Sox Streak Over

It was a slow start to the season. 2-6 over the first 8 games. I thought the Red Sox would do well to end up at .500 for the month of April at 11-11.

Then the win streak began in Oakland & continued through a perfect 9-0 homestand against the Orioles, Twins & Yankees. The streak ended last night in Cleveland, but the Sox now have a respectable 13-7 record going into the final 2 games of April. Nice comeback.

A win in Cleveland today & in Tampa Bay on Thursday could give the Sox a 15-win month. Most Sox fans would have thought that was impossible a few weeks ago. Just goes to show how quickly things change.

Honor roll for April: Jason Bay, Mike Lowell, Justin Masterson, Kevin Youkilis, Tim Wakefield &, yes, Jason Varitek for his long balls.

Sox Still Streaking

Add another win to the streak of 11. Red Sox 3 - Cleveland 1.

Oldtimer Tim Wakefield pitched shutout ball for 7 innings. Newcomer Jason Bay added a clutch 3-run homer in the 9th off Kerry Woods.

Theo is going to have to sign Bay to a long-term deal. He fits in perfectly with the dirt dogs like Pedroia & Youkilis.

Let the fun continue.

Young Guns Finish Yankees 4-1

Jacoby Ellsbury - Justin Masterson - Hunter Jones - Michael Bowden. All these 20-something players helped the Red Sox finish a sweep of the NY Yankees on Sunday night in front of a national audience. The Sox also ran their winning streak to 10 games.

Ellsbury used his speed to generate 2 runs, one by way of a straight steal of home. On the steal of home Petitte & Posada looked like 2 deer in headlights. They had no clue.

Masterson, Jones & Bowden gave the bullpen a much needed day off by firing 8 innings of 1-run ball. Masterson is now 2-0 as a fill-in starter for Dice-K. Jones & Bowden are farm hands from Pawtucket that preserved the good work of Masterson over the 6th, 7th & 8th.

The Red Sox young guns continue to shine. And the Yankees look old.

Sox Go for the NY Sweep

It looked like a long afternoon at the ballpark when the Yankees jumped out to a 6-0 lead. But teams are learning that no lead is safe at Fenway. Final score: 16-11 in favor of the Sox. The hometown team can go for a sweep of the Yanks on Sunday & end a perfect homestand with 9 wins in 9 games.

I don't want to say I told you so, but look back to my Spring Training prediction that Mike Lowell would have a big year in 2009. He is the team's leading RBI guy & got the go-ahead, stay-ahead homer late in Saturday's game. He's put together a nice April so far out of the # 7 spot in the order. Lowell has also been very steady in the field.

I'm greedy like every Red Sox fans when it comes to the Yankees. 2 out of 3 would be fine, but let's finish the sweep on Sunday & send them packing back to NY.

Sox Sink Yankees in Extra Innings

Just your typical Red Sox-Yankees game, right? Red Sox pull off a come-from-behind victory in 11 innings 5-4.

Many good things happened:

- Good for Jason Bay to remind Mariano Rivera that he blows saves against the Red Sox more than any other team in baseball.

- Good for Youk to let new set-up man Marte know that the Sox are mighty tough to beat at Fenway.

- Good for Jon Lester to get big outs when he needed them to keep the game close through the 1st 6 innings.

On the questionnable side:

- Didn't you think J.D. Drew should have caught that ball over by the right field line that went off his glove?

- What was Tito thinking when he sent Javy Lopez out to pitch the 9th? It was nothing short of a miracle that Lopez got out of that inning.

More good things happened than bad & we'll take a hard fought win against the Yankees. All the fans got their money's worth.

Red Sox - Yankees Round 1

It couldn't be a better weekend of weather for the first installment for 2009 of the madness that is Red Sox - Yankees. Joba & Lester go at it in Game 1 tonight. Both teams have identical 9-6 records, tied for 2nd & enter today 1 game behind Toronto in the loss column.

Big Papi has already warned Joba via the media about pitching in-tight to Youk. Dan Plesac from MLB Network stated that it's no problem to pitch inside, just don't go head hunting like Joba did last year.

I agree. You can pitch in, just keep the ball with 3-4 inches of the plate & keep it down. We don't need another Tony C. incident ever again.

Things are never dull when the Yanks come to town. This weekend is no exception. Enjoy!

Bailey Joins the Party

The Boston Red Sox are as hot as any team in baseball. They swept a doubleheader from the Minnesota Twins today, running their home stand to 6 straight wins.

The best story of the long day was the return of Jeff Bailey to the Sox line-up in the nightcap. A career minor leaguer, Bailey was the final roster cut in Spring Training. However, he returned to the Sox roster this week when Rocco Baldelli went on the DL. Bailey made the most of his chance with a 3-run homer in his first at-bat. It gave the Sox a 3-run lead & they never looked back.

Nice to see good things happen to a persistent player like Bailey.

Sox Complete Baltimore Massacre

Home cookin' agrees with the Red Sox as they complete the 4-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles. Their curerent 5-game win streak puts them back in the thick of the AL East race.

Contributions abound from a number of players, starting with the fill-ins of Justin Masterson & Nick Green. Even Big Papi got on track with 2 wall balls for a double & triple.

The Sox now brace for 2 games with Minnesota, a day off on Thursday & then a 3-game weekend set against the Yankees. I'd take a split with the Twins & 2 out of 3 from the Yankees. That would complete a 7-2 home stand before finishing the month away in Cleveland & Tampa Bay.

I'm looking for the Sox to finish April around the 13-9 or 12-10 mark.

Thanks to New Readers

As the Red Sox go for a 4-game sweep on the Orioles on Patriots Day, I want to recognize my new visitors to the blog. Traffic is picking up as the Red Sox extend their win streak to 4 games with a 2-1 win over Baltimore yesterday.

A big welcome to 3nohitters to my new readers from:

Allentown, PA

Chicago, IL

Belmont, MA

Elon, NC

Berwyn, PA

Warwick, RI

Please check back regularly & let your friends know about us.

Sox Comeback & Hold On

It's been a tale of 2 completely different games so far. Friday night the Red Sox overcome a 7-run deficit to the Orioles. Saturday night they go out to a 6-0 lead & end up protecting a much-needed win in the 9th. Sox have a 3-game win streak going & it couldn't come at a better time.

Throughout the short season so far Youk has shown that he is the right guy for the number 4 hole in the lineup. 8 multiple hit games over the first 11. You can't do much better than that.

On the flip side we are still waiting for Big Papi to emerge. He has had a tough go of it lately, especially with the high strike. Look for him to make the adjustments. He's just too smart a hitter not to.

Oh, & by the way, the Yankees got embarassed for the 2nd time in 3 days 22-4 by the Cleveland Indians. I just had to throw that in...

Sox "Wake" Up

Tim Wakefield took his no-hitter into the 8th inning. He watched from the dugout in the top of the 8th as his teammates scored 6 runs to break the game open. The only question left to answer -- would he get the no-no?

Although Wakefield fell short, he gave the bullpen a much needed rest with a complete game victory. He also gives the Sox momnentum as they return to Friendly Fenway for a 9-game home stand.

It was a great performance by a starter, something we need to see more of from Beckett, Lester & Dice-K. Good starting pitching = many wins.

Sox Drop 3rd Series in a Row

2009 has not started as planned. It is painful for Red Sox Nation to watch a team struggle through each game on way to a 2-6 record so far.

Starting pitching has been woefully poor. Hitting with runners in scoring position has been just as poor. Even the defense, a la JD Drew's miscue last night, has been spotty. It all adds up to a poor, poor start for a Nation of fans eager to see their team compete & win.

Take heart, though. All you coaches out there know the old saying -- a team is never as good or as bad as you think. Over time players revert to their historical performance levels. We just hope it is not too long before the Red Sox go on a winning streak.

How about starting today?

Angels Take Series 2-1

Just as in the opening series of the season, the Sox could only muster 1 win in Anaheim. The 3 phases of the game -- offense, defense, pitching -- just haven't clicked together yet.

ESPN's John Kruk thought Beckett should have been thrown out for his pitch to Bobby Abrieu after the home plate ump granted a late time out. Not so in my book. It was much to do about nothing. I think the umpires let that whole situation get out of control. They could have immediately issued warnings & let play start again. Regardless, as it played out, the Angels overreacted & got the ejections that they deserved.

Back to the game, the Sox squandered too many opportunities with runners in scoring position. Also, Okajima versus Guerrero is a bad match-up. Couldn't we at least try a righty like Saito or Masterson? I think Guerrero took Oki deep last year too.

I predict a comeback in Oakland & we win the series 2-1.

It's Always About Pitching

The Red Sox dropped their 2009 opening home series against the Rays 2 games to 1. It's a no brainer to summarize -- starting pitching.

Beckett pitched a great opening game & won.

Lester & Dice-K could only go 5 innings & both lost.

End of story.

Other factors -- like the umpire's strike zone & line drives right at people -- didn't help the situation. But it was the lack of the starters to keep the ball down & out of the middle of the plate that led to 2 losses.

No need to get excited. Lester & Dice-K are too good not to bounce back.

Sox Need Win

It's only Game 3 of the season, but the Sox & Rays are showing that they have not lost anything from last year. Dice-K needs to pitch well today to give the Sox a series win at home.

Carlos Pena's 2-run homer was the difference yesterday. The miscommunication between Lester & Varitek on the safety squeeze was also a killer & gave the Rays the momentum they needed for a big inning. Stuff happens...

I'm thinking that the 16 games left between these 2 teams will be pretty meaningful.

Home Opener Win

One win in the books, about 95 more to go to make the playoffs. Regardless, it's always great to win the home opener in front of a sellout crowd.

Beckett was the Beckett of 2007.

The Red Sox hitters looked more professional than the Rays. Tampa Bay had swings at a lot of bad pitches & took too many good ones.

Other than Ellsbury at the plate & Oki's pitching in the 8th, everyone else had a good day. No errors in the field & contributions up & down the line-up.

It's only one game. But you couldn't have scripted a better opening.

The New Yankee Stadium

We we are hours away from Game 1, that is if the rain holds off.

I would encourage all visitors to scroll down to my previous article on "Guest Blogger Month." I approved a comment from SB on the grand opening of the new Yankee Stadium & how it may be too grand for the times. It's an interesting read.

Best part is that SB took this article from the New York Post.

I look forward to more topics from my guest bloggers this month.

April is Guest Blogger Month

As the regular season is ready to begin, I am opening up 3nohitters to guest bloggers. I understand that many other blog sites offer their visitors the chance to author an article from time to time. So here's yours...

The Red Sox look poised to make another playoff run in 2009. Health has returned to Big Papi, Mike Lowell & JD Drew. The bullpen is as strong as ever. The starting pitchers are seven deep. The Tampa Bay series will be a great way to start things off & an early measure of things to come.

If you would like to author an article, send your written thoughts to 3nohitters@gmail.com. I will put your story on the blog for you.

I look forward to hearing from Red Sox Nation as the fun begins for real on Monday.