passion for the Red Sox.  Since he is also a die-hard Sox fan, ESPN noticed something that I already knew.  The Sox have not won a game on August 15th in ten years.  How is that possible, it defies all logic and reason.  I have been close a few times, both 2006 and 2007 games were ones the Sox were winning late.  In 2006 I was done in by Willy Mo Pena.  Last year I was done in by Eric Gag-me, in the 8th inning.  Whatever...however..the Sox seem to also lose on August 15th, look it up, or watch ESPN today if you don't believe me.

  It stands to reason, that the Sox always give me a late bummer birthday present.  I guess when I ask the baseball gods for one World Series from the Red Sox before I die, I guess they took me literally, and decided that no birthday wins for me. 

  This is year 11, will they win or will they lose, who knows.  I know its Roy Hallady versus Paul Byrd.  I know the Sox have won five out of six, and math dictates they are about due to lose.  Either way, here's to you August 15th curse.....

Posted Below is a blog from two years ago...on this date.....

Me and Ben Affleck and The Red Sox

What do me and Ben Affleck have in common, if you guessed today being our birthday you would have guessed right. Affleck was born August 15, 1972, and I was born August 15, 1971, and we are both Red Sox fans, but we share one more thing in common.  The Boston Red Sox give us the same thing for our birthday every year, a stinking defeat.  A strange but true stat, the Red Sox have now lost nine games straight on August 15th.  This of course further proves that I am indeed cheering for the right team.  With Curt Schilling on the mound tonight I thought my birthday curse would end.  Curt did his best, and pitched pretty well thru six, had a small hiccup in the seventh, but overall looked like vintage Schilling.  Wily Mo Pena booted a ball in the 9th, leading to a run that might have scored anyway.  One-Two-Three 9th inning, and the curse of August 15th lives on!!!!

• Posted on August 15, 2006 at 7:23 PM
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  Okay so I am not trying to diminsh what the Rays have accomplished so far, but a look at thier schedule is very telling.  The Rays have played 60 games versus teams that are .500 or better.  However, they have only played four games since July 1 versus teams with a .500 record or better.  The Rays, like most teams in MLB this year have struggled on the road.  However the Rays are currently on thier first ten day road trip of the season.  The Sox have already played five such 10 day road trips so far this season.  The Sox have also played 68 games versus teams with a .500 or better record.

  I understand the payroll difference's between the two teams, however there is less of a difference between the Rays and Red Sox payrolls , than that of say the Sox and Yanks.  The Sox have not even been in the same zip code as the Yankees the last six or seven seasons, and that has never really mattered.

  I think the Rays are for real, however I don't think they have played the same schedule as the Sox. They have not gone out west as much, and they have not had a fraction of the long road trips that the Sox have had.  It will be interesting to see how the Rays react to some adversity the rest of the way.  The Rays have 43 games left this season.  They play 31 of those games against teams with winning records.  They also play 23 of those games on the road.  Finally a 119 games into the season, the Red Sox may have the schedule working for them

One of the best unexpected surprises of this season is the play of Jon Lester.  Lester has pitched several big games for the Sox this year, and he has come up money in all of them.  On a night where the bullpen was heavily taxed from the night before, the Sox needed someone to step up and go deep into the game.  Lester was equal to the task, as he went 7.1 innings for the Sox last night.

  Jon Lester had total control of all his pitches, and was dominent and effcient the entire outing.  Lester threw 108 pitches last night, 76 of the pitches were strikes.  Lester struck out six, and scattered seven hits.  Lester did give up a homer to Ian Kinsler, and he was charged with three earned runs.  Mike Timlin allowed both of his inherited from Lester to score.  Lester previous to this season was not know as a tough competitor on the mound, he seemed to wilt in tough outings.  However this season has been completely different.  Earlier in the year when the Sox had just been swept by the Rays, they had a four game set in Yankee Stadium.  Lester stepped up and completely owned the Yanks in the house that Ruth built.  He pitched a complete game shut out.  A few weeks ago, after the Sox had dropped the first two against the Yanks in Fenway, again Lester stepped up when his team needed him, and again he crushed the Yankees.

  The Rangers, who have the best offense in all of baseball, and lead in most offensive catagories, have been treated to some fireworks the last two nights.  Of the Red Sox starters, all but two had hits, and four Red Sox batters had multi-hit nights.  Kevin Youkilis had another big night as well, as he collected three hits and two r.b.i.'s.  The Sox have now outscored the Rangers 27-21 in the last two games.  The Sox also lead the season series with the Rangers 6-0.  It is safe to say that none of the Rangers have Neil Diamond in thier i-pods.

Looks the injury bug continues to plague the Red Sox...

From the Boston Globe....

Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell has been placed on the 15-day disabled list due to an oblique injury that he suffered during last night's game.

Righthander pitcher David Pauley has been recalled from Pawtucket to take Lowell's spot on the roster.

Lowell struck out looking in the seventh inning after having strained his right oblique during the at-bat.

More on Lowell from the Globe's Amalie Benjamin in today's Red Sox notebook:

"I took those two swings my last at-bat, the first one I felt like a little grab on my side, the second one I felt something a lot more significant," said Lowell, who then left the game. "The last pitch I kind of panicked, I didn't know what to do. I didn't think I could swing. I was kind of hoping he'd just flop a curveball or something. I've never had this happen to me before. It's just frustrating." ...

After the game, Lowell could barely stand, his eyes and face wrinkled with what seemed like pain. He was deeply concerned about what today's MRI would bring.

"I can't really stand up really straight," he said. "I feel like keeping bent over feels a lot more comfortable. Getting up out of a chair isn't the greatest thing. I just hope I sleep good tonight."

Asked if he thought the disabled list would be a possibility, Lowell said, "I hope tomorrow I feel better. I'm just, I'm not sure.

"I'm kind of - I wouldn't say nervous about it - but I feel like I'm in uncharted waters. I'd like to avoid [the DL]."

The trainers, Lowell said, have told him to take it slowly, believing that rest will help his already ailing hip. Lowell has been suffering from a strained right hip flexor since the end of June, and spent time earlier this season on the disabled list with a sprained left thumb. But Lowell said that, with the injection he got a week ago, his hip had been improving.

"I don't see them as two totally different things, it's just too much of a coincidence," he said, of the hip and the oblique.

"Those two swings were weird. I tried to kind of bend over and grab it, and see if something would go away. But, I don't know, it's kind of getting progressively worse."

THE 36 RUNS COMBINED BY THE SOX AND RANGERS TIES A MODERN MARK SET IN 1950

THE 17 RUNS ALLOWED BY THE RED SOX IS THE MOST THEY HAVE ALLOWED AND STILL WON

THE 17 RUNS IS THE MOST SCORED BY THE RANGERS IN DEFEAT

NO PITCHER HAS GIVEN UP 12 RUNS AN GOT A NO DECISION SINCE 1918

4 PITCHERS MAKING THIER DEBUT HAVE BEEN SPOTTED TEN RUN LEADS IN MAJOR LEAGUE HISTORY...ONLY ZINK GOT A NO DECISION

BIG PAPI BECOMES ONE OF FOUR PEOPLE TO HAVE TWO THREE RUN HOMERS IN THE SAME INNING

PAUL BYRD WAS ACQUIRED YESTERDAY VIA A TRADE FROM THE INDIANS, IT IT LOOKS LIKE NOT A MINUTE TO SOON..

MIKE LOWELL WILL HAVE AN MRI TODAY ON HIS HIP....A TRIP TO THE DL COULD BE IN HIS FUTURE

Well if you like high scoring, poorly pitched baseball, then last night was your night.  One night after being no hit for 6 1/3 innings the Boston Red Sox exploded for 10 runs...in the first inning. Big Papi hit two three run homers, and the Sox seemed to have things under control.

  However, things are not always as they would seem, and the Sox began to have pitching problems of thier own.  Charlie Zink, making his major league debut seemed to get into trouble in every inning.  Zink a knuckle-baller escaped a few innings with minimal damage the first four innings, but things unraveled very quickly in the 5th inning.  It seemed obvious to me that Zink was not going to last, especially against the best offense in baseball, however manager Terry Francona must have thought otherwise.  Maybe thats why Francona let Zink get into so much trouble in the 5th, maybe he wanted him to qualify for the win, whatever the reason, it was one of many mistakes Francona would make last night.  Zink was finally pulled in the 5th, going 4.1 innings.  Zink's line last night, eleven hits, eight earned runs, and one walk and one strikeout.  I hope all the clamoring for Zink to replace Wakefield can officially stop now.

  The game went to the bullpen for the Rangers in the third inning, and the top of the 5th for the Sox.  Both bullpens combined to give up 18 runs for thier efforts.  The Sox bullpen gave up nine runs, on nine hits and two walks, and only Hideki Okajima did not give up an earned run.  The Ranger bullpen was only slighty better, giving up seven runs on seven hits and two walks.  The Rangers made a smart move in the third by bringing in thier long man (and my friend) Josh Rupe.  Rupe came in with bases loaded in the third, he did give up two earned runs, but did manage to keep the game within reach for the Rangers by only giving up two runs in 2 1/3 innings.  In fact Rupe was in line for the win when he left the game. 

  One wonders why Terry Francona did not bring in our long man Justin Masterson in the 5th.  It seemed like a logical move, considering that there was still almost five innings of baseball to be pitched.  Instead Francona went the route of piecing together match-ups and innings.  Something that proved very costly, as every pitcher in the Sox bullpen, except Justin Masterson pitched.  Another steller night for Manny Delcarmen, as he unloaded Ranger base runners faster than a ups guy unloading boxes at christmas.  Delcarmen pitched one inning, gave up four hits and three runs, basically allowing every other batter he faced to reach base.

  What can you say about the Sox offense last night, 19 runs in a regulation game.  However if they scored 16 runs it would have been a wasted effort and a collossal failure.  Every Red Sox batter that started had a hit, with the exception of Kevin Cash.  David Ortiz had two three run homers, and was robbed of another in the sixth.  Dustin Pedoria had five freaking hits, and two r.b.i.'s, including the game tying run.  Kevin Youkilis had two home runs in the same game, for the fourth time this year.  Youk's second homerun, a three run job provided the Sox with a three run lead in the bottom of the 8th. 

  It was certainly a game for the ages, and one no Red Sox fan will forget watching for a long time.  However this game also exposed the Sox glaring weakness in the bullpen.  Still it was a helluva of game...and helluva comeback.  I'm sure when they were up 10 runs the boys never envisioned that they would need four runs in the 8th inning to get a win.