Catching Some Rays

Where are the doomsayers? Where are the complaining and prostate pink hats? Where are all the voices that were telling us that Boston's season was over before we even had a chance to grill some burgers on Memorial Day?

Rolling Through Philly

After Boston's 11-9 loss to New York, people were writing off the Sox. All the pink-hats were bailing, trying to sell off their tickets because Boston has the audacity to not be in first place. Sports pundits were talking about who the Sox should trade for prospects. All before two months of the season were finished.

Ace High

Jon Lester showed yesterday that he is the best pitcher right now on Boston's staff and might be the best left-handed starter in the majors. His complete-game, 6-2 win over the Twins was a dominant performance. A performance that reflects the fact that, with 101 starts, Lester has a better win percentage (.719) that any pitcher ever with 100 or more starts. And he's only 26 years old.

Clay Brings It

I thought that last night's pitching matchup was a good one for the Sox. I figured that even if Clay Buchholz got tagged for four or five runs, the Sox could get that off of Minnesota's Scott Baker. What I didn't expect was for Clay Buchholz to pitch brilliantly in a 3-2 Boston win. Over eight innings, Clay made a convincing argument that he is the second-best pitcher on this squad right now, trailing only Jon Lester.

Gutsy Win

For the second night in a row, the Sox found themselves in a 5-0 hole against the Yankees. For the second night in a row, the Sox came back to take a two-run lead into the ninth. But unlike Tuesday night, Jonathan Papelbon did just enough to get the save and snag a crucial 7-6 win for the Sox.

Here Comes The Crazy

Get ready for it, Boston fans. After last night's down/up/down tilt with the Yankees that ended with Boston losing 11-9 on two two-run blasts in the bottom of the ninth, all hell should be breaking loose on the Intertubes today. And most of it will focus on Jonathan Papelbon and Theo Epstein.

Motor City Breakdown

I wish I could do a proper post but work has been (and continues to be) hellacious. Suffice it to say, a promising start went south in a hurry.

The bullpen imploded on Saturday (although Papelbon was stellar). But Sunday was worse, with the Sox stranding 10 runners in scoring position against Galarraga and Company while Lackey allowed five runs. And just like that the Sox are stumbling into the Bronx for two games. And God only knows what will happen tonight. It goes without saying that Daisuke has to replicate that great outing against the Blue Jays if the Sox are to stand a chance tonight against Phil Hughes. Who, I will admit, looks pretty damn good and should be the front-runner for AL starter in the All-Star game. A starting pitcher with a .92 WHIP? That's just mean.

One good piece of news? Looks like Ortiz may have rediscovered his swing. Boston will need it.

A Look At The Youngsters

With the Sox having the day off, I thought it might be nice to see how some of the big names in the system are doing so far. These are guys whom you may have heard mentioned in trade rumors, talked about as future stars and the like.

Sox Come Up Short

I don't like it when people complain about an umpire's strike zone as if it cost their team the game. There are always other, larger factors involved. But I think it is fair to say that in Boston's 3-2 loss to Toronto yesterday afternoon, Dale Scott sure didn't do Boston any favors late in the game.

Blown Away By Daisuke

Ummm...where has this Daisuke been hiding for the past 1+ years? I like this model; he pounds the strike zone and goes after hitters. He doesn't walk batters. And he makes it very, very easy for the Red Sox to blow past the Blue Jays 6-1 and go two games over .500 for the first time this season.

Walking To A Win

Well, last night's game did nothing to argue against the reputation Al East games have for being long. The first two innings in Boston's 7-6 win over Toronto took over an hour and twenty minutes thanks to control problems from both starting pitchers. But at the end of the day, Boston's pitching was better by just enough to grab the "W".

Patience...Or Panic?

I am utterly grateful to Jon Lester for a couple of reasons. First, he dominated the Yankees and led the Sox to a 9-3 win that they desperately needed. Second, in winning that game and avoiding the sweep, Lester spared me and millions of others a week of "OHMYGODTHESKYISFALLINGFIRETITOANDTHEOWHYDIDNTWESIGNTEIXEIRA!!!!!!" crap on sports radio. I was really in no mood for that.

Bigger Than A Win

In a few months, and we hope a few years, when the details of Friday's 10-3 New York Yankees' victory over the Boston Red Sox at Fenway back fades into the recesses of our memories, it will be remembered vividly by one special kid.

Earlier in the day Nick Swisher visiting the Boston Children's Hospital -- a place that can be described only as special, as Dave can attest to. Swisher told YES' Kim Jones on the postgame show that he was there to brighten the day of a young fan.

Swept Away

It didn't look good at the beginning of yesterday's 11-6 win over the Angels. Daisuke had gotten the pattern exactly backwards, having his worst inning right off the bat. Putting the Sox in 4-0 hole to start the game...I thought he was done. But then, somehow, the old Daisuke reasserted itself and that led to Boston improbably sweeping the Angels in a four-game set and laying the stage for a huge weekend series with the Yankees.

Gaining Steam

The Red Sox have now taken three straight from the Angels, including last night's 3-1 victory. In the process, Boston's starters have allowed just six runs in those three games. They've nailed the Angels on two of three steal attempts. The law firm of Delcarmen, Bard and Papelbon have allowed zero runs. And Boston has outhit Anaheim in all three games. They aren't out of the woods yet, but Boston may have finally found the trail.

In Case You Missed It ...

We made our Internet radio debut last night on This Call To The Bullpen hosted by Steve Keane of the Ed Kranepool Society blog.

You can hear the interview in its entirety here.

Book Review: Red Sox by The Numbers

Red Sox by The Numbers is, as the cover says, "A Complete Team History of the Boston Red Sox by Uniform Number." Written by Bill Nowlin and Matthew Silverman, it takes what could be a very dry topic and turns it into an enjoyable read through Boston's past and present.

A Good Start

Well, you can't complain about too much for one game when your team posts 17 runs. Even if they did get sloppy in the ninth. But compared to the last series, it was a joy to watch the Sox beat up on the Angels 17-8 and begin this critical homestand with a resounding win. Whatever was said in that pre-game meeting was epic.

Radio Nowhere

Video may have killed the radio star, but talk radio is alive and well, especially on the Internet.

Tonight, we will be making our radio debut at 10 p.m. when we join The Ed Kranepool Society's Steve Keane on his Blog Talk Radio show "This Call To The Bullpen."

We will be discussing the Yankees, Red Sox, their upcoming series this weekend and the AL East race.

Be sure to check it out.

A Winn-Winn

Brian Cashman brought in Randy Winn to be the Yankees' 25th man -- a guy who might play a couple of times a week, pinch run, serve as defensive replacement, maybe get 250 at-bats for the season.

The thing is, on a good team, the 25th man is actually important.Winning teams get contributions from everyone on the roster.

Monday, Winn made his contribution.

Flailing

When your back is against the wall, you either toughen up and get going or you fall down. The Sox haven't fallen down yet. But they are on their knees and with a seven-game stretch against the Angels and Yanks, they have to find a way to get going.

Phil Hughes Growing Up

Phil Hughes entered the season as the Yankees' No. 5 starter.

He's pitched like anything but.

Blindsided

We've all been there. Things are going along just fine and then -- WHAM! -- something catches us completely unawares and floors us.

Well, that's what happened to Daisuke Matsuzaka yesterday in Boston's 12-9 loss at Baltimore. For four innings, Daisuke looked like the 2008 model that went 18-3 and was a Cy Young finalist. Then the fifth inning showed up and -- WHAM! -- 2009 Dasiuke showed up and cracked him with a 2x4.

Reassessing Priorities

From time to time, life has a way of reminding us what's important.

Sports are not life and death, no matter how devoted we are to our teams. They are a diversion.One that can lift us up and even help us heal. Something that provides us some fun. But nothing more.