To say that Boston can now return to normal would be wrong. Even after yesterday’s apprehension of both suspects—one dead, one in custody—in last Monday’s Marathon tragedy, it’s still a city in mourning. Things have not returned to normal—especially for the families of the deceased, and the victims still recovering in the area hospitals. For the victims, normal will never be the same.

The Boston Red Sox left Boston in the midst of the melee, heading out to Cleveland for a three game series. Each and every player worried about the city they left behind, the city they call home—at least this year. A Red Sox away jersey with the number 617 and the battle cry of Boston Strong hung in support in the dugout. And when the city needed a little pick-me-up in the midst of all trauma, the Red Sox came through for their fans with a sweep of the Indians.

It was their first meeting with former manager Terry Francona and boy did they show him just how strong Boston’s spirit is (as if he didn’t know.) After winning handily on Tuesday night behind Felix Doubront, you had to wonder how they could keep it up with the weight of a city on their shoulders. But they did.

Wednesday’s game 2 of the series saw the Sox quickly going up 3-0 in the first, staking Alfredo Aceves to a lead before he even took the mound. They pounded out 15 hits on route to their 6-3 win with 3-hit games from Jacoby Ellsbury and Shane Victorino—both also scoring two runs each. More importantly, they were able to prove Indians’ pitcher Justin Masterson is human. Click here for the box score.

The series finale on Thursday ended with the same score, 6-3 on the back of another stellar performance from Jon Lester for this third win. The game was a real nail biter until the Sox broke it open in the 7th inning with single by Jacoby Ellsbury and an error allowing Shane Victorino to reach. After a fly out by Dustin Pedroia, Mike Napoli singled to right field to drive Ellsbury home, and Daniel Nava plated Victorino with a sac fly. Pinch-hitter Mike Carp singled to right to score Napoli and give the Sox a safe lead they would never give up. Click here for the box score, courtesy of the Red Sox.

After yesterday’s madness and the Red Sox and Royals getting postponed, they’re back in action this afternoon with Clay Buchholz looking for his AL leading 4th win.

Let’s go Red Sox, let’s go!!

After the rainout on Friday night, the Boston Red Sox took a take no prisoners approach to the rest of the weekend against the Tampa Bay Rays. So far, I am loving this team. Check in with me again around the All-Star break to see if my feelings have changed, but there’s a spark here I haven’t seen in a long time. Maybe since 2004.

Saturday afternoon we saw Sox ace Jon Lester matching up against the Ray’s ace, David Price. And just as presumed, a pitchers’ duel ensued. Both starters gave up just a single run in their outings but the Sox came out on top in extra frames. Following a Jarod Saltalamacchia strikeout to open the bottom of the 10th, Jacoby Ellsbury singled to center. With Shane Victorino at the plate, Ellsbury stole second and took third on a crappy throw by the Rays’ catcher.

Rays’ manager Joe Maddon then pulled in an outfielder to give them five guys covering the infield. Is this the baseball version of pulling the goalie? Even with nearly every inch of the dirt covered, Victorino was able to ground the ball to a spot where the shortstop had to dive for it. Ellsbury scored on the play giving the Sox the 2-1 victory! Click here for the box.

Sunday afternoon’s game saw starting pitcher, Clay Buchholz, flirt with a no-hitter, stymying the Rays batters through seven innings. Buchholz pitched masterfully, giving up just two hits in eight innings and striking out 11. He has improved to 3-0 with a stingy 0.41 ERA. I would’ve figured these numbers would sit him alone atop the AL in the pitching category. I was wrong. He shared the same record and ERA with old Sox friend, Justin Masterson.

The Red Sox scored most of their runs in the third inning when Ellsbury, Victorino and Dustin Pedroia all singled to load the bases. Mike Napoli smashed a double to the triangle in center to score the first two runs. Two more scored on a ground out by Stephen Drew and a throwing error. Click here for the box—courtesy of the Red Sox.

Next up for the Red Sox, they attempt to close out a sweep of the Rays with the annual Patriots Day 11:05am start. Ryan Dempster (0-1, 3.60), still searching for his first win in a Sox uniform, will take on Jeremy Hellickson (0-1, 6.35). Tomorrow is also Jackie Robinson Day—when everyone wears #42!

The Red Sox won again last night, bumping their early-season record to 2-0 and knocking the battered Yankees down a peg.  The score was 7-4, behind a strong outing from Clay Buchholz.  Buchholz held the Yankee bats to one run over seven innings of work.  The New York pitching staff wasn’t as lucky: starter Hiroki Kuroda took a Shane Victorino single off his pitching hand in the second inning and had to leave the game with what turned out to be a bruise.  Pinstriped old-timer Vernon Wells hit a three-run home run in the New York eighth, and Travis Hafner hit a single shot in the fourth, but that was all the offense the Yankees could muster (it’s almost symbolic that this creaky old Titanic of an offense only scored off of home runs hit by two of the creakiest men in the majors).

The Red Sox, meanwhile – screw small sample sizes.  The Sox are going to go undefeated, win the division, sweep the postseason, and win the World Series AND the 2016 Democratic primary (Massachusetts is a blue state, after all).  Look at these lines:

Daniel Nava – .667/.800/1.000

Jose Iglesias (yes, Jose Iglesias) – .556/.556/.667

Jonny Gomes – .500/.600/.500

Jarrod Saltalamacchia – .429/.600/.571

Jacoby Ellsbury – .400/.455/.600

Dustin Pedroia – .364/.364/.364 (4 for 11, all singles – how often do you see a line that matches up across the columns?)

Now granted, the only one of those players I think can actually stay near those early marks is Pedroia – he could hit .360 if he had a great year, and obviously he’ll also hit something more than a single eventually – as we know, all he does in the off-season is straight bodybuilding, so, there’s that to look forward to.  And Jackie Bradley, Jr., the king of the spring, has only hit .167/.500/.167 in the early going (three walks and one single in six official at-bats, giving us the low average and slugging percentage but the eyebrow-raising on-base percentage).  Will Middlebrooks has a .000 batting average – (hopefully) that won’t stick, either.  But, these lines are fun.  Daniel Nava will be 80 years old one day, sitting in a rocking chair and talking to his grandkids about the week he had a .660 average in the major leagues.  Early statistics are basically worthless, but they sure do make for good “listen up sonny, and I’ll tell you about back when I was a major-leaguer” story.

Red Sox-Yankees again, tonight.  Ryan Dempster makes his debut against Andy Pettitte, who still hasn’t retired (again).  Let’s see if the Yankees can make something of this series behind one of their greats, or if the Sox can open up with a series sweep on the road.

Here’s the box score from last night, courtesy of the Red Sox.

The Red Sox won! The Red Sox won! I’ve been waiting a couple years to say that on Opening Day, and today I can. The Red Sox beat the New York Yankees handily in the Bronx, 8-2. Part of me was dreading this game, mostly because after last season’s horridness. It made me feel a little like Charlie Brown trusting Lucy not to pull the ball away. I didn’t want to get fooled again.

But that’s not what happened. Quite the contrary actually. It was almost as if these guys enjoyed playing with each other. Like there was, dare I say, chemistry? John Farrell is the complete opposite of Bobby Valentine… and by that I mean he’s normal and has a real handle on what makes a team work as a team. See what happens when everyone gets along!

The top third of the lineup—Jacoby Ellsbury, Shane Victorino and Dustin Pedroia—shined this afternoon, combining for six of the eight runs batted in on seven hits. Rookie Jackie Bradley Jr. showed veteran-like patience at the plate, walking three times in his 0-for-2 performance. He drove in his first career major league run in the top of the seventh on a fielder’s choice. Jose Iglesias, who has never been known for his stellar offense, went 3-for-5 with an RBI. Looks like someone was a little embarrassed by his .118 average last fall.

Jon Lester pitched five innings, looking sharp for four of those five—his only problem coming in the fourth where he got a little wild and gave up the two lone runs of the game. He struck out seven and walked two. The bullpen pitched lights out the rest of the way to secure Lester’s first win, only allowing one hit through the final four frames.

The Sox scored four runs in the second inning. Jarod Saltalamacchia took a one-out walk, followed by a Jonny Gomes line drive single and the first of three walks to Bradley Jr. Iglesias drove in the first run on a single to the shortstop. Ellsbury grounded into a fielder’s choice and Victorino followed with single to left scoring two. Pedroia singled to right field scoring Ellsbury for the fourth run on the inning.

The only thing that makes me happier than the Sox winning on Opening Day? The Sox beating the Yankees on Opening Day. So needless to say, I’m wicked happy! The teams have an off day tomorrow because holy crap, Opening Day must be sooooo exhausting. They’ll meet again on Wednesday with Clay Buchholz facing off against Hiroki Kuroda for a 7:05pm start.

Clicky here if you would like to view more of the amazing game #1 recap, courtesy of the Red Sox.

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?

What I really wanted to title this blog — Boston Red Sox: Weekly Wookie Woundup. Because really, try to say Weekly Rookie Roundup fast. Over the past week, a couple rookies have looked rather impressive—Jackie Bradley and Jeremy Hazelbaker. (And now I just want to call them wookies and picture them all really tall and furry.) Yes, it’s just spring training and yes, I know there’s not much of a chance of them living in Boston on April 1, but holy hell, the numbers from this week are preeeeeetty awesome!

Jackie Bradley
This kid is on fire (sing it… like Alicia!) The youngster has been putting up some sweet digits in spring training. In five games, he’s batting .571 with eight hits in 14 at bats. Bradley is poised to take over in center when Jacoby Ellsbury hops the train to Money-ville after this season and I’m going to guess Bradley is a tad more durable than the current center fielder. Bradley played in just 61 games with AA Portland which most certainly means at least one more year in the minors. BaseballProspectus.com says this about the #2 prospect’s strengths:

Special baseball instincts; plus glove; strong arm; average speed, but preternatural feel for position; moves before ball is put in play; precise routes and angles; plus-plus overall profile at premium position; advanced approach at the plate; good pitch-recognition skills; knows his pitch pocket and attacks; solid-average hit tool; tough out.

Jeremy Hazelbaker
The 25-year-old outfielder is swinging a big stick this spring. In his first four games, he batted .600. Granted that’s only five at bats but whatevs, .600 is pretty impressive, especially when you have some everyday players *cough* Shane Victorino *cough* that have put up a big fat goose egg thus far. As of today, his average has dropped to .429 but still respectable. Last year, Hazelbaker spent most of the season in Portland with the AA Sea Dogs. In 114 games, he averaged .273 with 19 homeruns and 119 hits.

So when are the Red Sox going to take a chance on one of these rookies? When are they going to throw caution to the wind and give one of these kids a roster spot and see where it goes? Who knows, they could have another Mike Trout or Bryce Harper on their hands. But they’ll never know unless they try.

In other news, Jon Lester spun three innings of shut out ball against the Pittsburgh Pirates last night, walking one and striking out two. Dustin Pedroia went 2-for-2 and Mike Napoli went 1-for-2 in his spring debut. My parents were at the game—they’re in Naples, FL on vacation. Lucky for them they didn’t send me too many gloating texts.

The Boston Red Sox went through some major changes over the last year. Some good, some bad and some just… meh. They unloaded some dead weight — Josh Beckett and his bad attitude, Carl Crawford and his bad contract and Adrian Gonzalez and his bad luck (as collateral damage.) Needless to say, the 2013 Opening Day line up is going to look a lot different from 2012 with only four players returning for the starting nine.

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF: He will most likely bat lead off as his did last year. That’s only if he doesn’t sprain his earlobe in spring training or catch a hangnail during warmups.
2. Shane Victorino, RF: Newly signed Victorino makes the most sense for the #2 spot. Dustin Pedroia held this spot last year, but with the addition of the speedy “flyin’ Hawaiian,” he may be better suited further down in the order.
3. Dustin Pedroia, 2B: He’s proved himself to be an offensive asset and has surprising power for a guy of his stature. He has a career .303 batting average with a .830 OPS. Last year, the #3 spot belonged to the departed Adrian Gonzalez.
4. David Ortiz, DH: Big Papi will once again commandeer the clean up spot. Let’s just hope that achilles can hold up and David can pick up where he left off last season before he went down with the bum heel.
5. Will Middlebrooks, 3B: The position stays the same, just the personel has changed. Middlebrooks takes over full time at the hot corner after the somewhat rancorous departure of Kevin Youkilis.
6. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C: Salty takes over the #6 spot from Ryan Sweeney who was allowed to go to free agency following an unspectacular year.
7. First Base?: With the Mike Napoli deal in limbo, could Mauro Gomez start the season at first base? Or will they continue to search for a more seasoned first baseman if the Napoli contract crumbles. If Napoli does end up in Boston, I imagine he’ll bat a little higher up in the order — probably 5th. In 2012, the recently departed Cody Ross held this spot in the line up.
8. Left Field?: Do the Sox see Jonny Gomes starting the season guarding the Green Monster? Or Ryan Kalish? This one baffles me. Salty batted #8 to start last season.
9. Stephen Drew, SS: Drew replaces last year’s shortstop Mike Aviles at the end of the order. Needless to say, my excitement level for this position is very low. I’m begging this guy to prove me wrong.

Well, 2013 should be an interesting year. There were some big holes to fill over the off season in this line up and I’m not feeling too confident that the new acquisitions are going to get them where they need to be. I’m not sure I can handle a “rebuilding year” so someone needs to do something really sparkly or that’s exactly what we’re going to get.

I mean…

Granted, the Red Sox didn’t exactly put their best lineup on the field yesterday.  Dustin Pedroia sat out with what was later reported to be a fractured finger (he won’t go on the DL, since there’s only two games left), and Jacoby Ellsbury also didn’t make an appearance.  I’m not making excuses for the Red Sox, but let’s be honest: when Ryan Lavarnway (currently batting somewhere in the .160s) is your fifth hitter, and three-hitter Cody Ross is the biggest threat in your batting order, you’ve gone off the reservation somehow.

Regardless of whether the Sox were either flopping around in the bottom of the fishing boat, or just giving their exciting up-and-comers a chance to play, last night’s game against the Yankees was the most one-sided rivalry game I’ve seen in a long time.  Clay Buchholz imploded in the second inning, giving up eight runs in a nine-run frame that decided the game early and sent a disinterested fan base packing for yet another depressing night.

Robinson Cano started the second-inning barrage off for New York, launching a solo home run to center field.  Buchholz got Mark Teixeria to strike out, but the unflappable Nick Swisher glanced a double off of center field with one out.  Curtis Granderson scored Swisher by hitting a home run of his own, and then Russell Martin promptly hit another home run, making the score 4-0.

Undaunted, Buchholz announced himself with authority by walking Eric Chavez and Derek Jeter, and loaded the bases via an Ichiro Suzuki single.  Alex Rodriguez sacrificed Chavez home for the second out, before Cano used his second at-bat of the inning to double home Jeter and Suzuki.

With the score 7-0 with two outs, Bobby Valentine had finally seen enough.  Alfredo Aceves replaced Buchholz.  Aceves faced Teixeira first, and Teixeira (of course) hit the Yankees’ fourth home run of the inning, scoring Cano and leaving the score at 9-0.  Swisher followed up with another double, but Aceves finally got Granderson to ground out to first to end the inning.

The Sox didn’t really get any kind of offensive rally going.  They scored a couple of baserunners here and there, care a well-executed Jarrod Saltalamacchia sac fly and a Daniel Nava home run; but there was really nothing happening at all at the plate.

With the win, coupled with Baltimore’s loss to Tampa, the Yankees took sole possession of first place with two games to play.  The Red Sox’ best-case scenario now is to play spoiler for either the Yankees or the Orioles, as both teams continue to battle for the division title.  That’s literally about all that Red Sox fans can look forward to – an exciting game 162 that means nothing for the Sox, but could potentially affect another team’s postseason. Blah.

Here’ a link to last night’s box score, courtesy of the Red Sox.  Tonight’s game 161 pits Jon Lester (9-14, 4.94 ERA) against David Phelps (4-4, 3.34 ERA).  Phelps replaces the beleaguered Ivan Nova in a start that will probably decide Phelps’ prominence on the Yankees’ postseason roster.

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.

Sure, now you get hot! (c/o Keith Allson, via flickr)

Normally a Red Sox win would send me straight to the computer to happily regale you with all the awesome stuff that happened in the game. But when your team is 14 games under .500 and has been officially eliminated from post-season play, it gets tough to want to write about anything — even a win.

Something needs to happen soon to shake this team up or people are going to start using my blog posts as a cure for their insomnia. I nod off sometimes just writing this crap. I’ve been waiting on the edge of my seat for the hammer to finally drop on Bobby Valentine, but it looks like I’ll have to wait until October for that nugget of happiness to come my way.

So in the meantime, I’ll have to continue to tell you about a win (they beat the Rays 5-2, by the way) that means nothing except that it gets them closer to getting out of the basement. I just don’t think I can live through the off season if this team finishes in last place!

Jacoby Ellsbury appears to be peaking at the wrong time. What happened a couple months ago when… oh, I don’t know… that production would’ve been a big help when the wildcard was still in reach? But then again, that question pertains to quite a few members of this team. They never could get in sync.

Oh well, maybe next year. Or the year after.

If you’re still following this train wreck, click here for the box score. I promise I’ll try to be more upbeat about the next win. If there is one. I sort of feel like Eyore right now.