The Boston Red Sox were unceremoniously swept by the Kansas City Royals last Sunday and in writing the recap of that giant suck-fest, I happened to mention something about how the Sox were kicking the crap out of the Oakland A’s and holy crap, I almost jinxed their win. Whoa…that was scary. So I’m been keeping my mouth shut this week and trying not to gloat too much about things like the Red Sox currently having the best record in baseball. But I don’t often get to gloat about best records, so I’m officially gloating…if only for a short time.

It’s been quite a week for the Red Sox—since the double crappy loss on Sunday, they’ve gone 6-1 and welcomed the Houston Astros to the American League with a good ol’ four-game sweep. That’s what you call Boston Strong, people!

Monday, April 22: Red Sox 9 : A’s 6
Felix Doubront pitched 6.2 innings, giving up just three earned runs and striking out eight to earn his second win of the season. The Sox offense exploded for five runs in the 5th, capped by a Mike Napoli grand slam. The A’s mounted a comeback with three runs in the 8th, but it was too little, too late…thankfully!

Tuesday, April 23: Red Sox 0 : A’s 13
The only loss of the week and boy was it a doozy. Alfredo Aceves was shelled for eight runs on seven hits and four walks in just 3.1 innings of work. He was demoted to Triple-A Pawtucket shortly after the game. Don’t let the door hit you the ass, you crazy whacko. Despite the loss, his demotion was a highlight for me.

Wednesday, April 24: Red Sox 6 : A’s 5
It’s nice to see the Sox able to bounce back for a win after such a humiliating loss. Jon Lester pitched well enough for his fourth win of the season, helped by two three-run innings, which turned out to be just enough run support. Andrew Bailey came in and struck out the side in the 9th for his fifth save.

Thursday, April 25: Red Sox 7 : Astros 2
Clay Buchholz continued his tear, winning his fifth game with a 7.2 inning, five strike out performance. He did allow two earned runs which raised his ERA to a whopping 1.19. The Sox offense jumped on the Astros pitching early, scoring four runs in the 1st inning. David Ortiz hit his first home run of 2013 in the 3rd inning.

Friday, April 26: Red Sox 7 : Astros 3
Ryan Dempster finally gets his first win in a Red Sox uniform. It’s not like he hasn’t pitched well before, just wasn’t getting the support. He definitely got support in this game—in the form of the long ball. David Ross hit two home runs, Will Middlebrooks whacked his sixth, and David Ortiz launched his second in as many nights.

Saturday, April 27: Red Sox 8 : Astros 4
Not to be out-shined by Lester and Buchholz, Felix Doubront notched his third win. The Astros got close in this game, scoring one in the top of the 7th to bring them to within two, but the Red Sox would have none of it and scored three in the bottom of that inning to secure the win.

Sunday, April 28: Red Sox 6 : Astros 1
John Lackey’s return from his recent stint on the DL was celebrated with his first win of 2013. He pitched six innings on one-run ball and showed no signs of the bicep strain that knocked him out on April 6th. Ortiz, Daniel Nava and Mike Carp all had 2-hit games to spark the offense. Bailey earned his sixth save which was highlighted by a spectacular diving catch by Nava to end the game.

Can’t every week be like this one? After a well-deserved day off tomorrow, the Sox head north to Toronto for a three game series. Jon Lester is scheduled to start and will have the chance to catch Buchholz in the five win club.

First, a personal note: thank you, everyone, for reading my post on the Boston Marathon.  I never expected that so many people would see that post, and I feel honored that so many of you read it, shared it, and found something in it.  Things are still very raw in Boston, but the city’s also starting to pick itself up, dust itself off, and get back to business.

Speaking of getting back to business, we have a few Red Sox games to catch up on.  The Sox beat Tampa Bay on Monday in a true Patriots Day classic, and then proved their mettle against Terry Francona’s Indians for the first time yesterday.

The Patriots Day game is fun and unique, because it starts at 11:00 a.m.  You literally wake up, get dressed, and go straight to Fenway.  But, the fact that Patriots Day is always the third Monday in April portends a mixed bag on two fronts: weather, and early-season shaking the rust off.  Monday’s weather was beautiful, but I went to a Patriots Day game a few years ago (I don’t know which year – Josh Beckett pitching, playing the Angels, Manny was in the lineup) wearing my snowboarding gear, including a hat and gloves.  I had thought about bringing my goggles, decided not to, and then regretted it – good times!

Along with the weather, Monday’s game was also one of the good ones.  Ryan Dempster – RYAN DEMPSTER, folks – spun a gem, holding the Rays to one run and two hits through seven innings of work.  The former National Leaguer (I point that out because National League pitchers are not known for adjusting well to the American League, so this is an interesting and heartening development) struck out ten batters and only walked two.

Andrew Bailey picked up closing duties for the injured Joel Hanrahan, but he promptly blew the one-run save when he let Desmond Jennings on, and then let him steal second, and then let Ben Zobrist drive him home with a line drive to left field.  Oops.  It’s sad that this doesn’t surprise me – Bailey had such a clunker of a debut in Boston, that you can’t help but think that maybe his closer mentality’s gone.

Anyway, bottom of the ninth, Dustin Pedroia on first, tie game: Mike Napoli’s swing was horrible, but he managed to ding the ball off the Monster to score Pedroia and win the game for the Sox.  Pedroia and Napoli, Napoli and Pedroia: I picture them getting together after the game to be gritty and unshaven and clutchy together.

Tuesday’s game was more somber – the Sox traveled to Cleveland to oppose Francona for the first time since he left Boston.  Cleveland played “Sweet Caroline” during warmups (New York, which nobody ever accused of not having class, played it in the third inning).  Cleveland also held a moment of silence, after which the Red Sox bats made some noise.  Boston scored seven runs in the second inning (double, three walks, sac fly, single, walk, walk), putting the game out of reach.

It’s nice to think that the Sox are playing with the city on their minds – that they’re somehow playing for us, that they’re thinking of us when they dig in.  Boston needs something happy and joyous, and when baseball’s played right, in that ethereal, balletic way, it’s the very personification of joy, of the human capacity to be perfect for a brief moment in time.  But while the city needs the joy that comes from the perfect double play, the lope across the outfield grass, the uncoiling of a bat against a ball (PS: Mike Napoli’s double on Monday – you’re doing it wrong), the city also needs to not have that joy be a condition of grief.

Joy as a condition of grief: what I mean by that is, baseball will help this city heal.  The Red Sox can – and should, and do – acknowledge the city’s grief.  But instead of focusing on the tears, and the hurt and the uneasiness you feel when you notice a SWAT team on the corner of your street or when you step off the T to a phalanx of soldiers with assault rifles, the Sox are in the unique position of being able to help the city find joy again.  Very few things, we’ve learned, unite this city like an attack on one of its institutions.  Another one of its institutions has a chance to unite this city in joy, not in grief.  It sounds so simple: that baseball, the same simple game that’s always been there, can suddenly help us all handle this monumental obstacle that’s been put, unwillingly and unwelcomed, in front of us.  But, it can.

The Sox are winning games because they’re playing good baseball that, for short bursts, is perfect baseball.  That’s enough to help the city start to heal – play well, let spring turn into summer, let nights at Fenway be the place to be again, and smile in the dugout.  Let’s be happy about something as pure as baseball.  Let’s enjoy those small, sweet moments of perfection while they last.

Of course no one will actually confirm that this 2013 Red Sox roster is official, but if you ask me, it looks pretty solid so I’m going with it. There was no ceremonial announcement that Jackie Bradley Jr. was a definite to be in New York on Opening Day but word on the street is he is headed to NY with the club. [Yay!] After finishing up the spring with impressive numbers — .419 average and a 1.120 OPS — it would’ve have been a damn shame if he found himself in Pawtucket.

So without further ado…

Starting pitchers:
Jon Lester, Clay Buchholz, Ryan Dempster, Felix Doubront, John Lackey
No surprises here, although I thought Felix might grab the #3 spot.

Bullpen:
Joel Hanrahan, Andrew Bailey, Andrew Miller, Koji Uehara, Junichi Tazawa, Alfredo Aceves, Clayton Mortensen
Daniel Bard, who the Sox broke last season, will start the season in Portland! Sounds like a rebuilding year for Bard. And I wonder what the over/under is on when Aceves has his first whiny meltdown.

Catchers: 
Jarrod Saltalamacchia, David Ross
And once again, Ryan Lavarnway is sent to Pawtucket. He’s like the high school senior that can’t seem to make the varsity club. *sigh*

Infielders:
Mike Napoli, Dustin Pedroia, Jose Iglesias, Will Middlebrooks, Pedro Ciriaco, Mike Carp
With Stephen Drew on the DL (WHAT? a Drew on the DL?), Jose Iglesias will get a shot to show us his moves and his greatly improved offense. He did hit a respectable .294 this spring.

Outfielders:
Shane Victorino, Jacoby Ellsbury, Jackie Bradley Jr., Jonny Gomes, Daniel Nava
I’m most excited about the outfield this season — Bradley, Ellsbury and Victorino could make up one of the best defensive outfield we’ve seen in a loooong time!

Tomorrow’s the day, Sox fans. The Red Sox visit the New York Yankees for an Opening Day matinee with Jon Lester taking on CC Sabathia. Game time is 1:05pm. Where will you be?

ESPN and the Boston Globe report that the Red Sox are closing in (get it?) on a deal that would bring Pittsburgh Pirates closer Joel Hanrahan to Boston for prosepcts Stolmy Pimental and Jerry Sands.  The Globe adds that the Pirates initially wanted the heavily-touted Jose Iglesias as part of the deal, but that Boston wouldn’t budge.  That’s not too surprising given that Stephen Drew only has a one-year contract – but it seems like the Sox are really counting on Iglesias getting his hitting together in the minors this year so that they can call him a viable option at shortstop in time for the free-agent market to open up again next year.

Cody Ross and David Ortiz (credit: Amanda Laws)

The Hanrahan trade also, obviously, leaves Andrew Bailey’s future up in the air.  Not that he had much of a chance to wow the organization last year after spending most of it on the DL following his time in Oakland.

For what it’s worth, Hanrahan should be fine.  He notched 36 saves last year, but it took him 63 appearances to do so.  And, he has a 3.74 lifetime ERA.  The closer market’s not great this year, and at the very least, this moves up the entire bullpen without sacrificing much equity.

Also, Cody Ross is officially an Arizona Diamondback.  He had some interesting comments to the media on the way out of town.  The Globe quotes Ross, talking about the Red Sox’s efforts to keep him on the roster:

“I don’t know what happened but we could never agree on terms. They thought I’d come back no matter what because they thought I loved playing there. And I did. Who wouldn’t love playing at Fenway Park? I just wanted a fair deal. I told them what I wanted. I wasn’t trying to break the bank. They weren’t willing to do it.”

That’s polite, but kind of a damning and insightful thing to say.  The Red Sox do tend to ask their stars to re-sign at a deficit, because their stars (until lately, anyway) loved playing in Boston.  The fact that Ross couldn’t be convinced to sign at a lower value just because he “loved” playing at Fenway is kind of a big deal to me.  The bubbles that start the boil, maybe.  I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the Sox have trouble hanging on to their marquee players from here on out.

Which gives us a nice segue into Ross’s other comment, on ex-manager Bobby Valentine.  Ross alluded that he got along with Valentine better than any other player on the team.  “When Bobby came in,” Ross told the Globe, “his way of doing things was a lot different than what they were used to under Terry Francona and it was a shock to them. They weren’t on board with it.”

Also, Ben Cherington is officially Not Talking About Mike Napoli.  This should end well.

I’m not going to lie… I’ve been rooting for the Orioles the past two games. I don’t remember ever doing that but since I have nothing to live root for this season, I’ll try and give the O’s a boost. The Red Sox nearly foiled the O’s extra-inning win streak yesterday, but I just knew if a team was going to end that streak this year, it most certainly was NOT going to be this Sox team.

The game on Friday night was a trip on the train to Dullsville. Jon Lester pitched just so-so, allowing four earned runs on eight hits over seven innings. Not horrible. Not fantastic. Just… meh. The offense was a bit sluggish scoring just two runs on eight hits and only scoring two of the seven runners who made it into scoring position. In the end, the O’s beat the Sox 4-2 in a brisk (for the Red Sox) three hour game. The yawn-inducing box score can be found here, courtesy of the Sox.

Saturday’s game offered a bit more excitement which I was glad for since I had some family making the trek down to Fenway. The Sox and O’s seesawed back and forth in this one, each team answering the other’s scoring until the sixth inning. I’ll take the blame for the go ahead runs in the sixth — I happened to text my cousin (who was there) and may have made mention that at least the Red Sox weren’t losing. And then boom… the O’s go ahead by three. Ooops.

But then, in the bottom of the seventh, the Sox mounted a comeback. Scott Podsednik doubled, Pedro Ciriaco followed with a walk and Dustin Pedroia singled to load the bases with no outs. Cody Ross and Ryan Lavarnway both grounded out but each drove in a run to bring the Sox within one. Not the most exciting way to get the runs home but it works.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Sox tied up the game on back-to-back two-out doubles by Daniel Nava and Scott Podsednik. And the bullpen even looked to be in the mood to pitch too — Craig Breslow, Junichi Tazawa, Andrew Bailey and Mark Melancon pitched scoreless eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh innings.

And then there was Alfredo Aceves. I wonder what happened to Alfredo sauce. He pitched pretty well early in the season. I mean he does have 25 saves this season. But something changed. Maybe it was triggered by his run-in with Bobby Valentine in August that has turned his arm to crap. Whatever it was, he now sucks and like Dice K, he shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near that pitcher’s mound. I’m sure when the O’s saw Aceves take the mound, the all nodded their heads because they knew that extra-inning win streak was not in danger.

When all was said and done, Aceves gave up three runs on three hits in the top of the 12th inning giving the O’s a 9-6 win and keeping the streak in tact. There’s four hours and fourteen minutes I’ll never get back. Click here for the box score, courtesy of the Sox.

The Sox and O’s finish up the series today — this season can’t be over soon enough. Really. Felix Doubront takes the hill against Chris Tillman. With a win today, the Sox will officially have a better September record than they did in 2011. Sad, I know.

The Red Sox lost 7-4 in spectacular, walk-off fashion last night to the Tampa Bay Rays. And by spectacular, I mean the bullpen blew a three-run lead in the ninth and wasted another fantastic outing by Clay Buchholz. Buchholz, still in search of his first win in over a month, was the victim of yet another no decision even though he pitched seven innings of four-hit, shut out ball.

That ninth inning will kill you. Click on the box for the gory details.

The bullpen blunder also wasted a kick-ass night by greenhorn, Jose Iglesias. Iglesias has recently been morning talk show fodder due to his lack of production since he was called up from Pawtucket earlier this month. The 22-year-old is an exceptional infielder but has been ridiculed for his inability to hit major league pitching.

Well… Jose must have been listening because last night, he attacked the ball at the plate like it slept with his girlfriend. He went 3-for-4, scoring two runs and bashing in the first major league home run of his career.

One of my favorite parts of baseball is when a rookie hits his first home run and the team ices him for several minutes after he gets back to the dugout, with not so much as a congratulatory ass slap. Iglesias put his helmet away and quietly sat down before he was mobbed and high-fived by his teammates. The new kid on the block seemed unfazed by his success as he talked to reporters after the game.

“It was just one, but I really enjoyed it,” he said on Friday. “I’ve just been feeling great the last few days. I feel more comfortable on the field, but also off the field.”

But the effort was all for naught when closer Andrew Bailey had a complete meltdown in the bottom of the ninth. Bailey gave up three runs, blowing the win for Buchholz and left the game still responsible for two base runners. Vicente Padilla relieved Bailey to try and get out of the inning with the tie in tact. Instead, he gave up a walk-off three-run home run to B.J. Upton.

*cue scary music*

The Red Sox begin a three game series with the surging Orioles tonight — which they are currently losing, by the way. If the Sox cared about me at all, they would throw this entire series and give those O’s a chance to catch those damn Yankees.

Congratulations, PawSox!!

After a dismal series with the Yankees where the Red Sox lost two of the three games, putting their September record at paltry 2-9 as of Thursday, I was just desperate for some good news. Anything that will make me smile and think the season isn’t a total loss… even though it really is…

Good News Nugget #1:
Thursday night, while the Boston Red Sox were doing their usual sucking, the AAA Pawtucket Red Sox were busy winning the International Leagues’ Championship, taking home the Governor’s Cup for the first time since 1984. With all the player movement between AA, AAA and the Show this season, it’s a wonder the PawSox could put together a team cohesive enough to pull this off. But they did… somehow.

I’ll give credit to team manager, Arnie Beyeler, for keeping this team on track. This is Arnie’s sixth season managing in the Red Sox organization. He spent four season in Portland and this is his second year with Pawtucket. Maybe it’s time for Arnie to get called up to the Show as well… seriously, he can’t be any worse than Bobby Valentine.

Good News Nugget #2:
Congratulations to the Pedroia family on the birth of their second son Thursday morning. The look on Dustin’s face during Wednesday night’s game when Bobby V. took him out of the game telling him his wife went into labor was priceless. He looked scared to death. Mother and baby are doing just fine and Pedroia is expected to rejoin the team this weekend in Toronto.

Good News Nugget #3:
Holy crap, the Red Sox beat the Blue Jays last night, 8-5 to snap a six-game losing streak against the Jays. They scored three runs in the top of the ninth to break a 5-5 tie on singles by Jacoby Ellsbury and Cody Ross, followed by a two-run triple by Mauro Gomez. Ryan Lavarnway finished off the scoring with a sac fly and Andrew Bailey came in for the save.

Click here for the box score, courtesy of the Red Sox. The Sox and Jays meet again this afternoon with Clay Buchholz still searching for his first win since August 16th.

Good News Nugget #4:
Ok… this made me laugh because as it turns out, Josh Beckett can’t even pretend to hustle with his new team. In the game Thursday night between the Dodgers and Cardinals, Beckett singled to right field, but basically jogged to first base and ended up getting thrown out by right fielder, Carlos Beltran. Embarrassing… Click here to watch it and giggle!

Hey… the good news has been hard to come by this season so I’m clinging to anything that shows life in this organization. As pissed as I am at them right now, I’m still rooting for them to be successful in the future. Without Bobby Valentine.

Pardon me if I don’t do cartwheels and backflips over the Red Sox 4-3 win over the Seattle Mariners last night. I kind of think it was a fluke. Plus, I’ve officially stopped caring. Now I’m on to bigger and better things… like pulling for the Orioles and Rays to overtake the Yankees and knock them out of the playoffs. Yes, I’m bitter. Plus, misery loves company and I don’t really need a gloating husband for the month of October.

So like I said, the Red Sox actually won a game last night to end their current skid at seven games. I have faith they’ll start a new skid tonight though. Or maybe… just maybe this was the first game of a 26-game winning streak that will close out the season on a high note, with some dignity still in tact. Or not. Most likely not.

Jon Lester looked good, scattering three runs on nine hits over six innings. The way the team has been playing lately, that’s usually the recipe for a loss. But not last night. After falling behind 3-0 early in the game, surprisingly the offense didn’t just lay down and die.

The Sox scored four runs in the sixth inning. Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury both singled to open the inning. Cody Ross hit his 20th home run of the season to tie the game at three. After the next two batters recorded outs, Ryan Lavarnway hit his first home run of the season (with the Sox, that is) that turned out to be the winning run.

The bullpen held the Mariners scoreless over the next three innings and Andrew Bailey recorded his second save of the season. Alfredo who?

See? Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?

Click here for the box score, courtesy of the Red Sox. The Sox and Mariners meet again tonight for the final game of this long, very painful and very unsuccessful road trip. Aaron Cook takes on Kevin Millwood tonight in hopes that September treats him a bit better than August did, when he went 1-4 with a 6.46 ERA.

For once a Red Sox win is not the biggest news in town. Although it should be big news since it’s not a commonly occurring event these days. In the midst of the trade rumors swirling about Boston last night, the Red Sox finally managed to stop their current four-game skid and beat the Kansas City Royals 4-3 behind another good pitching performance by Jon Lester.

You would’ve thought, especially considering their history this season, that those pesky trade rumors would have sent this team into a spiral of despair. But no… it seemed to do just the opposite.

The Red Sox took the quick lead in the first on singles by Pedro Ciriaco and Jacoby Ellsbury. After Dustin Pedroia moved the runners to second and third on a soft ground out, David Ortiz, in his first at bat since he injured his achilles on July 17th, laced a line drive single up the middle to score Ciriaco and Ellsbury.

After going down 3-2, the Sox came back in the bottom of the seventh to take the lead back for good. Mauro Gomez walked to open the inning. Mike Aviles singled to right and Scott Podseknik sacrificed the runners to second and third. Ciriaco followed with a double to left scoring both Gomez and Aviles.

Jon Lester looked good in his seven plus innings, giving up three runs on six hits while striking out six. He left after three pitches in the top of the eighth with a left hamstring cramp — hopefully, it’s nothing serious. Lester didn’t appear too concerned about it when talking to reporters after the game.

“I’m fine, it just cramped up on me,” Lester said. “I’d been kind of battling with it a little bit since the fifth inning. It got a little worse as the game went on.”

Vicente Padilla, Andrew Miller and Andrew Bailey held the Royals scoreless and secured Lester’s eighth win of the season, and third straight. Bailey, who had originally been acquired to fill the departed Jonathan Papelbon’s closer role, got his first save of the season.

Click here for the winning box score, courtesy of the Red Sox. These two teams go at it again tonight and your guess is as good as mine as to who’ll be on the mound for the Sox. Josh Beckett was scheduled to pitch but since he’s been traded… it’ll be a surprise!

*blink blink* Did that really happen last night? Honestly, if I hadn’t been there to witness the carnage first hand, I never would’ve believed it. I almost think it was worse to experience it in person. I felt… violated.

To properly recap this game would take more pages than you’re probably willing to read so I’m going to make it simple. Basically every inning but the fourth had some action. Some of the action made me feel incredibly happy and some of the action made me want to jump onto the field and stab every member of the team — starting with those who did NOT attend Johnny Pesky’s funeral (yes, I’m still hung up on that and I’m sure I will be fore the rest of the season… at least.)

First Inning:
Angels fail to score. Red Sox score one.
SCORE: 1-0 Sox

Second Inning:
Angels fail to score again. Franklin Morales seems to have his stuff. Red Sox score five capped by a three-run dinger by Dustin Pedroia! OH MA GAHD! *happy dance*
SCORE: 6-0 Sox

Third Inning:
Angels score eight runs. Yes, eight. A lot of bad shit happened. The Angels sent 13 men to the plate. Morales forgot how to pitch, he walked in runs. There was a fielding error, a lot of hits and a stolen base. Clayton Mortensen replaced Morales. He sucked too. Junichi Tazawa replaced Mortensen and finally got them out of the inning. It was bad. The whole inning was such a blur to me since I couldn’t see the field too well through my angry eyes. Red Sox failed to score.
SCORE: 8-6 Angels

Fourth Inning:
No scoring. Holy crap.
SCORE: 8-6 Angels

Fifth Inning:
Mark Melancon replaced Tazawa, holds Angels scoreless. Red Sox score one run.
SCORE: 8-7 Angels

Sixth Inning:
Angels fail to score again. Red Sox score two on a Mike Aviles home run and a couple of doubles by Pedro Ciriaco (who went 4-6) and Jacoby Ellsbury (who went 3-6).
SCORE: 9-8 Sox

Seventh Inning:
Andrew Bailey replaced Melancon. Angels score one on a Mike Trout RBI single to tie it up. Red Sox fail to score.
SCORE: 9-9

Eighth Inning:
Angels fail to score. Red Sox score two runs on four singles by Scott Podsednik, Ciriaco, Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia (who went 4-6).
SCORE: 11-9 Sox

Ninth Inning:
Alfredo Aceves came in for the save…and blew it. Vernon Wells hit a questionable homer but no one bothered to wake Bobby Valentine up to challenge it. The other two runs came on three singles, a walk and an error. Red Sox came back with one of their own on a Cody Ross homer in the bottom of the inning to tie it back up.
SCORE: 12-12

Tenth Inning:
Aceves came back out. WTF? And he immediately gave up a go ahead home run to Kendrys Morales. Craig Breslow replaced Aceves and the Angels score another on a single and a double by Vernon Wells. Red Sox come back with one in the bottom of the inning, but it’s a too little, too late.
FINAL SCORE: 14-13 Angels

Between the two teams, this game saw a total of 27 runs, 38 hits, 21 strike outs and five home runs. The game lasted a painful 4 hours and 34 minutes. Here’s the link to another frustrating night of Red Sox baseball. The KC Royals come in tonight at 7:10pm for the first game of a four-game series. Jon Lester tries to win his third straight as he takes on Bruce Chen.

Here’s a (not so) fun fact: The Sox broke a 170 game streak last night. This is the FIRST TIME since May of 1970 they lost a game after scoring 13 runs. (Stat courtesy of Gordon Edes’ Twitter feed.) Just goes to show you what kind of season this has been. And now add into the mix the bad mojo of not attending Johnny Pesky’s funeral as a united team and they’ll be lucky if they don’t just vanish from the standings all together. That’s sort of what I’m hoping happens.