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 don’t think anyone really had any written-in-stone prediction about what Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington was going to do this offseason, except: something.  There’s no way Cherington could have just let things lie the way they were left when the season ended.

Now, at the close of the Winter Meetings, we’re starting to see some answers, and maybe a glimpse of how Cherington plans on managing the Sox roster during his time at the helm of this shaky, leaky, but still storied and serviceable ship.

So far, what we’ve seen: Cherington will sign decent, capable, solid players, but none of them will knock your socks off, get you Really Excited, or wake Red Sox Nation up from its hibernation full of Patriots games and Rondo suspensions.

Jonny Gomes, for example.  Cherington signed Gomes to a two-year, $20 million dollar deal just before Thanksgiving.  Red Sox fans probably know Gomes best from his early-career tenure with Tampa Bay.  The 32-year old corner outfielder’s since spent time in the National League, before he played with Oakland last season.  He’s… decent.  Fine.  He has a mid-.200 batting average, he gets around the bases, and he plays good defense.  He has some power, but he’s not the guy you expect to move runners.

Personality-wise, Gomes kind of strikes me as a poor man’s Dustin Pedroia: Wikipedia describes him as having hustle, playing aggressively, and of being that intangible baseball quality of “gritty.”  He holds the Tampa Bay record of being hit by pitches, which he set when Josh Beckett (who else, really?) plunked him back in 2007.  He’s also been right in the middle of two fights that stick out in my mind: the spring training brawl with New York’s Shelley Duncan in 2008, and the Coco Crisp-led melee on the mound during a Tampa-Boston series in June, 2008.

Mike Napoli – I’ve always kind of liked Mike Napoli.  It’s true – I think I liked him because he always seemed to come up with the big hit late in the game, he always seems to beat out the tag on a crucial play at the plate, and he just seems like a guy who will leave it all on the field, every day.  He’s agreed to a three-year, $39 million deal with the Sox, where he’s expected to play first base (but, the fact that he’s also a veteran catcher who could dust off his mitt and get behind the plate in a pinch should get Ryan Lavarnway thinking about where he’s going to be traded to).

Napoli’s a solid American League guy.  His entire major league career’s been in Anaheim and Texas, and he’s been a key part of those clubs.  He’ll probably be good for 30 home runs and 80 RBI, which will give a nice boost to the Red Sox lineup.

Shane Victorino – the Flyin’ Hawaiian, according to his Twitter (@ShaneVictorino).  The outfielder also signed a three-year, $39 million deal.  You know this guy.  He’s been all over the league, and he’s always contributed.  The All-Star probably hit his peak in 2008, when he and the Phillies charged through the postseason to win the World Series.  But, he’s still a power, and it will be fun to see him play in Fenway.  I saw him on an episode of that show with Kate Gosselin and her eight children (Kate and Eight?), where he met all the children and was absolutely charming with them.  I suspect he’ll be one of those “clubhouse guys” that we all know Boston has had a dearth of lately.

Victorino has a 162-game, .275 batting average.  He’ll probably get on base a lot, hit with power when it counts, and be a quick fan favorite.

So, those three sound fun.  Unfortunately, none of those three happen to be starting pitchers.  Are the Sox planning on doing anything about the complete disaster that was the 2012 pitching staff?  Like, seriously?  Starting pitching is going to be the key – Gomes, Napoli and Victorino are good additions, but they won’t be able to keep baseballs from flying over their heads and into the stands at Fenway.

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.

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.

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.

The Red Sox came out strong yesterday in the Bronx, beating the Yankees 4-1 in a nationally-televised game.  Jon Lester put up seven strong innings, allowing five hits, one run (a Curtis Granderson solo shot) and striking out four while allowing only two walks.  Honestly, I didn’t think he’d pitch this well, especially since he let the leadoff guy get on base in each of the first two innings.  But, he turned it around, and the Sox lineup helped him out.  Adrian Gonzalez ripped a first-inning two-run bomb to set the tone, and Nick Punto scored Pedro Ciriaco on an RBI single in the fifth inning.  The Sox tacked on an insurance run when Scott Podednik scored on a wild pitch from Cody Eppley in the ninth inning.

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

Ciriaco went 4-for-4.  What is it with this kid?  And, Punto had a great day at third base – he flashed the leather a couple of times.

Also, a moment of excitement in my house: when Craig Breslow came on to pitch in the eighth inning, Breslow and batterymate Ryan Lavarnway formed the first all-Yale University alumni battery in the major leagues since 1883.  As the wife of an especially enthusiastic Yalie, this was a Very Big Deal, and we spent most of the time Breslow and Lavarnway used inducing Robinson Cano to hit into a double play facebooking about it.  For God, For Country, And For Yale, and all that.

Here’s a link to the respectable box score, courtesy of the Red Sox.  In tonight’s rubber game, Josh Beckett (or, as McCarver called him yesterday, John Beckett) and his 5-10 record and 5.19 ERA take on Hiroki Kuroda (11-8, 3.06 ERA).

Two other items of note from yesterday:

First, the Globe reports that within the next few days, Carl Crawford will ask the Red Sox for permission to get Tommy John surgery next week.  Crawford’s been playing better lately, but he’ll be the first to tell you that he’s in pain.  There’s a balance that it seems like Crawford’s trying to strike here, between playing through pain if the team’s in contention for a postseason spot (which they are, barely), and thinking of what’s best for his own health if they’re not (which I think is also ok – he does have his own career and well-being to think about, which I can’t say I blame him for).  He tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow in April, and since then he’s received a platelet injection that lets him play through the pain – but that’s never been seen as a permanent fix.

Second, the New York Daily News puts an interesting spin on the ongoing Adrian Gonzalez text message drama: apparently, you see, it was recently-traded backup catcher Kelly Shoppach’s fault.  Kelly Shoppach, who had clashed with Bobby Valentine over his playing time earlier this year, apparently sent the text message to ownership from Adrian Gonzalez’s cell phone.  It sounds like a group of players – probably none of them the impact players that could actually get ownership’s attention – became unhappy with Valentine’s style and convinced Gonzalez to let them use his phone to send the text.  Gonzalez is the highest-paid player on the team, and they apparently thought that a text coming from him would actually have some heft behind it.

So, looks like both the instigator and the leak are Kelly Shoppach.  Or at least, that’s what the Sox would have you believe, since nobody, including Gonzalez or Shoppach, care to talk about the incident any more.  Isn’t that convenient – let’s all just blame the backup catcher after he’s been shipped out of town.

I still think the larger issue is that there’s an issue at all – it’s not who told on who, or who covers for who, or who has the bigger salary and more sway over the ownership.  Fact is, this clubhouse is still in disarray, and blaming Kelly Shoppach for all the team’s problems is shortsighted, inaccurate, and will only take the Sox as far as the next blowup.

Watching the Red Sox this year, I feel like I know what it’s like to be a hamster: you spend all this time and energy running, sprinting even, on this wheel, to the point of exhaustion.  Once in a while, you’ll get a little bit ahead of gravity and start to run up the side of the wheel a little bit – look, you can see the sky!  Once in a while, you’ll stop for a quick breath and get spun around backwards like you’re on a roller coaster.  And at the end, you look down and, despite all the energy, twists, turns and exertion, you’ve gone absolutely nowhere.  And you live in a clear box covered in sawdust with (at least if you were my childhood hamsters) the constant threat of love from a six-year-old girl hanging over your head (think Lenny from Of Mice and Men), but that’s a different post.

Like, this week.  The Red Sox went every which way, like a hamster on a wheel.  They got a little ahead of the game. they got spun around in a few circles.  They faced down a trading deadline.  They got a little bit lucky.  They got two-hit.

And after all that, they’re still at .500, stuck at the bottom of the wheel with nothing but some sawdust and the faltering Toronto Blue  Jays to keep them company.

We begin on Tuesday night.  The Red Sox, fresh off a pretty quiet trading deadline (the Sox traded for Arizona’s Craig Breslow, a former Sox reliever and former Yalie – this led to some pretty hilarious but moderately unprintable FakePeteGammons tweets about an Eli tandem of Breslow and AAA callup Ryan Lavarnway perfecting their pitching and catching technique), threw Josh Beckett against the powerful Detroit Tigers and Justin Verlander.  Beckett had been the subject of some pretty pervasive trade rumors, so it was poetic, almost that he took the hill that night.

And, Beckett pitched well.  For 2 2/3 innings, that is, before he left the game with back spasms.

Great, right?  He’s not on the DL, but murmurs from the Red Sox higher-ups are that Beckett won’t make his next scheduled start this weekend.  The Red Sox went on to win the rain-shortened game.  The umps called it in the top of sixth inning, when Detroit had the bases loaded with two outs and the go-ahead run at the plate.  Which is probably lucky for the Red Sox, honestly – I don’t see that ending well had the skies not literally opened up and started dumping water everywhere.  Call me crazy, but I don’t have a lot of faith in Boston’s ability to battle back against that situation this year.

Wednesday night, the Sox staked the Tigers to a 6-1 lead by the fifth inning, before battling back to make an exciting game out of an ultimate 7-5 loser.  The Sox ended their four-game win streak, but did manage to take two out of three from the Tigers series.  Aaron Cook really spit the bit on this one – the starting pitcher hasn’t performed well over his last three starts.  Maybe now that Craig Breslow is here to shore up the bullpen, we can explore the Franklin-Morales-in-the-rotation idea again?

Last night was just… pitiful.  There, I said it.  The Sox lost to the Minnesota Twins – the MINNESOTA TWINS – 5-0, and got two-hit along the way.  Minnesota’s Samuel Deduno just absolutely stymied the Sox lineup over six innings, in only his fifth major league start.  The only Red Sox player who could figure him out was Adrian Gonzalez, who notched both hits.  There’s just nothing else to say – it was a frustrating game, and the Sox left very little to show for themselves.  Jon Lester had yet another tough-luck quality start.  Maybe this team just can’t get it together for Lester.  That happens – teams will score bunches of runs for some pitchers (like Clay Buchholz) and then peter out behind some other pitchers – but it’s frustrating to watch.  Lester’s thrown 11 quality starts this year, but he only has five wins.  If anything, given this lineup’s supposed power and consistency on paper, those numbers should be reversed, and the lineup should be able to pick up an occasional bad day by an ace pitcher.  Here, though, it’s like Lester is slaving away in some small-market stadium, putting up good numbers but never getting the run support he needs to actually win a game.

Ugh.  Back at .500, and now it’s August.  Still stuck on the wheel, covered in sawdust.

Felix Doubront (10-5, 4.37 ERA) takes on Brian Duensing (2-6, 4.53 ERA) tonight at Fenway.  The Twins are one of only five teams in the American League with a worse record than the Sox – so maybe we can, I don’t know, beat them?  Or at least, score a run?

Admit it, you feel this way too.

What the bloody hell is going on with this Red Sox pitching staff?

First Andrew Bailey has a thumb injury… and then, as if it’s some sort of thumb virus, it hits Beckett too. And now the report coming out of the Boston Globe? Andrew Bailey now might need surgery on his bad thumb. He’ll be making a trip to visit a hand specialist in Cleveland tomorrow to get another opinion. I really hope this opinion says no surgery because at this point, our pitching staff is going to hell in a handbasket fast.

Bobby V. appears a bit worried too.

 

“When a player is injured I always am very concerned and always try to make alternative plans. If he jumps right back in, then I’m pleasantly surprised,” he said “When guys are hurt, they’re hurt and he couldn’t pitch for a couple of days, you know? I’m not sure how long.”

(Huh? Is it just me or does this quote make it seem that maybe English isn’t Bobby’s first language? Weird…)

So it looks like closing duties will fall to Mark Melancon for the first part of the season, especially if Beckett sits out a few starts and Alfredo Aceves needs to fill his shoes. That’s no problem. Melancon swims with sharks for crying out loud… this closer’s gig should be a breeze.

On a more positive note, the Red Sox ended their spring training schedule with a 4-2 win over the Washington Nationals. Aaron Cook, who was assigned to Pawtucket just yesterday, pitched 5 strong innings, giving up just 1 run on 2 hits while lowering his spring ERA to 1.88. I bet Coach Beyeler down in Pawtucket is licking his chops at the talent he’ll be getting to start his season. But depending on what happens with this thumb virus, Cook could be heading up I-95 before he even makes a start for the Paw Sox.

Adrian Gonzalez looks ready to pick up right where he left off last year going 2 for 2 against the Nats and raising his spring average to .357. Of the three stars for the Sox over the past two months — Darnell McDonald (.472 BA, 1.398 OPS), Pedro Ciriaco (.429 BA, 1.121 OPS) and Ryan Lavarnway (.429 BA, .974 OPS) — only one, McDonald, sits poised to start the season in Boston. Like I said… the folks in Pawtucket are salivating!

The team will make just one more stop before Opening Day — an exhibition game in DC against the Nationals. And then it’s off to the Motor City for a 3-game series against the Tigers to kick off the 2012 season! Yeehaw!

See that? I couldn’t even be bothered to mention the Red Sox game against Tampa Bay Rays today. Wanna know why? Because I almost died of boredom just reading the recap. Bobby V. left the starters behind and fielded a team of minor leaguers and back ups to face the Rays. The game was called after nine innings and ended in a 7-7 tie. *yawn*

Even this little guy thought it was a real yawner.

The more exciting news of the day? The Sox will finally be announcing the pitching rotation to start the season on Sunday. I’m literally breathless with anticipation! I mean sure, we know Lester, Beckett and Buccholz are definites, but it’s that elusive #4 and #5 starters that we’re all dying to hear about. My money is on Daniel Bard (despite his dismal performance this spring) and Felix Doubront (who had great spring with a 2.79 ERA in 16.2 innings.)

Alfredo Aceves and Aaron Cook are also in the running but I think Bobby will put Aceves in the bullpen where he helped immensely last year, especially in long relief. Not sure what will happen to Cook. Pawtucket perhaps?

The Sox also have yet to fill the 25th spot on the roster and Valentine claims it will be a position player rather than another pitcher. Utility guys, Pedro Ciriaco (who hit .400 this spring) and Nate Spears, and outfielder Jason Repko are rumored to be in the running. Unfortunately (and wrongly if you ask me), Ryan Lavarnway is not. This makes me sad. Lavarnway has been impressive with the bat, hitting .429 this spring. (For the record, Shoppach is only hitting .250.) I predict he’s going to see some time in Fenway this year, and as usual, he will shine.

Jon Lester finished up his spring workout today pitching in a minor league game. He threw 57 pitches, 41 for strikes, and gave up 3 singles and a walk while striking out 6. He looks ready for Opening Day #2 to me. And it sounds like he is too according to WEEI.com.

“Just the experience of knowing what to expect. I think there’s a learning curve to pitch Opening Day that a lot of peopole don’t understand,” Lester said. “It’s just something you have to experience to get better at. Hopefully this year will go a little better than last year.”

A little? Lester allowed 5 runs (3 home runs) in 5 1/3 innings as the Sox lost to the Texas Rangers 9-5 in the first of 6 losses to open the 2011 season. Yeah… I sort of really don’t want that to happen again this year.

Five more days! Five more days!

Red Sox fans have experienced a mixed bag of outcomes over the past few Grapefruit League games. Some of them good, some of them not so good. And one was just downright gross. How many more days until the season starts? Spring training is really starting to tick me off.

Possibly overshadowed by Bobby Jenks’ trouble with the law, the Red Sox played to a less than satisfying 4-4 tie with the Yankees on Thursday night. After seven scoreless innings, the Sox plated three in the 8th to close the gap within a run. And then in the 9th, Ryan Sweeney scored the tying run on a squeeze play (oh how I love the squeeze! But rather than play the 10th inning, Yankees manager, Joe Girardi, claimed to be low on pitching and asked that the game end after the 9th. I’m pretty sure he was just scared of those surging Sox. Sissy.

On Friday, the Sox fell short to the O’s 6-5 on a pretty poor performance by Clay Buccholz. He gave up five runs in five innings including two 2-run homers. Not good. In his first three spring starts he allowed just three runs on seven hits in ten innings. The bright spot of the game was a 3 for 3 performance by Darnell McDonald who increased his spring average to .500.
» Continue reading “Red Sox: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly…”