Man on a Mission

Clearly, Clay Buchholz does not want to return to Pawtucket, foisted heist of his BMW rims notwithstanding. Last Saturday, he limited the Yankees to two runs over 6 innings, but Sabathia was 2 runs better. Tonight, he went 7 innings against the Twins, and allowed only 1 earned run.

Yes folks, just when we thought it was safe to go to the ball park again, just when we thought the Sox bats had come alive for good, after watching in painful silence as the Yankees put the hurt on the Sox by limiting them to 0 runs in a 25 inning stretch, just after we see them turn the corner and pound out 15 runs in 2 games against the Tigers, the bats go quiet once more. The opposing pitcher this time was another stud, Justin Verlander, who silenced the Sox bats, save for 4 hits, and 0 runs.

Buchholz now has two quality starts in a row. With Smoltz shaky at best and now gone, and with Penny having a bit of a rollercoaster ride lately, Buchholz appears to be stepping up his game. Let’s hope that his good showings against Sabathia and Verlander, and Tazawa’s 4 good innings once he settled down, are signs of good gems to come.

There is some other good news from this game besides Buchholz’s pitching. Fernando Cabrera, who was recently called up to Boston from Pawtucket, struck out the side in the 9th inning. He allowed only 1 hit in his 2 innings pitched so far.



Sox Lose 0-2 BOX SCORE

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View From the Motor City

Fenway West interviewed Bob Biscigliano of the Detroit sports blog detroit4lyfe.com about the series with the Tigers:

FW: Is Porcello's current win streak a surprise for Tiger's fans or do you think it will keep going?

D4L: I don't think Porcello's ability is of any surprise. He's going to have many win streaks like the one he's having now throughout his career. The most surprising thing about Porcello this season has been composure. As just a 20-year, he certainly doesn't pitch like one. He holds himself like a 30-year old veteran on the rubber. Most rookies when they get into a jam will fall apart that outing, however Porcello shakes it off and gets out of jams like it's nothing. He's been very good at minimizing the damage.

FW: Who has been the Tigers MVP so far this season? Why?

D4L: There are a few Tigers worthy of the team MVP right now. Cabrera has been as steady as they come at the plate, Inge is hitting an All-Star, Verlander is dominant of late, and even Porcello has pitched like an ace recently. However, Edwin Jackson has been the Tigers rock this season. He's only had one bad outing this season and when Verlander and Porcello were struggling early on, he helped the Tigers pick up some key wins to keep the wheels on. If these guys continue at this pace, this decision will be of great debate.

FW: How did the Tigers turn it around this year?

D4L: The Tigers have turned it around thus far mostly because of their pitching. New pitching coach Rick Knapp has worked wonders with the pitchers in getting them to harness their stuff and throw strikes. It doesn't hurt that the Tigers have been getting big hits in key situations too, unlike last year.

FW: Who will hit their second home run first; Ortiz or Polanco?

D4L: David Ortiz. Ortiz averages more home runs per season than Polanco has hit in his last 6 years. Yes, Ortiz is in a major rut, but he'll get out of it. All the good hitters do.

FW: What are your predictions for this series with the Red Sox?

D4L: This is going to be a great series with some competitive games, but the Red Sox caught the Tigers at the perfect part of their rotation with the 20-year old rookie, a struggling Armando, and a "never know what you're going to get still" Dontrelle Willis. I'm not a betting man, but if I had to guess I'd say Red Sox take two out of three.

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Tigers May Bypass Lugo and Sign Cora

The Detroit Tigers had shown some interest in trading for Julio Lugo but may now settle on signing Alex Cora as their full time shortstop. I guess they had some Red Sox fans giving some inside information on the better choice. It would be nice to see Cora get a full time spot a short but not if it takes away one of Boston's potential trade partners for Lugo.

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I Almost Feel Sorry For Detroit

Things have become so bad for the Motor City Meltdown that I almost feel sorry for them. Take a look at what Mitch Albom wrote in the Detroit Free Press today:

Tigers impatient, floundering and with limited options

"The Tigers, with a 14-20 record, have limited options. They can't play small ball. They don't have the speed. They can't do much with their starting pitching: They have to wait on Dontrelle Willis, pray that Justin Verlander finds his ace cap, and hope one of the others can go eight innings and hold a team to two runs or fewer -- the way Wakefield did.

Oh, and hope that Sheffield, recently moved to leftfield, isn't halfway out the door, and that Cabrera performs the way he is supposed to. Leyland hinted that his expensive superstar may have underestimated the pitching in the American League, thinking, like others, that they play "slow-pitch softball" over here."

This is the team that ESPN had #4 in its pre-season power rankings (Sox were #12). As has been said before; you are never as good or as bad as you think you are but it sure is nice to be on the right side of the fence in this match-up.

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Wake, Sox Shut Out the Motor City Meltdown

Tim Wakefield pitched great tonight giving up just 2 hits with 6 K's and no walks over 8 innings. Timlin came in for the 9th to finish the shut out. The bats provided the offense with Ortiz going yard for the second straight night and Manny hitting #497. This was a great win for the Sox and a lift for Wake who had not been pitching well of late.

As good as the win was for the Sox it must have been equally bad for the Tigers who now have a higher salary than Boston. Leyland shook up the lineup this week but the results were the same. The Detroit Free Press ran a blog post today that said "Hey Tiger Fans, Its Far Worse in Cleveland." After tonights loss I'm not really sure it is.

Sox Win 5-0 BOX SCORE

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Sox Give Tigers Their First Win

The Red Sox had a rally in the second tonight to take a 2-0 lead but those were the only runs they could score. The Sox had their chances but left runners on base in almost every inning including bases loaded in the bottom of the 9th. Lester started off fine for 3 innings but he ran into trouble in the 4th when Edgar Renteria hit a 2 run double. The Tigers scored twice more on a home run by Thames and there was no looking back. Boston's bullpen looked bad again with Corey giving up 2 earned runs and Lopez giving up a long ball.

The top third of the order (Pedroia, Youk, Ortiz) was awful tonight going 0-12 and leaving 11 runners on base. Ortiz is now batting .091. Youk and Lugo were both caught stealing making the Sox 1-4 in stolen base attempts this season. The few bright spots were Casey, Lugo, and Manny each having 2 hits.

Sox lose 7-2. Box Score

Next up: Wakefield against the Tigers for the rubber match 7 pm.

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Sox Win Home Opener 5-0

The Boston Red Sox righted the ship today behind another strong start from Dice-K. In his 3rd "opening day" Matsuzaka pitched 6 2/3 scoreless innings striking out 7. Francona was not afraid to call on Manny Delcarmen who followed Dice-K with going 1 1/3 scoreless with 2 K's. Okajima finished off the Tigers and preserved the shutout. The Red Sox were productive at the plate scoring 5 runs. All of the starters had a hit except Ortiz and Lowell who each drew 2 walks. Youk was 3-3 and is now batting .400 (watch out Teddy Ballgame). Overall a great homecoming for the team and Red Sox Nation. On a side note the Detroit Tigers are now 0-7 with a payroll higher than Boston's.

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