In Memorium

We lost a good person on Friday night & won't be posting articles again until Monday in memory of our good friend Jeanne. She lost her 4-year battle with cancer at the age of 52. Jeanne was a friend, a fellow coach of 20 years & a determined, positive fighter of her disease to the very end. She showed much grace over her 4-year battle & she remained positive throughout her many treatments & surgeries. Every setback was met head-on with a determination to get back to health. On Friday night she was surrounded by family, co-workers & friends as she expired. We already miss you greatly, Jeanne. Save a place in heaven's dugout for Gaff & me. Get the pitchers loose & we hope to be up there with you in the future to make out the starting lineup. You were an inspiration to all who knew you.

End of Days for Bobby V.

It's been a long time coming. 6 games left to Bobby V's managerial career in Boston. There have certainly been missteps in communication with his coaching staff, players & the media. But Bobby's biggest mistakes - at least to me - have occurred on the field during game situations. The last one that stands out to me was pinch-hitting for Iglesias with a 2-2 count. Why would you do that when the season was already over & you are trying to evaluate Iglesias? Anyways, the season ends on Wednesday & Bobby should be fired on Thursday or Friday. That would be the first order of business in reconstructing the 2013 Red Sox. It's obvious that Bobby's time away from the game impacted his communication skills. A lot changes in 10 years. Just think about your own job & how it's changed over the last 10 years. Valentine doesn't deserve all the blame, but he is a contributor to a failed season of underperforming players. He needs to go.

Real Refs Again

The NFL owners finally blinked first. All I can say is good for the real refs to get a little piece of the pie.

Rays Still Alive, Sox Can Be Spoilers

After the "all everything" events of this last homestand the Sox can now play spoiler on the road to the Baltimore Orioles & New York Yankees in their last 6 games of 2012. It would make for a positive remembrance if they could knock the Yankees out of the division lead & into a wild card slot for a 1-game playoff. I'm hoping the O's win this weekend. By beating Boston twice the Rays are still in the race for a wild card spot. I don't want to see the Angels get in. A's, O's &/or Rays for the division & wild cards would be my best scenario, but you know the Yankees will be tough to knock out. It will be an interesting last week, even for the Red Sox now.

NFL Backs Game-Ending Call

What a bunch of crap! The NFL office released a statement backing up the ref's call of a simultaneous catch in Seattle. What game were they watching? What's next - is the NFL going to promise world peace? They are worse than politicians who get caught with their pants down. One commentor to the blog yesterday mentioned the casual fan will stop watching or a weekend game not involving a local team will start to suffer in the TV ratings as a first sign of disgust by fans. My thought is that the players need to rebel through their union. How about a work stoppage until the regular refs are back? The "product" is certainly sullied from numerous bad calls & the players can accurately cite safety reasons for the stoppage. I don't agree with Michael Felger often, but he is right this time that nothing will change until the owners lose revenue.

One More Week to Go

The 2012 baseball season for the Boston Red Sox will be over next Wednesday. Yes, it has been difficult for Red Sox Nation fans to watch the final weeks after the big trade to LA & the loss of David Ortiz. But it's almost over. Guys like Pedro Ciriaco, Daniel Nava, Mauro Gomez & others have been auditioning for next year's team and/or showcased to scouts for trades. The "real" season starts October 4th. Rhetoric is already starting from David Ortiz about the club's disrespect of him via a 1-year deal. Maybe he finally gets a 2-year deal if he proves himself healthy. And then there is the question of what to do with Jacoby Ellsbury. And then finding a replacement for Bobby Valentine. And then finding a middle-of-the-order bat to compliment Ortiz. And then starting pitching. And on & on. There should be a story every week during this off-season. I can't wait.

Replacement Refs Strike Again

An obvious interception by Green Bay. An obvious offensive pass interference by Seattle. But the replacement refs call it a touchdown for Seattle on the final play & Seattle beats Green Bay 13-12. This call on national TV says it all about the replacement refs. They are in way over their heads. But TV ratings are up & talks with the real refs remain stalled, so don't look for anything to change soon.

Pats Lose to Ravens

There will be a lot of talk today about the Pats-Ravens 31-30 game last night. Most of the talk will center around the replacement refs & the calls they erroneously made or the calls that they didn't make. And rightfully so. However, lost in translation will be a battle of 2 teams who smashed each other in the mouth the whole game & who gave fans in the stadium & on TV a playoff caliber performance. Yes, there were mistakes. Yes, the Pats offense couldn't take enough time off the clock in their last possession. Yes, the Pats secondary couldn't cover the Ravens wideouts on their last series. Yes, the winning field goal was suspect. And now the Pats are 1-2. As Chris Collinsworth said, no matter which team loses, you can expect to see both in the playoffs.

Aren't We O's Fans This Weekend?

Don't we all want Baltimore to keep pace with the Yankees for the AL East title? Don't we want Baltimore to beat the Sox 3 times this weekend? The O's won last night 4-2. I think the Yankees won too, so the O's are still one game back in the standings. As you look at the Orioles roster, there is no one player or two that really scares you. No one is having a career year. Their secret to success has been a shutdown bullpen & winning close games, especially extra-inning games. A lot of "experts" shake their heads when it comes to the O's & they can't believe they haven't collapsed. Sometimes it's not about stats. Remember the old saying - stats are for losers. The O's don't have the stats of a playoff team, but what they do have is confidence that they can win, especially in tight situations. And they have gone out & performed on the field for 6 months. I would love to see the O's win the division & force the Yankees into a 1-game playoff.

Bailey, Padilla Implode in 9th

A closer & set-up guy had a bad night. Andrew Bailey & Vicente Padilla combined for a 6-run 9th by the Rays & a 7-4 loss. Clay Buchholz deserved a better fate - again. The Rays needed a win to keep their fading chance of a wild card berth alive. I hope that the O's come into Fenway this weekend & win all 3, just to keep the pressure on the Yankees. And by the way, Jose Iglesias has 3 hits, including a homer. Not bad for a kid who couldn't get a ball out of the inflied all year.

Dice-K Stinko Again

Dice-K gave up 9 hits & 5 runs in 3+ innings. Aceves wasn't much better. Bard was totally out of it. Miller looked like Bard. Horrendous pitching led to a 13-3 defeat in Tampa Bay. Dice-K is reminding Boston fans why the Sox won't be re-signing him after this year. Over a 6-year span the Sox got about 1 1/2 productive years from him. I hope they sold a lot of merchandise in Japan - which probably happened after the 2007 World Series. It was a chance move that just didn't work out very well. Dice-K seems more concerned about pitching in the World Baseball Classic than pitching for the Sox. He never integrated into the pitching routine to keep himself healthy. Instead, he threw way too much between starts & tried to be too fine with his pitches. With his command gone now, Dice-K is a below-average starter. He has also been aloof during his tenure in Beantown, speaking more to foreign media than Boston reporters. This was a failed experiment. Sometimes that happens. Two more weeks & Dice-K is history.

Deion Branch Back

It didn't take long for the Pats to re-sign Deion Branch. Kellen Winslow, Jr. also signed to make-up for the loss of Aaron Hernandez. Seems like the Pats are reloading at the receiver spot as the Ravens defense defends the run pretty well. Let's hope Deion's return is a good one & the offense gets more consistency in week 3.

Doubront, Tazawa Make 2013 Roster

Pencil in Felix Doubront & Junichi Tazawa as members of the 2013 Boston Red Sox. Both have done enough this year to solidify spots on next year's roster. Doubront is coming off his first full year in the bigs with double digit wins. He has faultered some in the 2nd half, but pitched well against the Yankees & Rays recently. He now knows the grind of a full season & will be better prepared next year as a #3 or #4 starter. Tazawa is coming off of Tommy John surgery & has flashed 95-96 on the radar gun in 30+ relief appearances. His ERA is under 2.00, the best on the team. While he was a starter at Pawtucket - & management may try him there again - he is an excellent back end bullpen guy to go along with Andrew Bailey. These 2 pitchers should see quite a bit of action next year.

Bobby V. & Jose Iglesias

It's true that Iglesias can't hit his way out of a paper bag. However, the season is over & the Sox need to get a good look at what Iglesias can & can't do. Pinch-hitting for him with a 2-2 count the other day to try & score a run for Jon Lester was the wrong priority. Maybe Bobby thought Lester pitched well enough to warrant a win & he was trying to score a couple of quick runs on a blast. But it was the wrong priority at this time of year. Another reason why Bobby shouldn't be back - inconsistent management of game situations.

Sox 5, Rays 2

It was like looking in the mirror. Poor defense. No hitting. Dugout conflicts. And I'm not talking about our Boston Red Sox. The Tampa Bay Rays imploded further after a 1-5 road trip by dropping the first game to the Sox 5-2 at the Trop in from of 11,000 fans. As Jerry Remy said, they are playing in front of family & friends. Jacoby Ellsbury had a nice night at the plate with a 2-run homer to break up a no-hitter, then a big 2-run single later in the game. I thought Ells was piling on when he tried to steal 3rd in the 9th with 2 outs & Cody Ross at the plate. I viewed that steal attempt as him going for an individual stat that was unnecessary. Overall, nice to see that the Red Sox are not the only team in disarray. They just started earlier than the Rays this year.

Welker Conspiracy

Is there a plan in place to phase out Wes Welker? There is if you subscribe to the conspiracy theory that Wes is now out of grace with Bill B. & Julian Edelman is in. From what I saw on Sunday the Pats can use both guys with the loss of Aaron Hernandez for 4 to 6 weeks. Maybe Welker can bring a little moere consistency to the offense, consistency that was sadly missing the entire game versus Arizona. Whether it's playing or not playing Welker, Brady, the O-line & his backs & receivers better get it figured out before next weekend's game in Baltimore.

Red Sox of the Future

I read a very clever, thought-provoking article written by Dave D'Onofrio in the Manchester Union-Leader on Sunday. I'll summarize it. It starts out on Valentine's Day, February 14, 2013. He recounts moves made by the Red Sox over the winter. Bobby Valentine is gone as manager on October 6th. Cody Ross signs a 3-year deal & David Ortiz gets his 2-year deal on October 23rd. Marlins' bench coach Joey Cora becomes Ben Cherington's choice as the Sox new manager on November 4th. Rumors are that Toronto wanted too much to part with John Farrell. The Sox go after Josh Hamilton, but he resigns with the Rangers on November 18th. On November 25th the Sox pull a major trade by acquiring shortstop Troy Tulowitzki from the Colorado Rockies in exchange for Jose Iglesias, Ryan Kalish & pitching prospect Matt Barmes. Tulow is 28 & coming off an injury plagued 2012, but the Sox take on major salary for several years. Cherington says top prospect Xander Boegarts will be given a first-base glove in spring training. On December 4th Cherington says the Sox will allow Jacoby Ellsbury to play out his final year under contract. On December 15th Mark Melancon is traded to an NL team. Alfedo Aceves is not resigned for 2013. Bullpen is projected to be Bard, Tazawa, Atchison, Miller Breslow & Bailey as the closer with one spot up for grabs. On January 4th the Sox sign free agent starting pitcher Gavin Floyd to a 1-year deal as Floyd hopes to bounce back from a disappointing 2012. Floyd joins Franklin Morales & Rubby de la Rosa as candidates for the 5th rotation spot behind Buchholz, Lester, Doubront & Lackey. On January 15th the Sox resign James Loney & Scott Podsednik after both test the free agent market for months. Loney will platoon with Mauro Gomez at first base. Podsednik will platoon in left until Bryce Brentz or Jackie Bradley, Jr. come up to the big team. The projected lineup for 2013 becomes Ellsbury CF, Pedroia 2B, Tulowitzki SS, Ortiz DH, Ross RF, Middlebrooks 3B, Gomez/Loney 1B, Saltie/Lavarnway C, Sweeney/Nava LF. I thought that was a pretty interesting article.

Pats Lose 20-18

My first trip to see a Patriots game at Gillette was a memorable one, just not a good one from the game outcome, as the Pats lost their home opener to the Arizona Cardinals 20-18. It was a beautiful day. Fans were grilling up treats in every parking lot. I thought $30 to park a mile plus away was a rip-off, but I'm told it happens on gameday. The stadium buzzed after the national anthem with the flyover of F-18's. The stadium cameras found Dan Ackroyd in a suite & he started dancing to a Blue Brothers tune when he saw himself on the jumbo-tron. And yes, even a few boo birds came out as the offense kept sputtering all day long. I'm no football expert, but my play of the day that lost the game for the Pats happened before the final Gostkowski kick. It was the blocked punt by Arizona in the Pats end zone which resulted in 7 points. Whoever #43 is on the Patriots - he missed his block assignment that led to the blocked punt. To me that was the play that changed the game. Traffic going home was worse than coming in & Route 1 is just not equipped to handle 60,000 fans leaving all at once. Regardless, it was a great day & an experience to check off of your bucket list.

Buchholz the New #1

Even on a day without his best stuff, Clay Buchholz kept his team in the game long enough for the offense to score a go-ahead run in the 9th to win 3-2. When is the last time the Red Sox put 2 wins together? My thought when I was watching this game today was about Daniel Nava. His fielding has certainly improved, as evidenced by a big catch in the 8th last night. I like the fact that he is a switch hitter. But his long swing (almost like Lavarnway's) results in a lot of strikeouts & pop-ups. You have to wonder if Nava has a future with this team as a 4th outfielder or not. He has 2 more weeks to show what he can do.

Lavarnway, Gomez Fuel Offense in 8-5 Win

It's a chase for last place, but the Red Sox won their opening game in Toronto 8-5. In large part it was thanks to the 3-run homer by Ryan Lavarnway & a big 9th inning, 2-run triple by Mauro Gomez. As only Dice-K could do, he gave up 3 runs in the 3rd inning without the benefit of a hit - something pretty hard to do even for him. Dice will be gone in 2013, but Lavarnway & Gomez could see a lot of playing time next year.

Stephen Strasburg Shut Down

What do you think about the Strasburg situation? On the one hand, you have a team in 1st place that is headed for the post-season for the 1st time since the franchise moved to Washington. Sometimes you need to grab onto lightning when it strikes & make the most of the opportunity before you - perhaps a World Series in the Nats case. On the other hand, you have a 24-year old pitcher who is very gifted returning from Tommy John surgery. Management said from the start of the season that they would shut him down after X amount of innings so as not to risk further injury. And that happened recently. Compounding the situation is Strasburg's agent who threatened to sue the Nationals if they didn't shut him down. And then the doctor who performed the surgery comes out yesterday & says that he was never consulted about the shutdown. Damned if you do. Damned if you don't. While it is a good human interest story to think that the Nats management put Strasburg's health ahead of one year of competition, my negative side says it's all about money. Strasburg puts people in the seats. And the Nats want people in the seats for years to come. I guess time will tell whether this was a good strategy or not.

Sox Lose, Not For Sale

Felix Doubront pitched well, but you can't win when the offense scores zero runs. Sox lost to the Yankees 2-0. However, the bigger news was off the field (again) as Sox ownership squashed a Fox Business Report story that the team was up for sale. Both John Henry & newly resigned Larry Luchhino said the story had no merit. The current ownership group bought the Sox for $750,000,000. With the Dodgers recent sale price of over $2,000,000,000 & austerity moves to get out from under big multi-year deals the rumor mill was running rampant about a pending sale. Henry's other assets in Liverpool & NASCAR have been in the forefront this past year as interest seemed to be diverted from the Red Sox to those enterprises. As I said before, this off-season should be the best part of 2012.

Yankees Squeak By 5-4

It came down to a final at bat by Jacoby Ellsbury for a 2nd night in a row. This time Soriano got him to ground out to end the game. Too bad. It's fun to see the Yankees squirm as they watched Baltimore win again. If the Yankees do make the playoffs, not as AL East champs but an AL wild card, anything can happen in a 1-game winner take all playoff game. It would be great to see both Baltimore & Tampa Bay catch fire these last few weeks & really press the Yankees to make the playoffs at all. Oakland & the LA Angels are making bids at the 2 wild cards as well. That makes 4 teams other than the Yankees for 3 spots. The arithmetic (as former Ptresident Clinton says) indicates the Yankees have a 60% chance of being one of the 3 out of 5 possible teams in the playoffs. That also means there's a 40% chance they don't make it.

Sox 4, Yankees 3

Ha! Ha! Ha! The one game that the Sox decide to win & it's against the stinkin' Yankees. Even though it seemed like Jon Lester walked 100 batters, the Yankees could only score 3 times off him. Jacoby Ellsbury's 4 hits paced the offense, including the walkoff single to score Ciriaco in the 9th. How big was Lavarnway's throw to throw out Edwardo Nunez trying to steal 2nd in the top of the 9th? It all came together for once - good defense, timely hitting & an OK pitching effort. Take that, Yankees!

Ortiz Done This Year

David Ortiz confirmed that he will not push his ailing Achilles tendon to return to the Red Sox lineup this year. That's a bit surprising since he is a free agent once again & Big Papi may have wanted to prove to potential suitors that he was 100% healthy going into the off-season. After a decision on next year's manager, the Ortiz situation, as well as Ellsbury's status, will be 2 keys for management to address early on. The Sox definitely need Ortiz' bat in 2013 to solidify the middle of the order. #34 will probably get a 1-year offer with a club option for 2014 or just arbitration like this past year for one more year. Either way Big Papi will be a Red Sox in 2013. He will get more money from the Sox than anywhere else.

Another Loss After the Trade

It's hard for any Red Sox fan to watch their current triple A lineup go out & lose 9 of 10 games as the season comes to an end. It's hard not to lose sight of the positive impact that the Dodgers trade will have in coming years. You have to look at the rest of this season as extended Spring Training. It's a chance for bubble players, like a reinstated Daniel Nava, to get evaluated going into the off-season. It's a chance to showcase a number of players who may end up in trades. The upcoming Yankees series is a tale of 2 teams headed in the opposite directions, one to the playoffs & one going home. Again, don't get discouraged. The best part of 2012 will be the off-season.

Jacoby Ellsbury - Keep or Trade?

As I watch a homer off Ells' bat land in the bullpen yesterday, it made me remember his MVP year of 2011. Those numbers will be hard to duplicate, but Ells is a guy with skills & a number of teams will be interested in talking to the Red Sox about him in the off-season. Given the salary space that the Sox have, my opinion is that the Red Sox keep Ellsbury & let him play out his contract year in 2013. If he has another career year & someone wants to give him $20 mil / year for 7 or 8 years, you let him go. If he has a so-so year like this year, his value may not be excessive for the Red Sox to re-sign him. The unknown in this equation is what the Red Sox could get in return for Ells. If they can get an established #1 or #2 starter, maybe they listen. Other than that, I would hold onto Jacoby.

Patriots Off & Running

The new look New England Patriots utilizes youthful exuberance on defense & a smash mouth, hard running offense to win their first game of 2012 by a score of 34-13 over the Tennessee Titans. Steven Ridley rushed for over 100 yards & one TD. Gronk & Hernandez each caught a TD. And defensive rookies Hightower & Jones combined for a strip sack & recovery for a back-breaking TD. The O-line kept Tom Brady protected, save for a bloody nose in the first half. How weird was that to see Brady's press conference with a big bandage on his nose! All in all, a great start to a new season.

Tori Hunter & Mike Napoli

Two names tossed around on the baseball show as possible pick-ups for the Sox this off-season were Tori Hunter & Mike Napoli. Both are older guys who could probably live with 2-year contracts. Both could add character, like Cody Ross, to change the clubhouse culture. And both would give more time for up & coming Red Sox prospects to mature before they hit the big leagues in 2014. I like both names. Hunter can play both corner outfield positions. Napoli can play 1B, C & DH. These are the kind of older position guys that would fit nicely into the rebuilding plan for 2014. Good job, baseball show! I like the idea.

Starting Jobs Next Year for Ciriaco & Gomez?

Another bad outing by Dice-K, which means nothing, in a 9-2 loss last night. There is a fight shaping up for infield positions, though. Pedro Ciriaco has been a regular fill-in for Will Middlebrooks at 3B since his wrist injury. Jose Iglesias has been getting time at SS. And Mauro Gomez has looked better defensively at 1B. Ciriaco could be the regular SS or the utility guy in 2013. Iglesias hasn't proved that he can hit big league pitching yet, so I don't see him as the everyday SS. Maybe he has a shot to be the utility guy if Ciriaco becomes the everyday SS. Perhaps 1B becomes a platoon situation, like it is now, between Gomez & Loney. I think that Gomez has the better, more powerful bat. It would be interesting to see what production 500 at bats would result in 2013 for Gomez. These are some of the issues that will be watched by management over the next few weeks to see what happens in the off season. It hard to judge a clutch player, though, since these games are meaningless.

New Bullpen Shaping Up

Even though the Sox lost again, my takeaway from last night was seeing the beginnings of a new & younger bullpen. Righties Chris Carpenter, Clayton Mortensen & Junichi Tazawa have been pretty good in their big league appearances this year. Mix in Andrew Bailey, Vicente Padilla, Andrew Miller, Rich Hill & Craig Breslow and you have the making of a balanced bullpen. No mention of Daniel Bard who lost the game last night by giving up another HR, this time a 2-run shot in the 9th to ice the game for the Blue Jays. No mention of Alfredo Aceves as he will either be gone next year for his recent baby tantrums or he may get used as a starter. No mention of Mark Melancon as he just never got positive results this year. Take out the Bard, Aceves, Melancon poor outings this year & the rest of the bullpen was pretty solid. I'd replace them with Carpenter, Mortensen & Tazawa.

Patriot Predictions

If you have heard any sports shows this week, all the experts have made their predictions about how the New England Patriots will fare this year with their revamp defense & suspect offensive line. 14-2, 13-3, 12-4, 8-8. Those are the regular season numbers that I've heard thrown around. What do you think? I'm going with 12-4. If Brady stays healthy & the defense is much improved, I'm looking for the Pats to get back to the Super Bowl again - and this time win it with defense.

The Series for Last Place

While the exuberance of the Beckett-Gonzalez-Crawford-Punto trade is wearing off after a 1-8 road trip tonight's opening game of a series against the Toronto Blue Jays is the first of three to stay out of the AL East cellar. The Orioles play meaningful baseball at Camden Park against their co-leader New York Yankees. And Tampa Bay is only 2 1/2 off the O's-Yankees pace. But we are playing this weekend to stay ahead of the Jays in 4th place. No doubt job evaluations are being performed. Who will be at short next year? Who will play first? Who will be in the outfield? All these questions may be determined in the next 3 weeks of games.

Why Not Use Mauro Gomez?

It's the top of the 8th last night. We are losing 2-1. We have runners on 1st & 2nd with 2 outs. James Loney is the scheduled batter. Eric Wedge brings in a lefty from the bullpen. I didn't get why Bobby didn't pinch hit Mauro Gomez for Loney. As it turned out, Loney struckout for the final out. With runs so hard to come by lately I would have tried a better match-up in that instance. Maybe the Sox want to see how Loney hits lefties or, in this case, doesn't hit lefties. More than his terse & undecipherable answers to pre & post-game questions this is the part of Bobby V that I question - his in-game moves or lack of moves.

Bobby Versus Big O

Prior to another loss in Seattle, 2-1 last night, Bobby V & Glenn Ordway had quite an exchange on WEEI radio. In my opinion Ordway was "piling on" when he asked Bobby if he quit on the team. A 1-8 road trip doesn't put any manager in a good mood to start with. Bobby replied that if he was in the WEEI studios he would hit Ordway in the face. It was an insulting way to phrase a question. But so be it with Boston media. Bobby also could have simply stated "no" & moved on. I don't think either side handled the interview particularly well. And that's the frustration of no success on the field. I doubt things will be any less tense tonight either in the dugout or in the press room when the Sox return home to start a series with Toronto tonight. No one likes to lose. And everyone needs someone to blame.

Sox Finally Win 4-3

Who would have thought that the Orioles would join the Yankees & Rays in the AL East as teams fighting it out in September for playoff spots? And here we are on the left coast fighting to get 1 win in the last 8 tries over a last place team. Baseball is fickle like that. And one day after I blasted Ryan Lavarnway for poor results he comes up with a game-winning home run after a 3-run shot by Cody Ross. It may be only one win, but a win does help the morale on any team. Another win today & the Sox can finally win a series, something they haven't done in a long time.

What's Happened to Ryan Lavarnway?

Ryan Lavarnway was my boy for the past few years as the up & coming answer to the Red Sox catching duties. I saw him play in the Arizona Fall League. His call-up last year produced 2 home runs in Baltimore in the 2nd to last game of the season. He even caught the infamous last game of the year with the memorable miscue by Carl Crawford in left to end the game & season. The brass wanted Lavarnway to work on the defensive side of his game, so much so that they were willing to let his offense slide. I'm not sure what happened this past year in Pawtucket, but Lavarnway is just not the same guy. He is very mechanical & rigid at the plate, often swinging for balls outside the strike zone. And his catching has featured passed balls. I don't get it. I hope he can return to his 2011 form before the end of this year. Either someone completely changed his game for the worse or he is having a sophomore jinx this year. Very disappointing either way.

Yankees Being Pushed by O's & Rays

A huge lead in the AL East by the New York Yankees has dissipated to just 1 game over the Baltimore Orioles & 2 1/2 over the Tampa Bay Rays. Could the Yankess pull a September swan song like the Sox & Braves did last year? Anything is possible. The possibility of the Yankees not making the playoffs after sitting in first for the bulk of the year is most intriguing.

Another Game, Another Loss

No hitting makes everything else go wrong. You can't blame the starting pitcher on Monday. Buck has 1 bad inning, aided by a bad throw from Ells that bounces off Lavarnway. Iglesias misplays a ball at short. Result is a 4-1 loss for the 7th loss in a row. And the team batting average is under .200 for this trip. It was nice to see Chris Carpenter throw an inning. He has potential. Let's see everyone else while we're at it. It's spring training in September.

It's Time for Bobby to Go

He bats Podsednik third. He uses Aceves for more than 100 pitches over 3 nights. He doesn't intervene in the Pedroia/Aceves dugout flare-up. He gives a cryptic response to Aybar being hit or not hit. He shows up late by standards to a game. After 6 losses in a row & signs of continued team deterioration it is time to cut Bobby V. No, it's not fair. He was not able to bring in his own coaching staff. He was not given the authority to make all on-field decisions. However, Bobby's managerial decisions over the latest 6-game debacle should be enough to get him fired & put an end to a tumultous year. Both Ben Cherington & John Henry are in Seattle. I say put Bogar in charge for a month. Play Pedroia, Ross, Ells & others sparingly. Let every call-up get out there & show you what he can do. And field a team that will hustle & play with a little pride for the last month. As I said to my family, the off-season may be the best part of this regular season.

It's Hard to Watch

5 losses in a row. Another night where the starter can't make 4 innings. Another night of no offense. You know you are in trouble when Scot Podsednik is your #3 hitter. Bobby has no punch in that lineup. The Red Sox record is now worse than the Seattle Mariners, 10 games under .500. And Aceves just wants to start trouble instead of pitch. I think Alfredo is wearing out his welcome. Reminds me of Carlos Zambrano in his Cubs days. Patriots can't get here fast enough!

Oakland Demolishes Sox 20-2

What an embarassment! It was easy to tell which team was in a playoff hunt & which team was not. The Sox offense squandered early chances to take a lead in the game. Aaron Cook imploded again, giving up 6 in 3 innings. And the rest of the bullpen had a tough night. But Cook & the no-hit-when-you-need-it offense took the Sox out of the game after 3 innings were complete. No matter what time of year, no matter if you are in or out of the race, a 20-run game is a total embarassment. Let's get to October 1st soon.