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?

Ooooh… ouch.

I wrote a little poem about the Red Sox today.

Red Sox.
I think you
broke
Daniel Bard.
I hope
you’re happy.
The end.

I’m not going to lie, I didn’t watch more than a couple minutes of this game. I had more important and exciting things to do… like watch the season premiere of Survivor. Those suckers are much more interesting than the Sox are right now — and just as much of a train wreck.

Do you really want me to tell you how the Red Sox only had five hits last night? Or how those five hits came from just two batters? Oh that’s right, sports fans. Pedro Ciriaco went 2-for-4 and Jacoby Ellsbury went 3-for-3. The rest of the line up was a big, fat O-fer. Batters three through nine did nothing, nada, zilch, diddly-squat.

The pitching is another whole story. A very sad, very ugly story. First let’s start with the fact that Daisuke Matsuzaka should not be allowed to pitch ever again. Five runs on nine hits in three innings? Yeah…bad. And the bullpen was equally as woeful. The final line of the game was just plain embarrassing – 13 runs on 15 hits with 10 walks and five strike outs.

How many more games do I need to endure before the season (and my suffering) ends? Oh, that would be 12 games. My magic number is 12, people. This also means that the Red Sox will officially finish the 2012 Summer of Suck with a below .500 record. Awesome. I hope you’re proud of yourselves, boys.

Click here for the box score if you’re curious to know what torture might feel like.

Tonight, the wretchedness continues with a real doozy of a pitchers’ duel. Clay Buchholz (11-6, 4.33) toes the mound against Cy Young hopeful David Price (18-5, 2.54) as the Sox battle once again to finish the season NOT in last place.

It’s scary down there, boys.

Earlier today I did something really, really stupid. My husband bet me a dollar I wouldn’t eat a hot pepper he grew in the garden. I told him I wasn’t eating anything for just a buck… but maybe for twenty. He agreed and I ate a Super Chili. It may have been the stupidest move I’ve ever made. It was so painful, I thought my throat was going to close up and I was going to die right in my driveway. I drank a half gallon of milk trying to stop the pain. My entire face went numb. It was not fun.

Why am I talking about eating hot peppers in a post about the Red Sox? Well… as painful as it was to eat that pepper, it has been even more miserable watching the Red Sox play baseball this season. If that, in fact, is what they call what they’re playing.

The Sox opened a three-game series last night with the only team worse than them in the AL East — the Toronto Blue Jays. I figured this series might get the team back on track, beat up on someone lowlier than them. I was wrong.

Felix Doubront continued to have troubles and lasted only four innings last night and gave up five runs on six hits against a pretty weak hitting Jays line up. Might the Sox have put too much pressure on Felix this season? He looks just a tad tired to me…

Heading into the bottom of the fifth inning, the Jays had a 5-0 lead. The Sox started chipping away, scoring a run in the fifth, one in the seventh and one in the eighth to cut the lead to 5-3. It looked like the bats were starting to heat up and there was a slight possibility they could catch the Jays and avoid falling into a tie for last place.

And then Daniel Bard came in for the top of the ninth. (Yes, I may have groaned when I saw him.) With a man on second and two outs, Bard served up a high slider that Colby Rasmus jacked just over the right field wall for a two-run homer that put the Jays up 7-3.

The thing that just kills me about this turn of evens was that the Sox came back with a two run dinger of their own in the bottom of the ninth off the bat of birthday boy, Mauro Gomez. If only Bard had done his job… I might just possibly be writing about a rare win today. But that’s just how this season has gone — more painful than eating hot peppers.

These losing ways are obviously getting to the players too. Mike Aviles voiced his frustrations to reporters after the game.

“I’ll tell you what, it’s not fun,” said shortstop Mike Aviles. “I know it’s a tough game to play. In all honesty, we’re out there trying to win. We’re not trying to lose. It’s just unfortunate we can’t get anything going in the right direction. It’s just not fun.”

It’s not fun for me either, Mike. *sigh*

The Sox and Jays face off again tonight with Daisuke Matsuzaka taking the mound against Aaron Laffey. If the Sox lose this one, they’ll be all alone in the basement. I was really hoping to never have to type those words again this season. But… here we are.

I hear there was some kind of important basketball game taking place yesterday?  Some team from Boston was trying to win its seventh game or something?  Some guy named LeBron wore fake eyeglasses?  I don’t know…

In all seriousness, it’s pretty clear that baseball was overshadowed by the Boston Celtics’ run for the Eastern Conference championship last night in a win-or-go-home game seven in Miami.  And, the Celtics went home.  Boston was buzzing all day yesterday in anticipation, and even though we might have seen the end of Boston’s big three, there’s no denying that Rajan Rondo’s made his mark as a postseason gamer.

Daisuke Matsuzaka (firebrandal, c/o flickr.com)

Anyway.  There was, in fact, a Red Sox game yesterday also.  Daisuke Matsuzaka took the mound at Fenway one year to the day after undergoing Tommy John surgery.  Matsuzaka stepped in to replace struggling starter Daniel Bard.  Bard was sent down to AAA Pawtucket after a disastrous start last week that showcased his sudden inability to get batters out, or even maintain the strike zone.

Shockingly – shockingly! – the Red Sox lost again yesterday, dipping below .500 (on June 9th, guys – that’s kind of late in the season for a so-called contender to be playing .500 baseball).  They lost to the Washington Nationals, 4-2.

Here’s the thing about Daisuke: he didn’t pitch terribly.  In fact, one could easily argue that he had a decent-to-good return debut for the Red Sox, going five innings and striking out eight while allowing four runs.  Matsuzaka’s always had a lot of hype around him: who else remembers when NESN literally tracked the live flight path of his airplane when he was flying to Boston when they signed him?  Tangent, I remember that because I happened to be innocently eating dinner at the Boston Beer Works near Fenway when I was picked to be the “(wo)man on the street interview” by some Japanese media.  My contribution didn’t make it onto tv, as far as I know, quite possibly because I had a belly full of cheeseburger and a brain full of Fenway Pale Ale at the time – but I digress.

Anyway, the thing about Daisuke is that the hype hurts him sometimes.  He’s obviously had a pretty rocky road here in Boston, and a lot of that’s due to the hype that preceded him, not to mention the contract that accompanied him.  We’ve always expected ace performances from a pitcher that’s just not an ace.  Which is fine in a vacuum: if any other pitcher came back from Tommy John surgery to take the mound a year later and give their team a chance to win a game from the fifth spot in the rotation, he’d be congratulated, welcomed back with open arms.

With Matsuzaka, though, it seems like people always want a bit more.  Do I think Daisuke’s earned his contract?  Not by a long shot.  Do I think that he can replace Bard and be a serviceable fifth starter for this iteration of the Red Sox?  Definitely.  The problem, though, is this: the Red Sox don’t need a serviceable fifth starter.  The Red Sox need better pitching overall.  Boston cannot rely on an inexplicably shaky Jon Lester, a volatile Josh Beckett, an unreliable Clay Buchholz, a green Felix Doubront, and an untested Matsuzaka if they expect to compete in the AL East, or the postseason.

For the Boston offense, Jarrod Saltalamacchia continued his recent hot streak, knocking in Boston’s only two runs with a pinch-hit single in the seventh inning off the Washington bullpen.  Besides that, nothing doing – Nationals starter Gio Gonzalez pitched a gem, allowing two runs on three hits in 6 1/3 innings. The Red Sox were 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, which given the power in this lineup, is JUST a little disheartening.

Just some bookkeeping here: Marlon Byrd was designated for assignment to make room for Matsuzaka.

Here’s a link to the weak box score, courtesy of the Red Sox.  Jon Lester (3-4, 4.64 ERA – not very ace-like) takes the mound against Jordan Zimmerman (3-5, 2.82 ERA) in today’s 1:35 matinee.  The Red Sox will try to avoid a sweep at home before heading to Miami to face the retooled Miami Marlins.

A quick post tonight: news broke this afternoon that Daniel Bard, Boston’s fifth starter who had some troubling starts as of late, has been optioned to AAA Pawtucket.

Daniel Bard (Keith Allison, c/o flickr.com)

Bard compiled a 5-6, 5.24 ERA on the season. Over 55 innings of work, he walked 37 batters and hit eight batters, while striking out a comparatively puny 34 hitters. Most recently, Bard only lasted 1 2/3 innings on Sunday, allowing a home run to Toronto’s Jose Bautista, while walking six hitters and hitting two.

The Boston Globe piece on the demotion has some good quotes from the Red Sox coaching staff.  Manager Bobby Valentine stressed that the team’s long-term goal is to keep Bard as a starter, but that the organization felt he needed space to work without worrying about how his progress was affecting the big-league club:

“What came out of the conversation today was that we’ll stay with the idea that he’s a starter and see how he develops,” Valentine said. “There’s a lot of building blocks, a lot of good things that have happened here that he can still build on. It seems like it’s just around the corner.”

Valentine also told the Globe that one of the mysteries Bard was dealing with, was why his velocity has dipped so drastically as a starter.  That’s one thing Bard will be working on.  Pitching coach Bob McClure also alluded to that:

“Coming out of spring training, there was kind of one thought, really. Basically get on line and attack the strike zone and don’t try and be too fine,” he said. “I think that’s basically what he needs to do, what he wants to do and what he’s trying to get back to doing.”

Boston hasn’t yet named its new fifth starter, next scheduled to take the mound Saturday against the Washington Nationals.  The Globe notes, though, that Daisuke Matsuzaka is limited to three innings of work in Pawtucket tonight, and could end up moving up to Boston if the start goes well.

Good thing B comes before T. Now it doesn't really look like last place.

Well, that stay in fourth place was short-lived. After a very unattractive start by Daniel Bard, the Red Sox are now tied for fourth with the Blue Jays. I prefer to say “tied for fourth” rather than “tied for last” — sounds just a smidge better, right?

Bard was just plain ugly today in his outing against the Jays. His line makes me want to throw up in my mouth. He lasted just 1.2 innings and in that short time, he managed to give up five runs on one hit. Yes, you read it right the first time. One hit. That one hit was a three run home run so it was kind of a doozy. He also walked six batters and hit two.

In the bottom of the first inning, Bard walked the first two batters he faced. Not good when #3 in the Jays line up is hard hitting Jose Bautista. And Jose made him pay by blasting a 3-2 fastball to left field for a home run. Jays up 3-0. After walking the next batter, Bard was lucky enough to get a double play and a fly out to get out of the inning without further damage.

Alas, the bottom of the second was no better. Bard allowed two more runs on three walks and two hit batters. Nothing steams me more than opposing teams scoring runs without even having to hit the ball. I’m not sure how someone didn’t walk to the mound and swat Bard upside his head to try and snap him out of his funk. I’m convinced if Dustin Pedroia was playing second today, he would have done just that.

Bard talked to the Globe after the game on his struggles as a starter:

“The ability to repeat just isn’t there like it has been in the past,” Bard said. “If anything, it’s that I allowed something to happen when I switched roles. Maybe we just tried to turn me into a starter rather than just take the same pitcher I was out there and move that guy to the rotation, which is probably what should have been done.”

As usual, the bullpen was solid, pitching 6.1 innings of scoreless ball to keep the game relatively close. However, Jays pitcher, Drew Hutchison, kept the Red Sox bats quiet today. They mustered just one run on six hits when Kelly Shoppach hit a solo home run in the fifth. Pathetic.

Click here for the U-G-L-Y box score, courtesy of the Red Sox. The Sox have tomorrow off which is probably a good thing. Next up, the Baltimore Orioles visit Fenway for a three game series. Jon Lester (3-4, 4.79 ERA) will take the mound and try to get the team back on the winning track. Lester is a career 14-0 against the O’s in 19 starts.

In other news: Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports that scouts from the Phillies and Diamondbacks have been here to take a look at Kevin Youkilis. Evidently a number of teams are interested. Youk is 11 of 35 since coming back from the DL.

Big Papi still on fire (Photo by Keith Allison c/o Flickr.com)

It’s been a long time since the Red Sox have seen the plus side of .500. Actually, they haven’t been over .500 since last season. That’s just scary. But last night, they beat the Detroit Tigers and the best pitcher in baseball, Justin Verlander, 6-3 to get to this point. MV-what? Despite routinely throwing pitches in the high 90′s, Verlander didn’t look much like the best pitcher in baseball. Or maybe the Red Sox hitters are just that good?

The Sox line up jumped on Verlander early scoring one in the second when David Ortiz doubled to left field. After Kevin Youkilis struck out, Jarrod Saltalamacchia singled to left moving Ortiz to third. Mike Aviles grounded to second base in what surely would be a double play but Aviles’ hustle down the line paid off. He beat the throw to first and Ortiz scored the game’s first run.

In the fourth inning, the Red Sox loaded the bases on singles by Kevin Youkilis, Mike Aviles and Scott Podsednik. With two outs, rookie Daniel Nava came to the plate. Verlander pummeled Nava with fastballs hitting 98, 99 mph. Nava managed to work the count full and then fought off a 100 mph fastball and punched it into left field. With the runners already on the move, Nava cleared the bases with a double and put the Sox up for good 4-0.

After the game, Nava told reporters what he did in order to have success hitting against Verlander.

“The first at-bat I had I was really trying to pick the ball up, was having a hard time picking the ball up, so from that point — I had that 3-1 pitch that I swung through — and I needed to shorten my swing up,” said Nava, who’s trying out as the Sox’s leadoff hitter. “Fortunately, I got a pitch to do that with and I had guys on base. Just keep it simple. I think I got out of my approach a little on 3-1 because it was a hitter’s count. I just tried to calm myself down and keep it simple.”

But they weren’t done scoring yet. David Ortiz had an RBI double in the fifth and a solo home run in the seventh, his 11th of the season, to cap off his night going 3 for 4 with two RBI and two runs scored.

Daniel Bard was solid in his outing. He went 5.1 innings, scattering four hits and giving up two earned runs – both solo home runs – while striking out four. Rich Hill, Scott Atchison, Andrew Miller and Vicente Padilla handled the next 2.2 innings giving up just one more run. Alfredo Aceves (why does typing his name always make me hungry?) came in for his 12th save in the ninth. After blowing a save last week, it was nice to see him come in and get #12.

Click here for the box score that put the Red Sox one game over .500 and just 3.5 back of first place!! The Sox and Tigers go again tonight with Jon Lester (3-4, 4.72 ERA) looking to get back on the winning track against youngster Drew Smyly (2-1, 3.14 ERA). First pitch is at 7:10pm.

Deja vu all over again, right?  The Red Sox ended Memorial Day weekend by gutting out a 7-4 win over the Detroit Tigers to get back to .500… for the sixth time this season.  Felix Doubront – who, surprisingly, is quickly becoming Boston’s most reliable starter – picked up the win with a four-hit, two-run lockdown over six innings.  Alfredo Aceves (why was he in the game in a non-save situation?) gave up a two-run home run to Jhonny Peralta with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but quickly struck out the next batter to secure the Red Sox win.

“Every outing I’m learning more how to approach the hitters, and today, I think I was more focused on throwing the ball for strikes and getting the hitters out quickly,” Doubront told reporters. “I was throwing the ball where I wanted and my offspeed pitch was working pretty good.”

Scott Atchison, meanwhile, quietly put together two scoreless innings between Doubront and Aceves.  He’s thrown 29 innings this year, and only allowed three runs for a miniscule 0.93 ERA.  He’s only allowed one home run and six walks.  Where would the Red Sox bullpen be without him?  He’s the only middle reliever that I’m confident can get the outs when he gets the call.

The Red Sox also had a good day offensively.  Ryan Sweeney announced his return from the disabled list with three hits.  Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit another home run.  And, Mike Aviles had two hits, one of them a controversial one.  In the bottom of the second, and with Sweeney on second base, it looked to everyone in the stands and to everyone watching on television like Aviles struck out when Detroit catcher Gerald Laird snagged a foul tip.  But, first base umpire Tim Welke ruled that Laird had dropped the ball.  Aviles, with new life, responded by hitting an RBI single to center, scoring Sweeney and extending the inning.  Daniel Nava scored Aviles on a double, and Dustin Pedroia got lucky on an infield single that bounced off Prince Fielder’s glove and scored Nava.

Tigers manager Jim Leyland and third base coach Gene Lamont both told the umpiring crew what they thought of the foul tip call after the second inning ended, and both were ejected from the game for their efforts.

Pedroia, by the way, appears to have jammed his thumb.  He left the game after making a diving stop in the fifth inning.  Because of the Memorial Day holiday, he wasn’t able to get an MRI yesterday, but is expected to get one today.

Here’s a link to the box score, care of the Red Sox.

The Red Sox continue their homestand tonight, when Daniel Bard (4-5, 4.69 ERA) takes on Justin Verlander (5-2, 2.15 ERA) for a 7:10 start.  I’ll be at Fenway and I have to work tomorrow, so let’s hope that the threatened humidity-breaking thunderstorms stay away until later tonight.

Well, the Red Sox stint at .500 was short-lived as they lost to the Orioles 4-1 last night in a classic pitcher’s duel. Felix Doubront was sharp holding the first place O’s to just four hits and two runs over six innings. He struck out a season-high nine batters and whiffed Robert Andino and Adam Jones both three times.

Unfortunately, O’s pitcher Brian Matusz was even better, holding the usually high-powered Sox offense to just two hits while striking out 12.

Kevin Youkilis was back in the line up, playing first base while Adrian Gonzalez moved out to right field to help a injury-riddled outfield. He hit a home run in the fourth inning to account for the lone Sox run. Gonzalez had the other hit. *yawn*

Now that Youk is back, you have to wonder what going to happen. It would be silly to send Will Middlebrooks back to Pawtucket after he’s done so well in the bigs. But you can’t ask Adrian Gonzalez to continue to patrol right field — especially in Fenway Park. That corner will eat him alive. So what? Speculation is that the Sox are trying to get Youk some quality at bats to show he doesn’t suck and hopefully trade him. They really could use some more help in the outfield…

Speaking of the outfield, Ryan Sweeney was placed on the seven-day disabled list with a concussion. And Cody Ross was officially put on the 15-day DL but hopes he won’t be out the 6-8 weeks originally predicted. So right now the four top outfielders are sidelined: Jacoby Ellsbury, Carl Crawford, Cody Ross and Ryan Sweeney. Three of the four will most likely not see any playing time until July. Darnell McDonald, Ryan Kalish and Jason Repko are also out. The Sox called up Scott Podsednik from Pawtucket to fill some shoes. June could be very interesting…

Take a gander at the very slim box score courtesy of the Red Sox. The Sox and O’s finish up the series playing the rubber match this afternoon at 12:35pm. Daniel Bard (3-5, 4.85 ERA) will take on Jake Arrieta (2-4, 4.72 ERA). This game will be a good test for Bard and his ability to bounce back after a tough outing against the Phillies.

These days, Jon Lester’s my guy.  There’s no doubt, he had a rough start to the 2012 swing – at times earlier on, it seemed like he couldn’t even buy a win – but these last two starts have given me something to believe in.  Josh Beckett?  I still don’t like his attitude, not to mention his facial hair.  Daniel Bard?  Can’t put batters away with two strikes, and seems to be faltering in this starting pitcher experiment.  Felix Doubront?  Solid, but kind of, well, uninspiring.

Jon Lester (Keith Allison, c/o flickr.com)

Nope, Jon Lester’s my guy.  I watched his last start – a complete game, one-run epic at Fenway – from my standard spot in the right field boxes, just behind the visitor’s bullpen.  It was great – the crowd got into it, the rain held off, and everyone went to bed a little happier that night.

Last night, Lester won again, but in a much different way.  He toughed through six innings with a sore back, picking up three strikeouts to go along with four earned runs against a tough Philadelphia lineup.  He threw an efficient 90 pitches, two thirds of them for strikes, and save for a two-run home run by Phillies second baseman Freddy Galvis, did a decent job of keeping Philadelphia off the basepaths.  Vicente Padilla, Rich Hill, and Alfredo Aceves held and closed out Boston’s win.

Meanwhile, the offense backed the pitching staff up with four home runs.  Mike Aviles, Will Middlebrooks, Jarrod Saltalamacchia and David Ortiz each got a chance to swing from their heels yesterday.  Aviles, Middlebrooks and Saltalamacchia got their hammers in against Phillies starter Joe Blanton, and Ortiz – who was battling the stomach flu and a case of the Having To Play First Base – went to town against the Philadelphia bullpen.  Even Ryan Sweeney contributed, making a great diving catch in center field that kept two Phillies runs from scoring.

With the win, the Red Sox stopped Philadelphia’s win streak, which had been the longest active win streak in baseball.  This was the kind of win that, a few weeks ago, I think would have probably ended up being a Red Sox loss.  The team showed heart last night, and they found a way to play around the soreness, sickness, position changes, and other day to day malaises, and win the game.  Much more fun to watch, and much much more fun to talk about.

Here’s a link to the gutsy box score, courtesy of the Red Sox.

Today, the Sox close out their series in Philadelphia before heading to Baltimore.  Josh Beckett (3-4, 4.97 ERA) will try to take the rubber game against Cliff Lee (0-1, but a 1.95 ERA).  Boston’s won seven out of its last nine games.  Lee hasn’t seen much action this year because of a stay on the disabled list, but I’m sure he’ll be a formidable opponent.