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?

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.

This game deserves another appearance by the gutter ball. (Photo by: Marcus McCurdy c/o Flickr.com)

What is it with this season? I don’t ever remember the Red Sox giving up so many substantial leads. Or maybe I’ve just chosen not to remember… that is a very strong possibility too. But two six run leads in three days — that is just unacceptable!

After having to sit through that 14-13 torturous loss on Thursday night, I was not interested in seeing a meltdown like that again any time soon. I guess the Red Sox didn’t get that memo.

Aaron Cook started in place of the originally scheduled and recently departed Josh Beckett. And he really stepped up to the plate. Cook gave up three runs in the first inning, but that was it for his six innings outing. After six, the Red Sox had a comfortable 9-3 lead. Or was it…?

The Sox offense was on fire scoring four in the second, three in the third and two in the fourth. First baseman Mauro Gomez had a breakout game going 4-6 with three RBI and launching his first Major League home run. Every starter had at least one hit as the Sox pounded out 20 total hits. In my opinion nine runs on 20 hits should win a game every time. I guess they didn’t get that memo either.

Andrew Miller came in to relieve Cook in the top of the seventh. With two outs and one man on, Miller proceeded to walk the next two men to load the bases, then gave up a single up the middle to score two. The lead is now 9-5 and Miller’s night is over quickly.

Mark Melancon replaced Miller and promptly gave up a ground rule double and a single and the Royals scored two more runs. The lead is now a slim 9-7 and Melancon’s night is over even quicker.

Craig Breslow relieved Melancon in an attempt to stop the bleeding but couldn’t get it under control. He gave up a triple that scored yet another two runs and now the game is tied. Breslow manages to get out of the inning but the damage has been done. I want to throw up.

The Red Sox had their best chance to win the game in the bottom of the 10th when Pedro Ciriaco lead the inning off with a single and moved up to second on a wild pitch. Scott Podsednik sacrificed Ciriaco to third and Dustin Pedroia was intentionally walked. With one out, Jacoby Ellsbury had the chance to be the hero but could manage just a ground ball to second base and Ciriaco was gunned down at the plate. That’s as close as they would get to scoring.

In the top of the twelfth, Junichi Tazawa gave up a two out double and a single for the Royals’ go ahead run. And that’s all she wrote. The Sox are once again unable to come back as they fizzle out in their final at bat. Click here for the disastrous box score, courtesy of the losing team.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say I’m probably not the only one who thinks this constant losing crap is getting really old. It just gets harder and harder to actually take this team seriously. This afternoon Felix Doubront is back on the mound after a knee injury has kept him benched since August 9th. And he hasn’t won a game since July 18th. I’m not optimistic.

*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.

Once a month, we’re going to try to take a step back and take stock of what the bigger picture looks like for the Boston Red Sox.

April 2012: the bigger picture’s a little blurry.  It’s definitely no DaVinci, and it probably doesn’t belong in an art museum.  I think that a lot of people still aren’t really sure what this team has in it.  But one thing’s for sure: so far, the Red Sox haven’t impressed in the long term.  Sure, there are dominant streaks here and there – the Sox blew out a few teams, won a lot of games in a row after a truly dismal start – but still on May 4, we’re looking at a team that’s two games under .500, last in the ultra-competitive AL East, and staring up a steep six-game deficit to first-place Tampa.  The Yankees are in fourth, and Toronto and Baltimore probably won’t last in the third and second spots, respectively, but that doesn’t make me feel mounds better.  Even if the Sox scramble into third place, third place in the AL East is the first loser in playoff contention.

Starting pitching: here’s what worries me about the starting pitching.  They’re working through their fifth turn in the rotation, and none of the Red Sox front five have an ERA under 4.00.  Josh Beckett’s averaging around 6.2 innings pitched per start (32.1 innings pitched), and Jon Lester’s at around 6.1 (31.0 innings pitched), but that’s about as good as it gets.  What that means is, to put it simply, that five turns in, the starting rotation hasn’t been able to put together consistent quality starts.

Clay Buchholz, especially, is getting beat up.  Even though he leads the team with three wins (and as we all know from the Felix Hernandez Cy Young discussion, wins are pretty irrelevant in evaluating an individual pitcher’s success), his 8.69 ERA reflects the fact that he’s let up seven home runs (tying Beckett for a team high) and struck out far fewer batters than many of his rotation buddies.  There’s no denying that Buchholz has the talent to make him an outstanding pitcher.  But, it’s been what, five years since he first got his shot at the Red Sox rotation?  At one point is an ERA over 8.00 just not acceptable for a number three starter?  He’s not a rookie, and he’s had plenty of chances to ease in to the big leagues.

Meanwhile, the Daniel Bard Experiment appears to be working out.  Bard, you’ll recall, was the focus of the entire organization’s existential crisis once presumptive closer Andrew Bailey went down with a thumb injury the day before the regular season started.  So far, though, he’s proved an admirable starter, especially for a starter just starting to start.  His 4.38 ERA leads the starting staff, and he’s only allowed one home run so far this year (compare that to Beckett’s seven, for example).  Felix Doubront’s also been a pleasant surprise.  I mean, he’s a fourth starter who has an ERA just over 5.00 and basically always gives the team a chance to hit their way to a win – what else can we really ask for from a pitcher who is just easing his way into the major leagues?

Bullpen: Let’s just get the easy one off the board first.  Remember Mark Melancon, he of the two-inning, eleven run, 49.50 ERA fame?  That was fun, wasn’t it?  Remember how he was the Astros’ closer, and a pretty good one at that, last year?  Remember how he used to pitch for the Yankees here and there, and he was decent?  Yeah.  That was fun.  Remember when people thought maybe he should be the closer, or maybe the eighth inning guy?

Anyway.  So far, Bobby Valentine’s gotten the most work out of Scott Atchison, Matt Albers, Vicente Padilla, and Franklin Morales, followed by Junichi Tazawa (sent down to AAA a few days ago) and Justin Thomas (in Pawtucket following a terrible start and a Rich Hill callup).  Atchison and Albers definitely lead the pack here – Atchison’s logged a 1.88 ERA over 14.1 innings of work, and Albers is close behind with a 1.80 ERA over ten innings.

Now, here’s where things get interesting – Padilla has an 8.00 ERA.  That’s really not good, especially not for a bullpen pitcher who gets regular work.  Morales is better, with a 4.32 ERA; but still, I think we can easily make the point that once we get past the solid Atchison and Albers, hold on to your hats.  And the closer!  Whoo!  Alfredo Aceves had a rough start.  I think that, you probably think that, I’m sure Ace himself thinks that.  We’re reminded that he came to spring training intending to start, found out that he was apparently just a pawn in the Daniel Bard as starter idea, got put in the bullpen, and then ingloriously became the closer when Bailey went down.  Given all that capital-D Drama, Aceves has done all right for himself lately.  He has five saves in seven chances, so he’s getting the job done.  He’ll never make the Hall of Fame for the ninth inning, but it seems like he’s a serviceable option until Bailey gets back.

Offense: The good news is, there are two very bright spots in the Boston offense.  David Ortiz and Ryan Sweeney have been mashing.  Currently, Ortiz is fifth in baseball in batting average (.391), second in doubles (11), sixth in OBP (.441), and fourth in slugging percentage (.707).  Not too bad, big guy.  Sweeney’s seventh in batting average (.361) and first in doubles (12).

After that, the Red Sox regulars seem kind of just that – regular.  Dustin Pedroia’s been getting it done as expected (.294/.339/.471), and unexpected leadoff man Mike Aviles has emerged as a force (.281/.317/.500).  Cody Ross has five home runs, and he’s hit some of them in some pretty clutch situations.

Other than that, there’s really not too much to get excited about so far.  Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s started to turn his early-season black hole around, and he’s currently batting .241.  After the .070 I saw on the Fenway scoreboard with my own eyes, I’ll take a .240 average.  Kevin Youkilis has, it seems, been hurt – he’s on the DL now (hi there, Will Middlebrooks!) with a bad back and a .219 average.  Because he’s hurt, we’ll give Youk a pass.

You know who we can’t really give a pass to?  Adrian Gonzalez.  This guy – with the perfect Fenway swing, the huge contract, the Big Excitement – is hitting .250.  He has a middling five doubles, only two home runs (on pace for what, 12?) and 20 strikeouts.  That’s not very good.  What’s up, Adrian?  Not only is he not getting the big hits we were promised – he’s really not getting any hits.  The offense needs someone else to step up: it can’t rely on an aging Ortiz, a Sweeney who is playing way over his head, and Pedroia and Aviles all year.  It needs a steadying force, and I nominate Gonzalez.

Managing: Bobby Valentine’s been interesting.  He’s no Terry Francona, that’s for sure.  I have to think that the Sox knew what they were getting into with him – a history of poor media relations, disguises in the dugout, of not getting along with some players, and of general non-Titoness.  But, maybe that’s what the Red Sox thought they needed.  And, maybe it’s still what they need.  It remains to be seen.  Bobby’s made some terrible bullpen decisions so far, and he posted a lineup based on a misunderstanding as to whether an opposing pitcher was a lefty or a righty a few games ago, but let’s give him some credit.  He willingly took on a difficult, fractured clubhouse in an intense organization, and he’s doing his best to turn it around.  And, he can’t swing the bat or throw the ball for the players.

Maybe, after all the hype, the big names, the long contracts, maybe this year’s version of the Boston Red Sox just isn’t that good.  Maybe after we look at the statistics, the personalities, the slowly-withering crowds (don’t let the “sellout streak” fool you – as the Globe pointed out this morning, it’s manufactured, and owes a lot to team personnel giving tickets away for free at the last minute), we’re just led to one simple conclusion: this team doesn’t have what it takes.  If it does, it needs to start showing that soon.  As Yogi Berra said, it gets late early out there.  We can look at injuries – sure, a healthy Jacoby Ellsbury and Carl Crawford would probably help – but all teams deal with injuries.  It’s only May, but it’s already May.

The Red Sox fell back below .500 last night, losing to the Oakland Athletics 5-3.  Felix Doubront went a season-low four innings for Boston, allowing five runs on six hits with two walks, two wild pitches (one scoring a run), and eight strikeouts.  The eight strikeouts was a career high for Doubront, but overall, this was a pretty lackluster outing.

And, the weather was gross last night.  I didn’t go to the game, but it seems like half my facebook feed goes to each game.  If anyone wants a collection of misty, foggy, Scottish moor-like pictures of Fenway Park with people bundled up with forced smiles plastered onto their faces, I am happy to oblige.

Maybe this was just one of those games.  Doubront – who, let’s remember, is still young and unseasoned – had clear issues with his control against the A’s, who aren’t exactly what one would call an offensive juggernaut.  But it’s not as if the offense was putting up numbers either.  Oakland rookie Jarrod Parker pitched 6 2/3 innings, during which the Boston offense could only put up one run in four hits, with two walks and four strikeouts.

But, in the bottom of the ninth inning, the weather cleared, the sun came out, the birds started singing – almost.  The Red Sox saw a glimmer of hope when they loaded the bases against Oakland closer Grant Balfour with one out.  Cody Ross hit a double, Marlon Byrd hit a single, and Mike Aviles hit a 2-RBI single to pull the score to 5-3.  Oakland pulled Balfour with two on and one out.  Jordan Norberto struck out an overmatched Lars Anderson, and then got Dustin Pedroia to ground out to end the game.

Aviles, who sounds like he’s quickly becoming a leader on the team, saw the loss in a positive light because of the fight-back ninth.  He told the Boston Globe:

“It showed a lot about the character of this team. We’re not going to give up. We’re going to go out there and just try keep fighting. We’re down 5-1; it’s very easy to fold. Get three quick outs and take it to the house. It’s cold weather, nasty weather.’’

In other news, Jose Iglesias, the spring training shortstop phenom, was called up from Pawtucket yesterday, presumably to counter Kevin Youkilis’s third straight day out of the lineup with a back injury.  Bullpen pitcher Junichi Tazawa was sent down.

Here’s a link to last night’s box score, courtesy of the Red Sox. Tonight, Brandon McCarthy (1-3, 3.23 ERA) and Daniel Bard (2-2, 3.72 ERA) match up for a 7:10 start.

Before I delve into recapping last night’s game, I just want to throw out a big Get Well Soon to Jerry Remy who has been noticeable absent from the broadcast booth these past few games. Not that Don Orsillo doesn’t do a fabulous job, and the replacements (Nick Cafardo, Peter Abraham and Peter Gammons) have done fine providing lots of great stats and info, but I miss Jerry. It makes me nervous when he’s out — I hate the thought of him missing the majority of the season like he did a few years ago. Those were dark days… So come back soon, Remdawg!

Ok… let’s get down to business. The Red Sox beat the Oakland A’s last night 11-6, once again unleashing an offensive onslaught that bailed out some less than impressive pitching. Mike Aviles, Darnell McDonald and David Ortiz all bashed home runs (Ortiz hit two) to power the team to the win and back to .500. The Sox had two big innings – the second and the fifth.

I bet Big Papi feels like he's batting with a tennis racket!

Ortiz lead off the second inning with a solo home run. After Kelly Shoppach struck out, McDonald hit a double to right field. Marlon Byrd, Aviles and Pedroia all had singles and Adrian Gonzalez reached on a throwing error. In the end, the Sox pushed four runs over the plate in the second, and took the lead for good at 4-1. Ortiz and Aviles both homered in the fifth to finish off the scoring and giving the Red Sox a commanding 11-1 lead. Safe, right?

Well, that’s where Clay Buccholz comes in. Through the first six innings, he looked… not bad. He allowed one run on four hits while striking out five and walking three. Not horrible. But then the seventh inning rolled around and the wheels fell off the bus in a hurry. I can’t stomach reliving the mess that ensued so I’m just going to giving you the results — he gave up five runs to bring the A’s to within striking distance. Are you kidding me? According to Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe, Monday night Clay Buchholz became the first Red Sox pitcher to give up five or more earned runs in five consecutive starts in 72 years. Not a good stat to be known for and his ERA is now at 8.69.

Junichi Tazawa and Vicente Padilla finished off the seventh without further damage. Scott Atchison and Franklin Morales combined for a scoreless eight and Alredo Aceves closed out the ninth, striking out two of the three batters he faced. This entire pitching staff baffles me.

Here’s the link to the box, courtesy of the Red Sox. Felix Doubront takes on the A’s tonight, going for his second win. First pitch is at 7:10pm. Here’s hoping May kicks off a little better than April did!

In other news…

On Sunday, the Red Sox six-game winning streak came to an end in the final game of their series with the Chicago White Sox. The bats never got going enough to get Josh Beckett the run support he needed and they lost 4-1. It was a tough loss for Beckett, but again, it’s not like he’s pitching lights out either… Here’s the link to the box for this game, courtesy of the Red Sox.

Also, today is the deadline for the Red Sox to make a decision on what to do with Aaron Cook who, after five games with AAA Pawtucket, is 3-0 with a 1.89 ERA. If they don’t promote him to the big leagues, he could opt-out of his contract and go elsewhere. At this point in the season, the Red Sox can’t afford to lose a promising arm and could be used in the bullpen or as a spot starter when needed.

Kevin Youkilis (Keith Allison, c/o flickr.com)

Except this. The Boston Red Sox have not won four straight games since early August, 2011. Could this is the beginning of this team pulling themselves up by their bootstraps and playing some ball? Even the pitching was… not scary last night. I’m trying to be a glass-half-full kind of gal this morning, bear with me.

Once again, offense was the story in the Red Sox 10-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox last night, spoiling Philip Humber’s chance to pitch a second straight perfect game. *giggles* In the past four games, the Sox have scored 34 runs on 52 hits, and last night, Kevin Youkilis finally made himself heard by going 3 for 4 with a grand slam and 4 RBI leading the team to the win. Did someone tell Kevin that Will Middlebrooks has hit 9 home runs so far this season in Pawtucket? Was that the motivating factor? Whatever it was, it needs to keep happening. We really need Youk to not suck this year.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia also continues to tear it up hitting two four-baggers last night. He ended the night 2 for 4 with three RBI and has managed to raise his average to .261. Remember what Becca said yesterday about last Friday’s game? He was hitting under .100 before that game. This makes me happy because I like this kid (maybe it’s because his hair is very Boober Fraggle-ish. I loved that show when I was a kid!)

The third inning proved to be the biggest of the night when Ryan Sweeney lead off the inning with yet another double. Dustin Pedroia and Adrian Gonzalez both drew walks, loading up the bases. Youkilis smacked it over the right field fence for the second grand slam of his career. Salty followed up with his first homer of the night.

Felix Doubront got the win last night scattering five hits and three runs over six innings. Junichi Tazawa relieved Doubront and pitched a scoreless 7-8-9 for the save. After some of the bullpen meltdowns we’ve seen over the last couple of weeks, I find it hard to believe that this same ‘pen has a 0.80 ERA over the last four games.

Here’s the box, courtesy of the Red Sox. Tonight Daniel Bard (1-2, 4.38) takes the hill against John Danks (2-2, 5.11). Bard might be another one feeling someone breathing down his neck. Pawtucket’s Aaron Cook is 3-0 with a 1.33 ERA in his four starts. It’s only a matter of time before the Sox start seriously considering moving this kid up. Bard needs to kick it up a notch.

On another note: the Carl Crawford news is not good. He has “been diagnosed with an ulnar collateral ligament sprain in his left elbow and will be shut down from baseball activity, the Red Sox announced Thursday.” Word on the street is that he could be out for at least three months. Now is this bad news? Really? It is for the Red Sox front office who gave this guy a ridiculous contract and now seem to be hemorrhaging money every day he’s not in the line up. But for fans, it’s probably good news with the offense doing just fine without him.

The Red Sox lost their third straight game last night, falling 6-3 to the Texas Rangers.  With the loss, the Sox drop to 4-8, good for last place in the AL East heading into this weekend’s series against the New York Yankees.

Fenway Park, April 18, 2012 (credit: Amanda Laws)

I place the blame for this one squarely on the bullpen, and on Boston’s continued anemic offense with runners in scoring position.  Josh Beckett wasn’t perfect by any means last night, but he did his job.  He threw seven innings and struck out seven while giving up only three runs, largely care of a two-run home run by Mike Napoli in the fourth inning that scored David Murphy.  The third run came when Ian Kinsler scored after drawing a walk – consecutive base hits by Elvis Andrus and Josh Hamilton brought Kinsler around.  Andrus tried to stretch his single into a double and got thrown out at second – lucky for the Red Sox, since Adrian Beltre hit a followup base hit that probably would have scored Andrus, otherwise.

So, what happened?  You guessed it – the bullpen couldn’t hold the American League champion’s offense late in the game.  Franklin Morales came in for Beckett in the eighth inning, and promptly gave up a single to Hamilton, an intentional walk to Beltre, and an UN-intentional walk to Nelson Cruz.

With the bases loaded, I turned to my seatmate and told her to get ready to run, becasuse if Franklin Morales walked in a run, the crowd might riot.  Luckily for us, Morales didn’t walk in a run – he kept it efficient, and hit pinch hitter Craig Gentry on the foot instead, scoring the Rangers’ fourth run.  The boos.  Oh, the boos.  Napoli poured lemon juice in the wound by knocking a double to right field in the next at-bat, scoring two more to make the score 6-2.

With one out, Morales intentionally walked Mitch Moreland, before finally inducing Brandon Snyder to hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the eighth.  Matt Albers came in to take over in the ninth, and he pitched a pretty clean frame.  But, the damage had been done care of the disastrous eighth inning.

Meanwhile, the Sox bats were quiet again.  A David Ortiz double and Kevin Youkilis home run in the second inning gave Boston two of its three runs.  By the way, the crowd absolutely loves Kevin Youkilis, who was batting sixth, his lowest spot in the order since 2008.  And I quote the guy behind me, as Youkilis’s shot cleared the Green Monster and hit the light tower in left-center field – “take THAT, Valentine!”

The only other Boston run came in the bottom of the ninth off Texas closer Joe Nathan.  Cody Ross drew a leadoff walk.  Ortiz struck out, but Youkilis kept the game going when he got on base due to a Beltre throwing error from third to first, moving Ross to third base.  Ryan Sweeney pinch hit for Kelly Shoppach and scored Ross on a single.  At this point, about one quarter of the fans had left Fenway, but those that stayed almost had some… hope?  They were doing the thing where they banged on the walls, which I’ve never seen in person before.  Unfortunately, the banging on the walls didn’t help – Jarrod Saltalamacchia pinch-hit for Darnell McDonald and lined out to first base – and because Sweeney had to break for second on the hit towards right field, he didn’t tag up and was caught off first base for the last out.

Nathan’s ninth inning was actually the rockiest inning for the Rangers pitching last night.  Prior to Nathan’s ninth inning, Alexi Ogando pitched a 1-2-3 eighth, after taking over for Rangers starter Derek Holland, who went seven innings, striking out seven and only giving up the two runs that Youkilis sent over the Monster.

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

In other news, injured center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury, who subluxated his right shoulder during Fenway Park’s home opener, opened up to reporters about his injury.  According to Ellsbury, he’s icing, then rehabbing, and there’s no timetable set yet for his return.  I heard a whispered rumor yesterday (literally, my co-worker whispered it to me) that the Sox were looking hard at journeyman outfielder Scott Podsednik, which could indicate that Boston’s not comfortable with waiting for both Ellsbury and Carl Crawford to return with the personnel they have.  Ellsbury did, though, rule out surgery, confirming that it’s not needed:

“We ruled it out. As of right now, I’m focused on getting my work in and getting back as soon as possible,” he said. “I’ll be playing this year, hopefully sooner than later.”

Oh, and, to nobody’s surprise, Mark Melancon was sent to Pawtucket following his disastrous Tuesday night outing.  Junichi Tazawa was called up to take his place.  Melancon has talent, but it appears he needs regular work in order to get through whatever it is that’s bothering him lately.

The Red Sox have an off day today.  They’ll kick off a series with the New York Yankees on Friday for the 100th anniversary game at Fenway Park.  Stacy and I will both be there, and we’re excited to celebrate with Red Sox Nation and commemorate the historic event for all of you.  Right now, Clay Buchholz is scheduled to face off against New York’s Ivan Nova.

There’s not much to report out of Red Sox camp yesterday.  One day after Jon Lester was named Opening Day starter, he coughed up four runs on eight hits in only three innings against the Pittsburgh Pirates, leading to a 6-5 Boston loss.  All the runs came in the third inning, but the basepaths were busy for Lester during his whole day.

But, Lester put a positive spin on the beating, telling the Boston Globe that he “was able to really repeat some things” he’d been working on:

“I don’t think there’s anything we need to address. I felt really sound and in good position when I threw the ball. Just that little bit under it with my fastball. Instead of being at the knees I was at the thigh.”

On the bright side, Jarrod Saltalamacchia launched a home run in the fourth inning, and Adrian Gonzalez knocked in an RBI double in the fifth.  They each went 2-for-3 on the day.  On the not-so-bright side, Andrew Miller gave up a two-run home run in the seventh inning to put the Bucs up for good.

Jose Iglesias, c/o baseballinstinct.com

One of the highlights yesterday was Jose Iglesias’s continued dazzling defensive play (offensively, it’s pretty clear he needs some more work before he hits the majors).  In the fourth inning, with one out and a Pirate runner on second, Josh Harrison hit a ball back to Red Sox pitcher Junichi Tazawa.  The Pirate runner got caught off second base.  Tazawa ran at the runner and got him to commit to third base, before he tossed the ball to Iglesias, who was more than halfway between second and third.  Iglesias put a quick tag on the runner, and then made a blind, backhanded flip back to second base in time to nab Harrison for the double play.

Kevin Youkilis approved.  “He’s unique defensively,’’ Youkilis said. “He’s going to do things you don’t normally see. He can play in the majors, as long as he doesn’t put too much pressure on himself. A guy like Iggy can be there because he has the confidence in himself and in his ability. He just needs to play solid baseball.”

Youkilis compared Iglesias to Texas Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus.  “[Andrus] isn’t going to hit many home runs,” Youkilis argued, “and he’s very valuable.  We’re going back to what shortstops used to be.”

Tonight, the Red Sox take on the Yankees in Fort Myers.  7:05 start.