Clawing One Back

"Oh sure" you say, "the Sox lose two and Dave disappears. But they win one..."

Call it bad timing, but I had to suffer in silence as Garza carved up Boston on Thursday and Masterson lost a winnable game with one bad pitch to Longoria. The Rays have been a thorn in Boston's side the past couple of years and it hasn't been any different so far in 2009.

Then the ace took the mound Saturday night. And while that isn't a word one tends to use when talking about Tim Wakefield, it fits him so far in 2009.

Granted, it was not a pretty outing for Wakes last night. Five runs and seven hits in five innings isn't bragging material. But it was enough to keep the Sox in the lead and that is what pitchers are supposed to do; preserve the lead.

Boston's relief pitching was enjoyable to watch last night. Especially Okajima's two innings of scoreless work while Tampa's duo of Balfour and Shouse collapsed. And I have to once again point out the solid work of Ramon Ramirez. In 12 appearances he has two wins, three holds, a WHIP of 0.63 and a 0.00 ERA. He has been the most reliable relief pitcher in Boston's bullpen so far in 2009. Last night was one more inning of solid relief. And while Saito gave up a run in the ninth, it did no damage.

Boston's bats got going again, spurred on by super-sub Nick Green. Back at SS after a single-game appearance by Lugo, he committed his sixth error of the year. But that did no damage to the team and was more than made up for by his three RBI off of singles in the second and third innings. Once again, don't you think the Yankees look at their mediocre options at third right now and go "Gosh, I wish we had kept Green" at least once a day?

Ellsbury went 2-6 with three steals and two runs scored. He is really begin to get into his groove with stealing bases. Right now, Ellsbury is projecting to have 88 stolen bases in 2009. That would be the most bases stolen in a single season since Rickey Henderson stole 93 for the Yankees in 1988. He brings a dimension to Boston's offense that has been lacking since Otis Nixon played for the Sox in the mid-90s. Ellsbury can get a scratch single and end up on third two pitches later. That is why it is so critical for him to get on base. Right now Ellsbury has the second-lowest OBP of any Boston starter. He has to be more consistent in getting on base for his speed to be a factor. His glove is still awesome, though; Ellsbury is error-free in his major-league career.

Youk continues to have a great season, driving in three more runs last night with a double and a walk, of all things. He currently leads the AL in batting average, OBP and OPS, and is second in slugging. Why would anyone have been concerned with Youk batting clean-up? And yes, I am referring to Ortiz with that statement.

I think it is time to be concerned about Ortiz. We are now a month-plus into the season and his batting average has never cracked .240 this year since the first two games of the season. His OPS is flirting with a sub-.600 number. And so far, Ortiz hasn't hit a single homerun. There is either something wrong with him or his career has entered decline. Last night he was 0-2 with two walks. That's a good night for Ortiz these days.

Bottom line, though, is that the Sox are now two ahead of the Yanks for second. Thanks for getting in gear, Anaheim. And the Sox are only one back of the Jays for first. We'll see if that holds today after Penny takes the mound. He's been alternating good and bad performances. Luckily, his last one was brutal so he should give Boston a good outing this afternoon. It's a 1:38 start today...seriously, what is with the "on the eights" starts in Tampa?