The Boston Red Sox were unceremoniously swept by the Kansas City Royals last Sunday and in writing the recap of that giant suck-fest, I happened to mention something about how the Sox were kicking the crap out of the Oakland A’s and holy crap, I almost jinxed their win. Whoa…that was scary. So I’m been keeping my mouth shut this week and trying not to gloat too much about things like the Red Sox currently having the best record in baseball. But I don’t often get to gloat about best records, so I’m officially gloating…if only for a short time.

It’s been quite a week for the Red Sox—since the double crappy loss on Sunday, they’ve gone 6-1 and welcomed the Houston Astros to the American League with a good ol’ four-game sweep. That’s what you call Boston Strong, people!

Monday, April 22: Red Sox 9 : A’s 6
Felix Doubront pitched 6.2 innings, giving up just three earned runs and striking out eight to earn his second win of the season. The Sox offense exploded for five runs in the 5th, capped by a Mike Napoli grand slam. The A’s mounted a comeback with three runs in the 8th, but it was too little, too late…thankfully!

Tuesday, April 23: Red Sox 0 : A’s 13
The only loss of the week and boy was it a doozy. Alfredo Aceves was shelled for eight runs on seven hits and four walks in just 3.1 innings of work. He was demoted to Triple-A Pawtucket shortly after the game. Don’t let the door hit you the ass, you crazy whacko. Despite the loss, his demotion was a highlight for me.

Wednesday, April 24: Red Sox 6 : A’s 5
It’s nice to see the Sox able to bounce back for a win after such a humiliating loss. Jon Lester pitched well enough for his fourth win of the season, helped by two three-run innings, which turned out to be just enough run support. Andrew Bailey came in and struck out the side in the 9th for his fifth save.

Thursday, April 25: Red Sox 7 : Astros 2
Clay Buchholz continued his tear, winning his fifth game with a 7.2 inning, five strike out performance. He did allow two earned runs which raised his ERA to a whopping 1.19. The Sox offense jumped on the Astros pitching early, scoring four runs in the 1st inning. David Ortiz hit his first home run of 2013 in the 3rd inning.

Friday, April 26: Red Sox 7 : Astros 3
Ryan Dempster finally gets his first win in a Red Sox uniform. It’s not like he hasn’t pitched well before, just wasn’t getting the support. He definitely got support in this game—in the form of the long ball. David Ross hit two home runs, Will Middlebrooks whacked his sixth, and David Ortiz launched his second in as many nights.

Saturday, April 27: Red Sox 8 : Astros 4
Not to be out-shined by Lester and Buchholz, Felix Doubront notched his third win. The Astros got close in this game, scoring one in the top of the 7th to bring them to within two, but the Red Sox would have none of it and scored three in the bottom of that inning to secure the win.

Sunday, April 28: Red Sox 6 : Astros 1
John Lackey’s return from his recent stint on the DL was celebrated with his first win of 2013. He pitched six innings on one-run ball and showed no signs of the bicep strain that knocked him out on April 6th. Ortiz, Daniel Nava and Mike Carp all had 2-hit games to spark the offense. Bailey earned his sixth save which was highlighted by a spectacular diving catch by Nava to end the game.

Can’t every week be like this one? After a well-deserved day off tomorrow, the Sox head north to Toronto for a three game series. Jon Lester is scheduled to start and will have the chance to catch Buchholz in the five win club.

Committing to going to a baseball game in April is a lot like playing weather roulette. It could either be 40 degrees with a 30 mph wind like it was this past Saturday… or it could be 65 degrees with bright, sunshine-y blue skies like it was today. A perfect scenario for my very first Opening Day at Fenway Park.

Me… in my happy place!

Fans were asked to be in their seats by 1:30 for some special pre-game ceremonies that began by honoring a 60 year partnership between the Red Sox and the Jimmy Fund with a performance by the Jimmy Fund chorus. Following the introductions of the two teams, there was a brief remembrance for both Johnny Pesky and former Baltimore manager Earl Weaver—who both passed away last year.

An American flag, covering the entire Green Monster was unfurled for the singing of the Star-Spangled Banner by the Jimmy Fund chorus. And what Opening Day would be complete without a flyover—this year by two vintage P-51 Mustangs from the Air Force Heritage Flight Foundation. From behind the giant flag emerged players and patients from the last several decades who made their way from the outfield in to the pitcher’s mound to throw out the first pitches… Tim Wakefield, Jason Varitek and Jim Rice were among those players. Of course, it made me teary. They always know how to make me cry.

The only thing that could make the day better was a win, which the Red Sox served up in dramatic fashion. The pitchers dueled for the first 6.5 innings—Clay Buchholz for the good guys and Wei-Yin Chen for the Orioles. At this point, I figured the first team to score would win the game. Luckily, the Sox struck first.

You just knew good things were going to happen when Dustin Pedroia led off the bottom of the 7th with an infield single. Mike Napoli quickly followed with a line shot to the center field wall for double. The fans got a bit restless when Pedroia was held up at third, especially when Will Middlebrooks whiffed for the first out. Not to fear though, Daniel Nava smashed a 91 mph fastball over everything into a dumpster on Landsdowne Street.

Clay Buchholz was masterful, pitching seven innings of three-hit shutout ball, while striking out eight Orioles. He joins Jon Lester at 2-0 on this young season with an ERA of 0.64. Joel Hanrahan earned his third save, but it was not without drama. He gave up two hits in the top of the ninth, one a home run to Adam Jones to make us all hold our breath just a little bit.

The Sox take on the Orioles again for game two of the series on Wednesday night with Ryan Dempster taking the mound, trying for his first win with his new team. Click here for the exciting box score, courtesy of the Red Sox.

Considering the Red Sox started the 2011 season 0-6 and the 2012 season 0-3, a 2-1 record after the first series of the year—against the Yankees, no less—is a real accomplishment. So I’m not horribly disappointed by last night’s 4-2 loss in the Bronx. But I’m not happy about it either… they lost to a guy who’s almost my age, for crying out loud.

Only a couple of highlights on the Sox side of things. Will Middlebrooks broke his 0-for-8 start with two hits, driving in one of their two runs. And let’s talk about the #9 batter, one Jose Iglesias, who, after three games, leads the team with a .583 average. Jose’s been all about the small ball which might be what saves him from a career of being deemed a one-trick pony.

Newcomer Ryan Dempster got the start against veteran (and old man) Andy Pettitte. He pitched five innings, allowing three runs on five hits and four walks. But he struck out eight. Ok…not bad. I can work with this. I mean that’s not completely sucky. Pettitte, on the other hand, was impressive, holding this offense to just one run on eight hits.

And don’t start erecting that statue of Jackie Bradley Jr. just yet. The rookie did have one hit—an RBI double in the seventh, but he also came up with two outs in the top of the ninth as the tying run and his patience was his downfall. Facing Mariano Rivera, he wasn’t about to get the benefit of a close call and was called out on strikes to end the game. Live and learn, kid. Live and learn.

Next up on the schedule, John Farrell’s former team, the Blue Jays. Felix Doubront takes the hill against Josh Johnson. Last year, the Sox and Jays really battled it out for last place right to the bitter end. The Sox won (or lost, depending how you look at it.)

Click on over to here for the uninspiring box score, courtesy of the Red Sox.

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.

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?

Middle infielders are weird.  Shortstops and second basement share a no-mans land in the field, positioned between bases in the hopes of fielding a ground ball up the middle.  They both tend to be (at least until recently, see Chase Utley, Robinson Cano, and A-Rod in his younger days) light-hitting speedsters who are more able to get on base and advance runners than they are able to mash home runs.  They both cover second base, and have to make and then communicate split-second decisions on double plays.

Baseball people will talk a lot about the bond between pitchers and catchers: the pitcher needs to trust that the catcher can handle any pitch and hold runners on, and the catcher has to understand the pitcher’ capabilities and limits, and also be an on-field psychologist for the pitcher.  The bond between middle infielders is less-touted but definitely there: the defense would fall apart if there wasn’t some kind of connection.

Which brings us to last night’s Red Sox spring training game against Puerto Rico’s WBC team.  The Sox won, John Lackey had a good night, and Will Middlebrooks and Mike Napoli each launched home runs.  But, this is spring training: Napoli’s home run and a Charlie Card will get him on the T.

I thought Pete Abraham’s twitter feed was much more interesting.  Abraham, a reporter for the Boston Globe, captured an awesome reunion between Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia an Mike Aviles, Boston’s former shortstop who had suited up for Puerto Rico.  Apparently, their reunion was a happy one, punctuated with some predictable Pedroia height jokes:

The Red Sox had a scare yesterday, when Will Middlebrooks, the team’s starting third baseman and last year’s rookie sensation, left a spring training game in a huff after tweaking his wrist on a checked swing.  Last year, you’ll recall, Middlebrooks went down to a season-ending wrist injury.  For a few long hours yesterday, we wondered whether Middlebrooks had suffered another major setback.

Don’t hurt yourself, Will. No seriously, don’t hurt yourself. (Keith Allison, c/o flickr.com)

Luckily for the Red Sox, Middlebrooks is fine – he’s taking it easy for a few days, but that’s the extent of his recovery on this one.  The wait on his prognosis, though, got me thinking: what would have happened if Middlebrooks went down for an extended period of time?

It turns out that the Sox don’t really have a lot of options in that scenario.  The team’s depth chart lists utility infielder Pedro Ciriaco behind Middlebrooks, and then… that’s it.

That’s it?  Middlebrooks, the utility guy, and then either a desperation pickup off the scrap heap or a dip pretty far down into the minor league system?

Looks like it.

Look, Ciriaco had a great July last year – he made his mark as a hot bat and a Yankee killer in the depths of the Valentine era, which guarantees that he’ll never pay for a drink in Boston again.  But, he also played well above his element.  Other than his off-the-charts July, he was a mediocre-to-bad hitter (.293/.315/.390 on the year), and he never struck me as being anything special in the field.  He’s projected to hit .265/.282/.366 this year, and he’s only projected to be worth 0.1 WARP.  So basically, he’s probably not likely to replicate last summer’s excitement.

Who’s next?  After Middlebrooks and Ciriaco, the Sox would either reshuffle their major-league lineup (Mauro Gomez?), or they would theoretically have to reach all the way down to Garin Cecchini, who was born in 1991 (and now, I feel old).  Cecchini’s got talent, but he’s never gotten higher than A-ball.  He played 32 professional games in 2011 – his first pro season – and spent last year in Greenville.  Maybe he’ll be someone to talk about in 2016 or so, but he’s not someone we should be talking about in 2013.

Xander Bogaerts, even though he could probably play third base if he wanted to (hell, kid could probably show up tomorrow and win the Cy Young if he wanted to, from the way he’s talked about), probably won’t.  He projects long-term as a third baseman, but the Sox are going to want him to stick at shortstop for as long as possible.  Shortstops who can hit with power are much rarer than third basemen who can hit with power: the Sox want a shortstop with power, and Bogaerts wants the contract of a shortstop with power.  The last thing the Sox are going to do is rush him to the big leagues, move him around, and generally mess with his head.  Plus, he’s 20 years old and he’s had less than 100 at-bats in Portland.  He’s an exciting player, but he still has a long way to go.

Luckily, Middlebrooks looks like he’ll be fine, so we’re a few steps away from a Cecchini situation – but it bugs me that the Sox don’t seem to have a plan for injuries to their third baseman.  This seems like a huge hole to me, and it’s only one oft-injured wrist away from opening up.

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.

The 2012 season, may it rest in peace, was by far the worst I can remember being a witness to in a very long time. I’m sort of really tired of talking about just how much it did suck so this will be my last post about the miserableness of the last six months. I hope. I vow to now look forward to 2013 and what kind of magical rabbits the Sox brass will pull out of the hat to make sure “last place” are words I never have to utter (or type, for that matter) next season.

So here’s my short recap, Clint-style:

The Good

• Not much.
• Big Papi’s resurgence pre-injury. He was by far the most consistent force on the team for the 90 games he participated in. Playing for a contract will do that for you.
• The Red Sox pulling a fast one on the LA Dodgers and unloading $250 million in payroll.
• Not having to worry about Theo being there to spend that extra $250 million all in one place.
• The introduction of Will Middlebrooks. Hi, Will!

The Bad

• Everything.
• Injuries, injuries, injuries. The Sox used a record 56 players over the season.
• Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse — having a September almost identical to the colossal collapse of September of 2011.
• Bobby Valentine’s mismanagement of every aspect of the team and the player’s lack of respect for him.
• The injury ending Will Middlebrooks’ promising season. Bye, Will!

The Ugly

• Finishing last place in the division with a 69-93.
• The players’ whiny bitch attitude over the decisions of their new manager.
• Struggling starting rotation with not one pitcher having more than 11 wins.
• Will Middlebrooks going down with an injury just six weeks after Kevin Youkilis is traded leaving the team floundering for a third baseman.
• Bobby Valentine being a total fruitcake… enough said.

And that, my friends, concludes my recap of the 2012 Boston Red Sox season — one which makes me long for short-term memory loss so I never have to think about it again.

Is it just me, or are the Red Sox just limping into the sunset this year?  Watching the games (I think I’m probably one of maybe a dozen people who are even still paying attention to the Sox this season), it seems like the players have been replaced by a field of zombies.  They lurch around the field, stare vacantly into space, grunt and moan at reporters, and then stagger off only to return again the next day.

Will Middlebrooks probably wishes he could just click his heels together three times and be whisked away home (photo courtesy of the Boston Red Sox).

With two more losses against Baltimore, this year’s Red Sox have hit 90 losses on the season – a feat that hasn’t been accomplished in Boston since 1966 (and think for a moment about how many terrible teams the Red Sox have fielded since then).  Truly depressing.  I think the only positive thing we can say about the Red Sox at this point is that the season’s tantalizingly, mercifully, close to over.  There are only three games left before we can finally hang up the phone on this lost season.  Sure, those three games are against the Yankees, which will make them sort of interesting on the rivalry backstory alone – but did anyone think that a season-finale series between two traditional AL East powers would be so meaningless?

The Boston Globe’s Pete Abraham made an interesting observation about this year’s Red Sox.  He reported that this year’s rookie hazing – an affair that usually sees elaborate costumes, drawn-out dance routines, and general hoopla – consisted of just some cheap Halloween costumes thrown together at the last minute.  Abraham writes, and I agree, that this year’s listless team can’t even seem to get it together to care enough about a ritual that’s supposed to be a fun, bonding experience.

Anyway, the series with the Yankees – the beginning of the end of the Red Sox campaign – starts tonight in New York.  I’ll watch, but at this point?  I’m more interested in whether the Yankees can hold off the Orioles than I am in whether the Sox can pick up a few meaningless wins against a team that’s already clinched a playoff spot.