Youk the Force!

Jon Lester gave up 2 runs in the top of the 1st on a HR by Emil Brown of the A's and that was it. The Sox came roaring back in the bottom of the 1st with 5 runs, including 3 when Jason Bay hit his 1st HR in a Sox uniform. It was another huge shot, this one hitting the Volvo sign above The Green Monster. Mike Lowell, bad hip and all, and visibly not at full speed, legged out a close double in the 3rd. The onslaught continued when Lowrie hit a double deep to right to knock in all 3 runners on base at the time. Down by 6 in the 3rd and no outs, Gerren, manager of the A's, should have left starting pitcher Eveland in the game to finish his turn in the barrel. They used most of their bullpen the previous night, and it was looking like it would be getting taxed heavily tonight. The A's have a grueling schedule in August: 30 games in 31 days, 20 of them on the road. Not looking good for the A's. I expect a freefall from them this month.

Former Sox hurler Lenny DiNardo entered the game in the 3rd inning and promptly gave up a double to The (not quite dead yet) Captain and a sharp, hard hit liner by Crisp straight to 3B Jack Hannahan.

The Sox weren't done yet. Youk had 2 Monster clearing taters, Bay, Lowell, and Lowrie all had multi-hit games as well as 'Tek, who was 2 for 3 with 1 RBI. 14 hits produced 12 runs. The bats are back. Jon Lester went 7 IP, 7 hits, 2 runs, 1 BB, 5 K's. Masterson and Smith mopped up, 0 hits, 0 runs, 1 BB, 3 K's between them.

This was a good TEAM effort.

Sox win 12-2: BOX SCORE

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Red Sox Game On April 2 Time Change

The second game against the Oakland A's in the U.S. on April 2 has been changed from 7:35 to 12:35 pm after the Players Association made a request to change the start time. The Red Sox want more time to adjust to Eastern time before playing Toronto on April 4. The A's are not happy with the decision by MLB to make the change. Michael Crowley the president of the A's spoke to the SF Chronicle about the time change: "We would prefer not to change the time, obviously, it's not ideal."

Looks like some of you are going to have to come up with a good excuse to miss work.

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Haren and Santana In The Same Deal?

If the rumor is true that the Mets, Twins, and A's are involved in negotiations for a mega deal that would explain why its been so quiet in Nashville on the Santana and Haren front. This deal would be good for Boston: it would take Santana out of the American League and keep Haren away from the Yankees. Boston would keep their young players and win the East again. Short of Santana coming to the Sox for cheap this is the best case senario.

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Ben Sheets Might Be The Fallback

With both the Twins and A's asking a high price for their #1's the Sox might look elsewhere for a starter. The Red Sox do not need a starting pitcher for the '08 season but when top tier players become available they have to take a good look. Ben Sheets has been a solid pitcher in the past for the Brew Crew but he has had his share of injuries. Papers have been reporting that Sheet will be up for negotiation in Nashville this week and Boston has already contacted Brewers GM Doug Melvin. Sheets is in the final year of his contract so the Red Sox would only take him if they can negotiate a long term deal because they will need starters next year when Schilling and Wakefield are gone. The Brewers don't need a left fielder but Coco could play left for them so he could be included in a trade. However, this could all be Theo's way of bringing down the price for Santana or Haren.

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