Yankees lose, Sox do not

The Oakland A's shut out the NY Yankees today by the score of 3-0. The Red Sox did not lose today and remain 7 games behind the Yanks.

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That one bad inning, yet Sox still win

It seems as if the Sox starters have been plagued by that one bad inning. Not every starter, not every game (win or lose), but this scenario has been played out several times this year, and again today. Jon Lester cruised through 5 innings scattering 4 hits and 0 runs. Then the proverbial fan got active. Lester couldn't make it out of the 6th inning, giving up 3 hits, 3 walks, and allowing 4 runs in the frame. He fanned only 2 A's before Delcarmen came in, who allowed one more run.

The Sox found themselves in a 4-1 hole before their bats came alive, scoring 8 runs over the next three innings. After Delcarmen, Bard came in and pitched another scoreless inning. Pap got the save, but not before allowing a single and a stolen base to Orlando Cabrera.

SOX WIN 8-5 Box Score

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A Day at the Park

I got to see my beloved Red Sox yesterday for the first time this season. Things as they are, I don't get to nearly as many games a year as I would like to. One time I got a late start and then the local rapid transit broke down for 45 minutes. By the time I got to Oakland Stadium, the Sox were on the short end of a lop-sided score. I was walking along the concourse and was wondering why people were leaving so soon. I wasn't that late.

Well, things were different this time. This was the first game I had ever been to when my favorite Sox pitcher was on the mound. It was a beautiful, sunny day. I got there early with my friend and bandmate Tom. (It was his birthday.) We soaked up the sun while waiting for Nick to show up with our tix.

Nick's new shirt

Never did I imagine I would be watching history nearly being made that day! Wake just kept serving up goose-egg after goose-egg after goose-egg! I missed Lowell's E, but thought to myself, "Well, he still has a no...STOP! Don't even think it!" Whew! That was a close one! I found myself wondering if he had issued any free passes. Um...nope. "Don't even think about it, Dave!" Said nothing, thought nothing. The 000's kept racking up. Then that hit came! SOAB!

#42 takes a mighty swing!

Well.... Wake was still spinning a gem, and on Jackie Robinson day, too. Unfortunately, when the Sox bats come alive while Wake is pitching, he has to sit, and that is not good for a knuckleballer, thus the H's, BB's, and R's in the final innings. Still a fantastic, memorable game. Let's hope that momentum continues tomorrow.

Wake showed the utmost in class during the post game interview when asked about his performance. Instead of talking about his masterpiece, he immediately shifted the focus onto Robinson before he said anything about the game.

Somehow, we were able to find a few minutes to drill a few shots of the Sawxheads that were in attendance in Section 209 yesterday. Nick, aka CaliGrown was there, as well as the Emperor of RSN-CA who was there raising awareness for The Jimmy Fund, (as does Rocky Rhodes on his X-C trip in the Rolling Green Monster), and also a few other Sawxhead friends of Nick's whose names escape me at the moment. Fenway West was in the house on his spring tour (4 games and a Dead show in 4 days), but alas, he was on the other side of the stadium.

CaliGrown- 2nd from left

Emporer of RSN-CA middle

Red Sox Sonoma- far right

Sunshine, beer, $1 dogs, peanuts, friends, and Wake nearly tossing a no-no! What more could a Sox fan ask for?!

What more, you say? Well, we left Oakland heading for San Francisco, when I spotted a commercial truck with an interesting company name. I wondered, "Does A-Rod have a new side business?"

A-Rod diversifies his portfolio?

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It Could Be Worse for Red Sox Fans

Feeling a little down about the start of the Red Sox season? There is reason to be upset but it could be worse; you could be an A's fan. Look at how they are feeling right now:

No one's coming to the games! We had the worst attendance in the entire major leagues yesterday on a beautiful holiday Sunday, the first weekend of the year, and still the irrelevant Golden State Warriors outdraw the A's by the thousands. This place is going like a ghost town.
-And now a perfect storm of abuse is on its way, the Boston Red Sox faithful will fill the Coliseum and beat our boys in volume and base hits.
It's time to hit the panic button

Still, Sox fans aren't far behind:

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Time To Turn The Page, Up Next: Oakland

Baseball does not stop in mid-season, even for Manny so it is time to look at the road ahead for the Sox. If you really get all misty eyed over the loss of ManRam throw in a W.S. DVD or watch a Manny tribute on YouTube but now it's time to get back on the horse and win some games. The Oakland A's come to Fenway on Friday and the Sox need a win bad. The Sox opened the season against the A's in Japan many months ago and they were swept by them in May (I had the displeasure of being at 2 of those games.) But this is not the same team the Sox faced on Memorial Day weekend; the team is coming off a sweep by the Royals and is just 2-10 since the All-Star break, going below .500 for the first time this season. The A's will have Frank Thomas back for the first time since going on the DL on May 28. Thomas always seems to get to Sox pitching and he hurt them with Toronto and Oakland earlier this season. Unfortunetly the Red Sox will be facing the A's best pitcher Justin Duchscherer on Friday and will have their work cut out for them. The Nation is in need of a win and a walk-off homer by Bay could make everyone say Manny who?

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Who Took The Bats?

Last night the Sox had a hard time getting hits but tonight's game was worse. Someone needs to tell the equipment manager that he left the bats at Fenway, or maybe he traded 10 of them for a player. Either way, Boston really struggled at the plate tonight. Duchscherer shot down the Sox pitching a perfect game until he beaned Tek in the sixth. Big Papi had the Red Sox only hit in the seventh but Boston never got a runner to second base. Street came in for the 9th to finish off the 1 hitter for Oakland. Josh Beckett pitched well but not well enough to win this game. I did get to see an amazing catch by Ellsbury in left and a pretty good catch of a foul ball by a Sox fan a few seats away, but that was about it. Manny and Lugo had the night off so maybe they can provide a spark for the offense tomorrow.

Sox Lose 3-0 BOX SCORE

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All You Can Eat

Oakland Coliseum has opened a section of the upper deck behind home plate for a new "all you can eat" promotion. When I was at the game in Oakland on Tuesday a guy who must have been pushing 4 bills asked the beer vendor where the section was. I think the A's are going to continue to be a low budget team when guys like that eat up all of their concession profits. Home Run Derby has a funny story about getting caught on camera when you are sitting in the section, check it out. Below is the local news story about the new A's promotion.

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Game 4 Recap vs. Oakland 4/2

Pitching: Jon Lester continued where Dice-K left off getting ahead of batters and went into the 7th inning giving up only 3 hits. The Sox pen was also excellent; Corey pitched 1 and a third getting 2 K's, and Delcarmen was perfect to finish it out. The Red Sox pitchers have only given up 6 hits and 1 run in the last 2 games. You cannot expect anything better than that.


Offense: Boston had a hard time pushing runs across the plate until Big Papi hit a long ball in the 7th. The hits were there: Pedroia, Youk, Papi, Tek, Crisp, and Cora had two hits apiece. The Red Sox were able to string together 5 consecutive hits in the 8th. Manny had a tough day at the plate striking out with bases loaded in the first and hitting into an inning ending double play with them loaded again in the 8th. Tek continued to stay hot with a home run that actually counted today.

Game Notes: The Red Sox took 3 of 4 against Oakland under difficult travel circumstances. Ellsbury came into the game late as a defensive replacement for Ramirez. Drew played his first game after being out for the first 3 with a back injury.

Up next: Wakefield pitchies inside (always a good thing) at Skydome on Friday in Toronto. Sox enjoy a much deserved day off tomorrow

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Today's Lineup vs Oakland 4/2

2B-Dustin Pedroia
1B-Kevin Youkilis
DH-David Ortiz
LF-Manny Ramirez
3B-Mike Lowell
RF-J.D. Drew
C-Jason Varitek
CF-Coco Crisp
SS-Alex Cora

Drew is back in right after missing 3 games, he did take BP yesterday. Tito is going with Coco over Ellsbury in center, not my favorite choice but Francona usually makes the right decisions like moving Tek up in the order yesterday. Cora is in at short, he had a very strong spring and could bring some pop to the bottom of the order. Big Papi is due for a hit, Fenway West is predicting a home run in his second at bat.

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Dice-K Needs A Good Start

Much like game one the Red Sox need to get on the board early and Dice-K needs to stay ahead in the count for the Sox to win. Boston did not play well in Japan but did come away with a win thanks mainly to Brandon Moss. Moss will not be with the team tonight when they face Blanton again. There can be no more excuses of jet lag or travel; Oakland players were in Japan too. Boston bats need to wake up tonight, Dice-K needs to pitch well, and the Red Sox need to begin their long defense of the World Series title. I think everyone would be happy with a split of the 2 games in Oakland but the Red Sox do not want to lose the first game and have the chance of heading to Toronto with a losing record. It is a long season but games in April count as much as games in September. Time for me to head to Oakland and watch it all unravel. I will be posting details and pictures from game 1 tomorrow. The game is on NESN and CSN Bay Area.

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Coco Update

The Globe is now reporting that Coco will make the trip to Japan. One reason for this might be the Red Sox wanting to show off Coco first hand to the A's. Oakland and Boston have been discussing potential trades since the A's options in center are limited. If Coco can be ready to play by next week we may see him in some of the games in Japan to showcase his talent to a possible suitor.

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