By definition…the job of a 4th and 5th starter is to give the TEAM a chance to win.  Indeed that is what Felix Doubront has done in his starts for the Boston Red Sox…given them a chance to win….and guess what…they are 2-0 in the lefty’s starts in the early going.

  Mostly today, Felix Doubront had his way with the Ray’s…doing a great job getting ahead of the hitters and staying out of bad counts.  Doubront was overpowering at times….striking out a total of 7 batters in 5 plus innings of work.  As is the case with young pitchers…Felix was not as efficient as he could be, and the 5th inning was an adventure…but not all of it was his fault.  Both Jason Lepko and Cody Ross misplayed balls in the 5th that could have been outs that prevented runs.  For some reason that I’m sure Bobby V will have an explantion for….Doubront was brought back for the 6th inning.  He promptly gave up a solo homer to Luke Scott and his awesome sideburns, and that was his day and his chance to figure in the decison.

  For the third day in a row…..the Sox faced a “phenom”…and for the third day in a row…that phenom was sent packing on the short end of the stick.  Today the Sox got Matt Moore, the #2 prospect in all the land.  At times Moore dominated the Sox hitters with his fastballs, but the Sox were able to get to the young pitcher several times….scoring six earned runs off him.  David Ortiz continued to have the best April of his life with another multi hit day going 3-4 and driving in another run.  Mike Aviles and Cody Ross both homered for the second day in a row.  Aviles has done an ok job of filling in for Jacoby Ellsbury….like Jacoby…Aviles doesn’t take many walks…and has to hit his way on base.

  The bullpen made it interesting late…but the combo of Scott Atchison, Vincente Padilla and Franklin Morales bridged the gap unscathed to get the ball to closer Alfredo Aceves…who pitched another 1-2-3 9th inning for his 2nd save of the season.

  It will be Big Game James tomorrow for the Rays, as the Sox counter with 5th starter wanna be Daniel Bard.  It is being reported that Bard’s last outing wasn’t as bad as it looked…I dunno..I saw it…looked pretty mediocre to me.  Bard needs to have a good performance in the finale…. Aaron Cook has looked great in Pawtucket and has a May 1st opt out.  Something will have to give…and hopefully it will  be Bard. 

  First pitch tomorrow is 11am….it’s Patriots Day in the Hub.  The Boston Marathon will also be run, as Monday is an exciting day to be in Boston.  Sox will be looking for the four game sweep tomorrow, as they wrap up the series.

posted by Jonathan Dunlow

you can also follow me on twitter @rsndaily

   If Friday’ opening day win was a show of dominating pitching…overpowering finese and timely and late hitting, then yesterday’s win was one of perserverance…grit and overcoming adversity.

  Even the though the Sox were riding high from Friday’s blowout win over the hated Rays…they had just been dealt the news that lead-off hitter and offensive table setter Jacoby Ellsbury went on the DL for an extended period of time.  Couple that with another poor first inning for Clay Bucholtz, yesterday had the makings of another long afternoon for the faithful at the Fens.   A funny thing happened though on the way to the Sox being blown out at home by the Rays….they weren’t.  Clay Bucholtz buckled down after a rocky first inning and the Boston hitters gave baby-faced Ray’s pitcher Jeremy Helickson an ass-beating he won’t soon forget.

  Bucholtz showed flashes of the promise that we have all heard about….but havent seem much of since 2010.  Buchy settled in after that first inning, and kept the Rays off balance with the full aray of his pitches.  Clay was able to keep his pitch count low after the first inning, and limit the damage to just one run the rest of the way, going seven innings.  Bucholtz line for the day was seven innings pitched, 5 earned runs, six hits, and three walks to go along with  five strikeouts, more impressive than his line was his post 1st innings totals, six innings…one run…2 hits and 2 walks.

  The Red Sox offense made sure that Buchy’s efforts were not wasted yesterday…exploding for 13 runs a day after scoring 12.  The Sox quickly ate into the 1st inning deficit by playing a little home run derby with Helickson.  Salty, Pede  and Big Papi both went yard in the early going off Helickson.  In the end the phenoms line ended up with five earned runs in 5 innings pitched, with seven hits and three walks.  Helickson wasn’t alone in his pitching frustrations….the Ray’s bullpen again did it’s best Boston Blow-pen again yesterday….pitching three innings and giving up 8 runs on 8 hits, to go along with a pair of dingers by Mike Aviles and Cody Ross.  The 8th inning again was bad news for the Rays as the Sox got 5 runs to seal the deal.

  As it has been said before…momentum is only as good as today’s starting pitcher.  Today Felix Duobront faces another “phenom” in Matt Moore. Today is the day the young lefty will make his bones with the Fenway faithful and turn two wins in a row into three.  First pitch is at 1:35!!

posted by Jonathan Dunlow

  After watching yesterday’s 12- 2 beat down of the Rays yesterday….I felt like it was time for the first top ten list of the season.

10.  THE BOSTON RED SOX HAVE NOW WON THIER HOME OPENER 3 YEARS IN A ROW.  FUN FACT…THE HAVE ALSO LOST THE 2ND GAME OF THE HOME OPENER 3 THREE YEARS IN A ROW…DO I HEAR??

9. MARK MELANCON WHO IS WAS “SUPPOSED” TO BE A CLOSER CANDIDATE AND A LOCK FOR SET UP MAN….HAS NOT RETIRED TWO BATTERS IN A ROW IN ANY OF OF HIS OUTTINGS…NOR HAS HE PITCHED A SCORELESS INNING….I BELIEVE RED SOX NATION DAILY HAD THIS RIGHT WHEN WE FIRST GOT MELANCON.

8. SINCE 2009 A SPAN NOW 4 SEASON THE BOSTON RED SOX HAVE STARTED THE FIRST 3 WEEKS OF THE SEASON WITH A LOSING RECORD.  MAYBE THESE BOYS NEED TO BE REMINDED THAT ALL GAMES COUNT

7. I MAY BE A DOUCHE-BAG…BUT MAN IT SEEMS LIKE THE RED SOX HAVE A BUNCH OF “SOFT” PLAYERS.  JACOBY DLLSBURY NOW JOINS RYAN KALISH AND CARL CRAWFORD ON THE DL…FORMING THE GREATEST O.F. COMBO TO EVER BE ON THE DL

6. I SECOND THAT…THE RED SOX ALSO HAVE ALMOST A PLAYOFF ROTATION AND BULLPEN ON THE DL AS WELL.  DICE K, JOHN LACKEY, RICH HILL, ANDREW MILLER, BOBBY JENKS…AND I THREW THREE PITCHES AND GOT RELEASED CARLOS SILVA….(MY PICK FOR THE 5TH SPOT IN THE ROTATION P.S.)

5. IT WON’T BE BOBBY V’S FAULT THE SOX STINK ON WHEAT THIS YEAR…BUT AT SOME POINT HE WILL BE FUN TO WATCH…AND WILL MISSED AFTER HIS ONE-AND-DONE SEASON IN THE HUB.

4. THE NOMINATIONS ARE IN FOR WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GUYS EATTING…AND THE AWARD IS A TIE…JOSH BECKETT AND KEVIN YOUKILIS.  BECKETT LOOKS LIKE HE STILL MAINTAINS HIS REGIMENT OF POPEYES CHICKEN.  BECKETT CAME TO CAMP NOT CONTRITE..NOT SORRY…AND NOT SLIM…WHAT IS HE GOING TO LOOK LIKE THIS SEPTEMEBER.  THE YOUKER NEEDS TO LAY OFF DUNKIN DONUTS I THINK…HIS RANGE HAS GONE TO SHIT…HIS BAT IS SLOWER THAN INSTANT REPLAY…AND HE IS STARTING TO LOOK LIKE THE PILLSBERRY DOUGH BOY.

3.  NOT SO FAST SCOTT(SATAN) BORAS…ON THE WAY TO LINING UP THAT BIG PAYDAY FOR JACOBY DLLSBURY BORAS FORGOT A FEW KEY THINGS THAT AREN’T GOING TO BE GOOD READING IN THAT BOOK HE PREPARES FOR HIS CLIENTS…SINCE BREAKING IN 2007…DLLSBURY HAS NEVER PLAYED WELL OR HEALTHY IN BACK-TO-BACK SEASON.  IN 2008 HE WAS REPLACED BY COCO CRISP…IN 2009 HE PLAYED WELL…IN 2010 HE MISSED THE ENTIRE SEASON WITH THE SAME INJURY THAT KEPT RANGERS JOSH HAMILTON OUT FOR 3 WEEKS.  DLLSBURY DID BOUNCE BACK IN 2011…BUT WHATS THE OVER UNDER ON HIS LATEST INJURY….I SAY PLUS 30 DAYS OVER THE 8 WEEKS THEY ARE SAYING NOW…BOOK IT…

2. WHO IS WITH ME…WHEN THEY SHOWED LARRY LUCCINO, TOM WARNER AND JOHN HENRY SITTING AND LAUGHING AND LOOKING GOOFY TOGETHER DURING YESTERDAYS GAME….I COULD HELP BUT STOP AND THINK…IS THIS ANOTHER NESN PLUG FOR THE THREE STOOGES MOVIE…OPENING EVERYWHERE FRIDAY 13TH 2013….

1.  OWNER OF THE COINED PHRASE “EVIL EMPIRE” LARRY LUCCINO WAS RECENTLY QUOTED AS SAYING THAT THE RED SOX WOULD DEF BE ADDING PAYROLL DURING THE SEASON.  HEY ASS-BAG…WHY DIDNT YOU ADD PAYROLL DURING THE OFFSEASON…WHEN…DUH…THERE WERE PLAYERS AVAILABLE VIA FREE AGENCY…..THE RED SOX RECENT WAYS OF DOING BUSINESS ARE REPUBLICAN-ESQUE AND SOMETIMES MAKE LESS SENSE THAN THAT.  TRADING FOR TWO CLOSERS FOR TEAMS THAT LOST 100 GAMES…ONE OF WHICH HAD A HISTORY OF INJURIES….GETTING RID OF BOTH STARTING SS IN FAVOR…OF NOT HAVING ONE….NOT ADDING ONE FUCKING STARTING PITCHER WHO FINISHED THE 2011 SEASON ON AN MLB ROSTER…..IF THE SOX WIN 82 GAMES THIS YEAR WITH THE PITCHING DEPTH AND BULLPEN THEY HAVE BOBBY V SHOULD BE GIVEN A LIFETIME CONTRACT……

When Bobby Valentine took over for the Boston Red sox last fall…he vowed things were going to be better.  To a man most of the players said they were going to bust thier ass to win back the trust of the fans after thier bad behaviour and epic meltdown last fall.  Well I guess that 1-5 is an improvement from 0-6…even if it is right next door.

   This spring looks to me…a mirror image of how the 2011 season started and ended.  The Sox hitting and pitching has yet to get on the same page….and let’s face it….the Sox have only hit well in ONE game this season.  It looks to be more of the same from the Sox hitters….alot of early swinging in counts….and alot of happy feet in the batters box when the Sox actually have a man in scoring postion.  The end result of todays game was proof positive of that….men at second and third….one out….both men lefting standing there after the third out had been recorded.

  There are a few players that have held up thier end of the bargin….soon to be captain Dustin Pedoria plays like a man possessed…but he can’t do it alone.  Adrian Gonzalez also looks like a guy who gives a shit everytime he is at the plate and in the field as well….but inbetween the lines…for the most part….the Sox have looked like a disengaged…disinterested bunch of underachievers.  Kevin Youkilis leads the pack of guys not doing enough on the field or at the plate.  I hate to say it…but sometimes these guys give out and get old overnight.  Trot Nixon is a good example of that….the original Dirt Dog gave it his all his entire career as a Red Sox…but in the end the dude was all used up by his early thirties.  For my money…it sure looks like Youkilis has lost alot of range in the field and his bat has slowed down quite a bit at the plate….this will be his last year in a Sox uniform….book it.  Jacoby Ellsbury also looks like a guy that have been reading to many press clippings last fall about his future payday.  Ellsbury has failed the Sox in every was possible…to date he has played awful in center…and his bat also seems to be in slumber….and to make matters worse…he can’t seem to take walk either.

  Make no doubt about it the Sox are in harms way already.  There was alot of hyperbole about the Sox pitching and bullpen…but the offense has been an eye sore so far this year.  The Sox have scored…2..0..12..4..3..1…borish numbers to be sure.  If you have bothered to check the Sox upcoming schedule…you will know how real it is gonna get..really quick.  The Sox have a four game stand versus the Rays…two versus the Rangers and three versus the Yankees.  One can easily see the Sox being 3-12 at the end of those nine games…anything else would be a miracle…and at this point…thats what it’s gonna take.

  It’s seems like a long time since we as Red Sox fans have had ANYTHING to celebrate.  The nightmare choke job ending to the 2011 season.  The mass exodus out of Fenway like it was rats fleeing the Titanic.  The complete and horrible job that Ben & Larry did in the offseason builing anything that remotely looks like a rotation and bullpen.  For one night..at least all of that was forgotten briefly…as the Sox for the third time in four games..played in a game decided in the last three outs…..this time though the Sox managed to get the win.

  If you saw last nights game there were lots of things to be encouraged by.  Felix Doubront making his 2012 debut as an official starter looked great.  Doubront did a great job mixing his pitches and keeping the powerful Jay’s line-up off the board for the most part.  Doubront was especially tough on monster-masher Joey Bats…who was 0-3 vs Felix with a double play ball mixed in vs Joey Bats.  The only negative for Doubront last night was the amount of pitches he threw in five innings.  For my money…he was squeezed in several situations, and that took away any chance Felix had of going into the 6th inning.  All in all it was a very encourging start for Doubront, and gives some hope for the back end of the rotation.

  The good bullpen made a rare 2012 appearance last night, as Scott Atchinson and Fredo pitched 4 innings of one hit…no RUNS ball.  Atchinson who has been released by the Sox three times in the last year pitched like a guy who doesn’t want to lose his seat on the American Airlines charter.  Atchinson was solid and efficient in his three innings of work, and left the door open for the Sox to rally in the 9th.  Handed a two run lead, Fredo finally closed the door…and kept it shut…pitching a one-two-three 9th….something Red Sox Nation hasn’t seen in a long long long time.

  Momentum is as good as today’s starter…which today that starter is one Daniel Bard.  The hype surrounding the decision to move Bard to the rotation is one that has been questioned all winter…and all spring…and tonight…there may be an answer.  Let’s face it…Bard was handed the job…he didn’t earn it…his manager doesn’t think he is a starter….so tonight it is time for Bard to put up or shut up.  A number 5 starter doesn’t need to Jon Lester or Justin Verlander…he needs to go out and give his team a chance to win.  Here’s hoping that happens and the Sox go get win #2 tonight!!!

  In an offseason that you allowed your franchise closer go without so much as an offer…there is gonna be second guessing.  In an offseason filled with all sorts of PROVEN closers on the market, and you you choose two guys with a LESS than stellar track record…there is going to be second guessing.  In an offseason where you allow the kid you were grooming to be a closer…become a mediocre starter…there is going to be second guessing.  It’s not rocket science….getting the last three outs of a baseball game are trickier than they look, if it wasn’t so difficult…anyone could do it….and clearly the 2012 Boston Red Sox have no one who can.

  It is going to be an interesting season for Bobby V and Ben Cherrington to be sure.  Cherrington is going to cling to the facts…he did bring a closer in to fill the role of Jonathan Papelbon…in fact he brought in two.  So far both guys have lived up to thier lofty expectations.  On thursday Mark Melancon question Bobby V for his quick hook…..guess what douche-bag…looks Bobby”s thinking was right in that instance.  Today’s game was just truley amazing….in over 28 years of watching the Sox….I don’t ever recall seeing a more back-breaking loss. 

  It was incredible to watch the Sox hitters overcome…and overcome.  The Sox rallied not once..not twice…not three times…but four times to get that 12-10 lead.  It begs the question, how many runs would have been enough for the Sox blow-pen today.  The combo of Bucholtz, Aceves, and Mark Melancon blew leads of 2 runs twice and 3 runs once.  It is almost mathmatically possible to see that in a major league game….look it up…watch every game played by every team this season….you won’t see a pitching staff implode like the wat the Sox did today.

  Where do the Sox go from here….that is the toughest question of all.  Of the last 4 games the Sox have played…they have watched the other team walk-off three.  These losses coupled with last season will take an immediate toll on this team.  There are no quick fixes…NONE.  We are three games into the season and apparently not one of the Sox blow-pen guys have the balls to get 3 outs…no matter what size lead they are handed. If you thought last season was bad…this one will be worse.  It has been almost a decade since a Sox team sucked wire to wire…but this team will.  If the Sox can”t find a way to close games out (cuz they sure as shit can’t score 12 everynight) plain and simple…this season will be hijacked by pitching.  The Sox just played a series in which their starters went 15 innings…and were tagged with 15 earned runs.  The blow-pen blew 3 saves…and allowed 5 runs today in just 3 innings of late inning work.  Staggering stats to be sure, but the truth like the stats wear no disguises.

posted by Jonathan Dunlow

  So the hopes of the Sox getting off to a fast start are rapidly starting to fade.  The real hope now is that the Sox don’t repeat thier start of 2011.  The only comfort that the Sox can take on thier 0-2 start, is that the New York Yankees have mirrored the Sox, the first time that has happened since 1980.

  Watching yesterday’s game was like getting a sneak preview to Home-Run Derby in July.  Beckett who has said numerous times over the winter…that it didnt matter how many beers and pieces of fried chicken he had eaten…it only mattered how he “excuted his pitches”.  Well at the end of his 4 2/3 innings of work yesterday, it sure looked Beckett could use a bucket of Popeye’s finest…and a hug.  From the start of the game…until the last pitch he threw…Beckett did little to fool the boys from Motown.  It looked like a combination of things yesterday…either Beckett blew dog…or either he or Salty may have tipped some pitches….cuz it sure looked like on some of those homeruns that the Detroit hitters were loading up for the pitches.  Whatever the reason, Beckett looked like total shit, the only silver lining in his start was he only threw 83 pitches…so he should be fresh next time around.

  The Boston offense still sits in Fort Myers somewhere , because there has no evidence to prove they exist so far in 2012.  In 18 innings of work the Sox hitters have struck out an amazing 19 times, can anyone say pressing.  With the exception of Ryan Sweeny, the second part of the line up looks like a complete joke.  Salty has one hit, and that represents the hitting from the 7-8-9 hole in 2 games.  I can understand the Sox getting dominated by Justin Verlander…but the Sox faced the Tigers bullpen from the 4th inning on yesterday, and fared no better than they did against Fister or Verlander.  At some point the big boys have to get going for the Sox to have any real chance to win, because they are sure arent going to pitch thier way to victory.  Adrian Gonzalez has to start acting like the superstar he “supposedly” is and be a leader of the team with his bat and actions…versus a guy who looks like he needs to be in a small market somewhere with Carl Crawford. Gonzo leads the pack so far with whiffing away at the plate, something the Sox have to cut down on if they are gonna score some runs.

  It was total and team effort yesterday, so I don’t want to leave out the Boston Blow Pen.  The bullpen went 3.1 innings yesterday, and gave up three runs, so I guess that is actually an improvement on thursday.  The Blow Pen gave up 3 quick runs on 5 hits, and erased any doubts quickly they were going to hold down the Tigers long enough for the Sox to mount a rally (I understand the Sox actually have to score runs to do that).  Matt Albers picked up right where he left off last year…looking ..fat..bloated…and unable to keep hitters off the bases.  In 2/3′s of an inning, Albers gave up 2 runs on 2 hits…in addition to keeping some law and order, he plunked Prince Fielder.

  I guess the Sox can save some face today, and salvage this series by taking the get away game.  They do have thier #3 pitcher on the mound in Clay Bucholtz.  Bucholtz though had a awful spring though, and I wouldn’t hold your breath.  If Buchy doesn’t do it here today, it could be OFFICIALLY time to be nervous with Felix Dubront taking the hill versus the mighty Blue Jays.  Oh well, gotta play today’s game first…and who knows…the Sox may actually win a game.

posted by Jonathan Dunlow

  One of my all time favorite baseball quotes came on opening day 2005.  The Red Sox were opening the season in New York against the New York Yankees.  The same Yankees they had just come back from in the ALCS the previous fall…you may remember that series…lil bit.  Anyway…I digress…the Sox lost to the Yankees that night and thier new “Ace” Randy Johnson (who brought them zero titles ps).  Opening night starter for the Sox David Wells was pressed for quotes from the New York media after the game….his response was classic….”this is game 1 of 162….I don’t think we are out of it just yet….”

  For a season opener this game had it all…great pitching…bad pitching…timely and late hitting.  The bad news is…the worst of the bad pitching occured for the Sox very late in the game.  Jon Lester pitched like the ace the Boston media wants him to be.  He was brilliant going 7 innings…giving up just one bullshit run to a batter he struck out twice in that at bat…but the umpire choose that point in the game to squeeze Lester.  Lester was opposed by Al Cy Young and MVP winner Justin Verlander…who was equally filthy and pretty much unhittable. Verlander yielded no runs in his 8 innings of work.

  As predicted by anyone who has ever watched baseball….the Red Sox BULLSHIT…bullpen was totally awful. They pitched 1.1 innings today…they used 4 pitchers…got 4 outs…gave up 2 earned runs and allowed six F-ING baserunners.  Note to readers…this was the “good” bullpen we saw today, not the mop up crew.  What we saw today is going to be a sight we all better get used to seeing.  Just like the Titanic was unable to keep out water…these fucking guys are going to be unable to keep crooked numbers of the boards in late innings.

  The good news/silver lining…is tomorrow is another day.  The Sox WILL NOT LOSE TOMORROW….BOOK IT!!!  Ok so the Sox are off tomorrow, so that gives them an extra day to lick thier wounds and figure out how to score more runs than the other team.

posted by Jonathan Dunlow

 The beauty part of a new baseball season…is it seems to be filled with hope and a renewed sense that your team has a chance.  The 2012 version of spring training did little to provide the average member of Red Sox Nation any hope.  For the most part…we were left with more questions than answers….questions…it appears that will linger long beyond the start of the 2012 campaign.

   You heard your parents say it a million times when you bought some cheap piece of crap toy that broke or shit-the-bed right away…”you get what you pay for for”.  Well cliche’s are cliche’s for a reason.  New target for my anger Ben Cherrington went trolling for players on the cheap…and the end result is, the Sox have a pitching corp that almost no team is envious of.  Andrew Bailey which was the cornerstone of all the moves made this season by Cherrington, most likely will not pitch a meaningful inning in 2012.  You saw this coming a mile away…Bailey whom has a tremendous upside..also had a fatal flaw…it was hard to keep him on the mound.  Guess what…the guy got hurt doing doing jumping jacks …and it was all down hill after that.  Now the Sox are faced with Alfredo Aceves closing out games for them, a role that is brand new for him. 

  Cherrington also went cheap on starting pitching as well, even though we were told that the Sox had no budget constraints this off-season.  The end result of Cherrington’s exploits are Felix Dubront and Daniel Bard rounding out the rotation.  In both you have two pitchers whom have never thrown 150 innings in a season nor has either ever been a MLB starting pitcher (Dubront has made 6 spot starts).  Bard, whom was tapped to be a starter in the fall did alot to earn our trust this spring.  His ERA matched his minor league days…just north of 6.00…err shades of John Lackey anyone.  You tell yourself we have two top of the rotation type of starters in Beckett and Lester…until you remember that neither guy could win a game when it counted last season in September.

  The Sox will be the Sox where offense is concerned one would think.  I do think Adrian Gonzo is poised for a great season…but let’s  hope he doesn’t comes up in meaningful late game at bats.  The Sox at some point will get back Carl Crawford back…but @ this point how hopeful can we be on that front.  The top of the Sox line-up will hit…they are soft at the botttom of the line-up but I do think Bobby V will be creative in that area…as he does have the horses to put up runs…he just doesnt have the pitching to prevent them.

  The bottom line here is look for the Sox to finish in third place in the AL East and out of the money round in the playoffs.  I think the Sox will be hard pressed not finish in 4th…but pride prevents me from picking them any lower than 3rd in the division.  I think the Yankees have enough to get by the pitching rich but hitting poor Rays.  The O’s will as always play great in September when they have already lost 90 games…because hey after all they are the O’s.

  In 2002 a book was written about A’s GM Billy Beane, you might have heard about it…it was called Moneyball, they made it a movie and it was nominated for a few awards.  Well I will give you a sneak preview.  Starting tomorrow I am starting my new book, which will chronicle Ben Cherrington’s first year on the job called DummyBall.  The title is a bit cliche and devoid of much thought…but what the hell..Cherrington didnt waste a whole hellva of a lot of time putting the 2012 Sox together.

As always you can follow me here or on twitter this season @rsndaily.

posted by Jonathan Dunlow