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.

You could almost hear it over the television… pfffft-pfffft-pffffffffffffft… as the Red Sox completed the home portion of the 2012 season with yet another loss. This time, 4-2 at the hands of the still battling Tampa Bay Rays. They ended up finishing with a ghastly record of 34-47 at Fenway, the worst since 1965, and surely not the best way to celebrate the park’s 100th birthday.

Jon Lester flirted with a no hitter, breezing through the first four innings. But, as has been the case all year, it was just not meant to be. He quickly lost the no-no and the lead with back-to-back homers in the fifth by Carlos Pena (a two-run shot) and Ben Francisco. I have to think that if this were any other season, giving up four runs wouldn’t be such a tough hill to climb for the Sox. They would battle back and take games like this with ease.

The line up that struggled to eek out just two runs on four hits last night is a line up very different from the line up that opened this 2012 season. Only three players from Opening Day were present — Dustin Pedroia, Cody Ross and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. And unfortunately, some of those big bats, whether they’re on the DL or have been shipped off to another team, have been significantly missed over the past few months.

I’m convinced this season is cursed. Maybe it’s the curse of Tito, who sits at home with his trifecta of voodoo dolls that eerily resemble John Henry, Tom Werner and Larry Lucchino. Or maybe it’s the curse of Bobby Valentine, who most likely actually is a voodoo doll controlled by some unknown devious force hell bent on ruining my beloved Sox. Whatever it is that made this team suck, I truly hope it is exorcised in the off-season. And by exorcised, I mean firing Bobby V.

In other news, some good news actually, Jason Varitek has been named Special Assistant to General Manager, Ben Cherington.

“Jason was one of the most respected players of his era and will be a key voice as we move forward,” general manager Ben Cherington said in a statement. “He will be involved in a number of areas, including Major League personnel decisions, evaluations, and mentorship and instruction of young players. We are fortunate to have him in this role.”

This is the first step in putting the heart back in this team… when Varitek retired, I’m convinced he took the team spirit with him. I have every confidence this move will greatly benefit the front office and give them a better understanding of the inner workings of the club house. Could they possibly be grooming Tek to be skipper some day? I sure hope so.

Old friend Pedro has been at Fenway a lot this summer! (Photo by andrewmalone c/o Flickr.com)

Once again, the most exciting part of a Red Sox game was the pre game ceremonies. Before last night’s 5-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays, the Sox honored the 2004 World Series Championship team. And once again this season, I’m reduced to tears (and not just because of how badly this team sucks.)

I loved that 2004 team and to see them pull into the stadium on duck boats — the way they celebrated finally conquering the 86-year championship drought — made me remember exactly why I love them. Pedro Martinez, Kevin Millar, Keith Foulke, (ball thief) Doug Mientkiewicz, Mike Timlin, and our recently departed favorites, Jason Varitek and Jason Varitek, the lone representative still here, David Ortiz… all taking turns hoisting that trophy.

To top off the celebration, Keith Foulke threw out the first pitch to former battery-mate, Jason Varitek, who then attempted to relive that 2004 magic by leaping into Foulke’s arms. Although (and probably for the best) without so much gusto as he did back on that late October night in St. Louis. This celebration would’ve been so much more exceptional if the current Red Sox team was in contention. But alas… they will finish their 100th season in Fenway Park pitifully.

In case you missed it, Rays’ pitcher, David Price, pitched a complete game as he continues to battle to get his name on the Cy Young ballot. After the Rays went up 3-0 in the second inning on a Jeff Keppinger three-run homerun, I just knew there was no way the struggling Sox offense would be able to overcome the overpowering Price, who ended the night with 13 strike outs. I was right.

Click here for the box score, courtesy of the Red Sox.

The Sox and Rays finish off this quick two-game series tonight and thankfully say good-bye to not-so-friendly Fenway Park until 2013. Jon Lester will take the mound, hoping to get this team a win and at least leave Fenway on a somewhat positive note.

These days when the Red Sox can avoid a sweep, that’s considered good news. That’s what we’ve been reduced to as this forgetful season winds down with not so much as even a fizzle. I’m not sure which is worse… last September when they crushed our dreams by completely screwing the pooch and missing the playoffs, or this crappy season where they never even had a fighting chance. The jury’s still out…

So yesterday the Red Sox beat the Orioles 2-1 behind a brilliant pitching performance by Felix Doubront. He went seven innings giving up just one run on four hits while striking out 11 — a career high. But guess what? He didn’t get the win. Thanks to another less than stellar performance by the offense that was 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Oh the horror!

Par for the course this season, eh?

This is what I’ve been reduced to… shitting on them even when they do win. Oh well… nine more days. Just nine more sufferable days left and then I can start looking towards the future. A future that hopefully doesn’t suck as much as the past six months did. Care to view the box score? Click here, courtesy of the Red Sox.

The Sox are off tonight but entertain the Tampa Bay Rays in their final homestand of 2012 for a quick two-game series Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Clay Buchholz and David Price face off once again in game one, and Jon Lester takes the hill against Alex Cobb in Wednesday’s game.

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.

Before the Red Sox game started this afternoon, I wondered if maybe this would be the day they finally completed a sweep. They haven’t swept a team since they won three against the Miami Marlins back in June. A sweep would’ve been really great. But as we know from experience, this season has been filled with very few great moments and today was no exception.

After squeaking out a ninth inning win over the Jays on Saturday, I thought maybe their luck was changing. And after six innings today where Jon Lester pitched lights out, I thought about breaking out the brand new corn broom I bought yesterday to do a little celebration for an event that hasn’t happen too much this season.

Lester had given up just one hit and no runs while striking out five through six innings. But then after two outs in the seventh inning, things sort of went to hell in a handbasket rather quickly. The Jays scored three quick runs on two singles, a steal and a home run and just like that, the Red Sox offense is looking up a steep, late inning hill.

Daniel Bard came in to relieve Lester in the eighth inning and, well, that’s never a good move. Bard, who still seems to have some issues with control, gave up another two quick runs and that hill the offense needed to conquer turned into more of a mountain with very little time left. The Sox went quietly in the top of the ninth capping off a day when no one in the line up could manage to get anything going.

So overall, this was a pretty crappy Sunday for a New England sports fan. I’m going to go sulk now.

Click here for yet another dissatisfying box score, courtesy of the Red Sox. It doesn’t get any easier, folks. The Red Sox head south for a four game stint with the Rays at Tropicana Field. Aaron Cook takes on Alex Cobb on Monday night.

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.

Right now we could use nine of him. (Photo by: Keith Allison, c/o Flickr.com)

I thought that maybe, just maybe, the Red Sox would do the complete opposite this September of what they did a year ago. I was wrong. The Sox lost their seventh straight game to the Seattle Mariners 4-1 this afternoon. The offense failed yet again to put a significant number of runs on the board. One run just ain’t going to do it, boys.

Clay Buchholz had a fantastic outing… if you forget the fourth inning ever happened. He struck out eight in seven innings. It was that one inning that completely screwed him. The Mariners plated four and that’s all she wrote. The two errors didn’t help matters much either.

I have nothing to say about the Sox offense except that they, yet again, failed to even show up for today’s game. What the hell? Over this recent skid, they’ve scored a measly 16 runs in the seven games. Do the math… that averages out to roughly 2.3 runs per game. *shakes head* Click here to witness the gross lack of scoring, courtesy of the Red Sox.

The only member of the Red Sox line up that seems to be doing well amidst this losing streak is Dustin Pedroia. He is currently riding a 14-game hit streak, the longest in the Majors, and is hitting .386 during this steak. He also got his 1,000th hit during today’s game.

Jon Lester is called upon to try and stop the bleeding in tomorrow’s game. Generally Lester has not been good in a pinch this year, but he has won three of his last four starts so I sort of have hope. That’s a lie… I have no hope. My hope has left the building. Whatever.

You might have noticed the absence of a post recapping Wednesday night’s game. Yeah… I was just that disgusted. I actually toyed with the idea of pretending this recent failed series with the Angels never happened. But even I’m not that delusional. I know it happened — even though just about all of it occurred while I was sleeping — but I’m making the decision to immediately forget the gory details.

Let’s look at some of the good stuff that happened over the past couple of days.

*crickets*

Ok… moving on.

In case you’re not as interested in forgetting the rest of this season as I am, here’s a short recap of the last two games:

Wednesday, August 29th
Angels 10, Red Sox 3 (click for the box score)
Zach Stewart, the newest sacrificial lamb in the Red Sox rotation, was in a nutshell… well, shelled in his first appearance with his new team. He gave up nine earned runs on 10 hits in three innings. The offense could manage just three runs off of 11 hits and were just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

Thursday, August 30th
Angels 5, Red Sox 2 (click for the box score)
Jon Lester pitched a complete game. Yay! But he lost. Boo! He gave up five earned runs on nine hits. The offense gave him virtually no help and the only position player that even appeared to have shown up for the game was newly acquired first baseman, James Loney, who went 3-for-4 with his first homerun in a Red Sox uniform. Yay! As for the rest of the bums… Boo!

The West Coast swing continues tonight as the Sox, who have won just three games in their last 10, make there way to Oakland to face those surging A’s, who have won their last six straight and eight of their last 10. Aaron Cook will face off against Brandon McCarthy in yet another late start. Have I mentioned lately how much I hate these 10pm games?

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!