The Yankee Illusion

The Red Sox are 3-1 against the Yankees this year and for some reason those wins seem to mask the fact that in mid May the Red Sox are STILL sub .500!But man it feels good to win by one run against the Yankees.Bartolo Colon has 2 losses this year and both were hard luck losses against the Sox.Meanwhile Joba Chamberlain is the gift that keeps giving... if by giving you mean insurance runs.Daniel

A punch in the crotch... thank you very much

Lester on the mound...Multiple home runs...8th AND 9th inning heroics.And in the end, the Red Sox might as well have been clobbered.I hate losses like this. There were so many ways this game could have been won so naturally none of them come to fruition.WHO THE HELL IS DAVID COOPER?That's why I call these games teeth grinders.And that's why I need to update the tally.DODGED BULLET GAMES - 8April

It's a brand new month

Remember how crappy Carl Crawford started the season?Remember how he batted in 10 different spots in the first 9 games? I will have to double check my work, but that seems right.And here we are with hitting up a storm including a walk off hit. Maybe signing Crawford WASN'T a mistake.Maybe Josh Beckett can continue to dominate.One thing I DO know:It's time to update the tally.DODGED BULLET GAMES -

Raise your hand if you thought the Sox game was over in the first

Seriously, when it was 3-0 before the Sox even came to bat, I was all ready to write a post about why the Dice-K era might be winding down.But Carl Pavano said "I'll see your meltdown and raise you" birthday boy Adrian Gonzalez launched one out that would have been a harmless flyball in Petco and the Sox pulled one out.You take them when you can get them.Let's update the tally.DODGED BULLET GAMES

The longest and stupidist Red Sox game I have ever seen

I actually thought the game wasn't going to end. I thought it was actually going to bleed into the game tomorrow afternoon and the two games would be concurrent.The game started at 4PM West Coast time.It JUST ended at 11:45 PM.And oh yeah, somehow Marco Scutaro didn't score the tying run in one inning and was stupidly thrown out in the 12th inning when the ball was already in the infield.Dice-K

Hot Carl

April is mercifully over.If there was one Red Sox player who wanted it all done it was Carl Crawford who was miserable and the symbol of the futile first month.Well the calendar page has turned and the Red Sox are 1-0 this month and Carl Crawford already has a 2 out 9th inning game winning hit.A sign of things to come?Oh let's hope so.And let's update the tally.DODGED BULLET GAMES - 6April 8 - 9-

Is THIS what it has come to, Red Sox?

Seriously?After the Red Sox swept 4 in Anaheim and went on the 5 game winning streak I thought "Man! The Sox are back!"Now after losing back to back series to the Orioles and the FREAKING MARINERS AT FENWAY I am thinking "Man, the Sox that started the season 0-6 are back."11 men left on base?Being shutdown by the lawfirm of Fister, Laffey and League?A wasted good Lackey start?Having Milton

So much for a .500 April

The Red Sox had a late lead. They were playing the Mariners, not exactly a team that was a preseason pennant pick for anyone.All they needed to do was hold on to the lead and then on Saturday beat the Mariners at Fenway again. Then they would be 13-13.I grant you that is the definition of a mediocre record after 26 games.But with the rancid start the Red Sox had, finishing April at .500 would

The Red Sox couldn't just lose, could they?

Yesterday was the perfect illustration why I don't consider all losses to be equal. Of course mathematically they all are. A 25-0 rout is as much of a loss as a 2-1 pitchers duel or a 10-9 slugfest or a blown save in the 9th.But emotionally (and it is always dangerous to imply baseball has any emotions) losing a game that including a tremendous comeback only to blow it in the late innings is a

Feet made of Clay

OK, maybe I was getting greedy.But after getting such great pitching performances out of Beckett, Lester, Lackey and Dice-K, I was hoping out other All Star starter from last year would find his stuff.Alas, Clay Buchholz once again looked ordinary and against the Orioles no less!Get that ship right, Clay. I wasn't counting on Beckett nor Dice-K this season but I WAS counting on YOU!Let's update

Sox look good... their hats don't

OK, there were a lot of things that were odd and could have cost the Red Sox the game. Lester was great but only lasted 6 innings. Saltalamacchia couldn't find a baseball in a little league play that cost the Red Sox a run. Hey Jarrod, it's BEHIND YOU!The Sox won, and no matter how low Carl Crawford's average plummets, that's all that matters. Inching closer to .500... and oh yeah Dan Haren lost

Thank heaven, the Sox are 7-11

It isn't often that I can mix two terrible jokes into one title.But you have the Heaven part, which can be tied to the Angels.And you have the 7-11 joke, which is the Sox record.And the ONLY POSSIBLE way that 7-11 can be looked on positively is the fact that the Sox were once 2-10. So winning 5 of 6 is always welcomed.Do you what is ALSO welcomed? Another kick ass Josh Beckett performance. The

Come and listen to a story 'bout a man named Jed

OK, show of hands who thought the Red Sox were going to get 3 homers out of Jed Lowrie ALL YEAR!I sure as hell didn't!I don't know how long this will last but having Lowrie hitting means that Marco Scutaro will be giving the Red Sox... wait for it... DEPTH!Of course today started off pretty badly with a leadoff homer by old friend Coco Crisp. And when the A's loaded the bases in the 6th, I

Hey! Where are our bats?

Oh great.The Red Sox take a 3 game winning streak into Oakland, get a solid start from John Lackey... and the left their bats in Boston.Fannnntastic! Look, it is encouraging that Lackey had a good solid start right after Dice-K's start. But should the Sox really be WASTING them?And Okajima didn't exactly look great.I gave him a tearful good bye last December. That would be a more fitting ending

Why I am not worried yet about the Red Sox.

Oh I am not saying I am happy with this start. It is embarrassing. At this point in the season winning only 2 series would be lousy.They've won only 2 games.That is pathetic. The Red Sox are the worst team in baseball. They are 10% of the way to a 100 loss season. They look dead from the neck up. They give away games like tonight. It's their worst start EVER.And yet I am not worried yet.Partially

Ladies and Gentlemen... the Red Sox are the worst team in baseball!

Did Kyle Farnsworth really shut the Red Sox down?THAT Kyle Farnsworth? The guy with great stuff who constantly was beaten like an egg? He shut down Jacoby Ellsbury, J. D. Drew and David Ortiz 1-2-3 in a one run game?Did the Red Sox blow ANOTHER well pitched game by Jon Lester?Yeah yeah yeah, I know it is only April. But need I remind you of 1996? The Red Sox were the defending Division Champs,

Josh Beckett... The Undiscovered Country

When I compared Josh Beckett to the Star Trek films before the season started, I was hoping the pattern would continue into this season and have 2011 mirror the underrated Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.Well if tonight's game was any indication, it is indeed going to be a fun ride. I thought for sure this game was a loss. Sabathia who has looked great against the uneasy Beckett?But it was

Did anything GOOD happen tonght?

OK, the Red Sox are 0-4. You really can't do worse than that over 4 games. And oddly, Carl Crawford has hit in 5 different spots in the lineup. I could be wrong about that, but I don't think I am.So, not to pull a "Besides that, Mrs. Lincoln how did you like the play?" but can we take anything positive from this?Well, Beckett pitched OK. Not great, but you can totally pin this loss on him.The

Is this any way to start a potential World Series season?

Seriously... the day after I write up my "What movies will this team mirror?" post, the give us this stinker?It started out so well. Ellsbury reaching on a 2 base error and the Sox up 2-0 before the Rangers even came to the plate. They went up 4-2 and even after Lester coughed up a bunch of homers, still had a thrill with Big Papi tying the game.And all of that got flushed down the toilet with a

2010 Boston Red Sox... Rest in Peace

Play taps.Pay your last respects.The Red Sox are not making the 2010 postseason... it doesn't matter if they throw no hitters the rest of the way and the Yankees only start Javy Vazquez, Joba Chamberlain and A. J. Burnett.They are done.I have a Red Sox fan friend who wrote to me saying "We can't blame the injuries for this season." Which is like saying "We can't blame the ice berg for sinking the