Happy Hump Day!

The Sox finally got over the hump! For the first time this season, the Sox have a winning record. The monkey is gone. Now we can all just focus on the fact that the Sox sit a mere 3.5 games out of first place.

As I alluded to yesterday, they certainly didn’t make it easy on themselves trying to get over .500 by facing Justin Verlander. But, even that couldn’t stop them. It’s interesting that Verlander hinted at this possibility himself. I’m sure he was just being modest and PC. But, before the game he said he didn’t think he’d be able to dominate the Sox like he did on Opening Day. Then he goes out and gets lit up. Coincidence? Does he know something we don’t? Or did he just know that the Sox are a damn fine team, and he should expect to take his lumps every now and then? I know if Pedro had made the same comments, and then had the same performance, I’d be wondering what was wrong with his shoulder.

I should also mention a fine job by Daniel Bard. Sure there were more home runs than I like. But, he shut down a pretty good offense and gave the Sox a chance. When you’re facing Verlander, that’s all you need your pitcher to do. Keep the other team low enough to allow the offense to do its work. A great game to build on from here.

Two more games against Detroit. Their ace is out of the way, and ours is coming up. You have to like the Sox chances of winning the homestand at this point. From there, who knows?

It’s a lot of fun.

Frustration with the Internet

I wasn’t watching the Sox game yesterday. I wasn’t listening to it on the radio either. I did, however, have the box score going from Yahoo! Sports. That’s a decent way to follow the game play-by-play, inning by inning. Unless something drastic happens. For instance the words “Nick Punto replaces Dustin Pedroia at second” popping up on the screen. What? Huh? It’s the sixth inning! That’s NOT good. What happened? Why did it happen? What does it mean? Information? Anywhere? Nope. Just Punto replacing Pedroia. ARGHH!

Other than that annoyance the game went well for the Sox. (I know, other than that iceberg, the Titanic had a nice cruise.)The got hits when they needed them. The pitching got them through. I’m interested to know why Aceves was in there on a consecutive day with a big lead. But, I’m sure there was a halfway decent reason for it. Would have been nice if he didn’t give up another two run homer, but that’s the way it goes sometimes.

So, the Sox go back to the .500 mark. They seem to be visiting that level with some regularity lately. The good news from that is that they apparently haven’t had long losing streaks. The flipside, of course, is that they haven’t had any long winning streaks. It would be nice if they could get over that hump finally. Not for any specific reason related to the season. Even at the break-even point, they are only 4.5 games back with four month to go. I think they can make that up. But, I’m tired of reading that they haven’t had a winning record yet this season. Just let them slide over so those stories can stop.

Of course, they could have found an easier person to do that against than Justin Verlander. On paper, this does not look good for the Sox. They’re a good offense, though. Maybe they can put up a couple runs. The Tigers didn’t exactly beat up on Doubront yesterday. So, maybe Bard will have the chance to hold them within reason. A 4-3 win wouldn’t be a crazy result.

Or, the Sox will have to wait until Thursday to have a winning record.

Red Sox Walk off With a Win!

Just kidding, Jere, I know it's the Rays who actually walked off. But, the Sox pulled it out!

It's weird. Halfway through the game, this post was going to be about Josh Beckett. After five innings, he had thrown something like 14 balls. Less than three an inning. then the Sox gave him the lead, and he was going to be cruising to a victory. Then he had that rough inning.

How great is it, by the way, that in his rough inning he gave up 2 runs. That's now a rough inning for Josh Beckett. Fantastic.

But, of course, I'm not talking about Beckett cruising to a victory. Rather, I'm talking about an amazing comeback. Once again, the Sox prove that no closer is invincible. They show the ability to come back in a game. They show that they apparently own the Rays.

The choice to play Adrian Gonzalez in right field made for an interesting decision in this game. I can't say I disapprove of any of the decisions. I was a little surprised that they had Adrian in right instead of left. But, I guess I understand not flipping him around all over the place. Play him where he's "used' to being. Then, when the Sox got the lead, there was a choice to make. Obviously, Gonzalez isn't the sharpest outfielder. So, you have a couple options. Replace him with a defensive star. That's what they did. They could have put the defensive outfielder in for Middlebrooks and shifted Youk over to third to make room for Gonzalez at first. The way Middlebrooks has been playing, and as rough as Gonzalez looked tonight I can't say that Will wasn't a better choice. It ended up being annoying when the Sox fell behind and ended up pinch hitting for their defensive replacement. Like I said, it didn't work out perfectly, but I can't say it was a bad call.

So, good for the Sox. A big win against a great opposing pitcher. They didn't waste a fantastic start from Beckett. Everything could have crumbled around them. Instead, everything ended up just the way you'd like it.

Back to .500!

A Day Off!

Phew. I had forgotten what one of these was like. For the first time in three weeks, there is no Red Sox game today. It’s a nice time for a little break, so I hope everyone enjoys it.

The Sox just came off a winning road trip. They went 5-3 in Tampa, Philly, and Baltimore. I guess it’s up to you to decide if that’s better than a trip to Kansas City and Seattle. Baltimore is leading the division, although nobody actually considers them a first place team. Tampa is second in the East. While many people think they’re actually a second place team, I think they’re the most overrated team in the league. Philly is last place at the moment, but there’s a lot of talent over there. Beating up on Cliff Lee was a nice aspect of the trip. No matter what you think of the quality of the opponent, a 5-3 road trip is always welcomed.

The Sox have a nice weeklong homestand in front of them. They get to play Tampa again. They have done very well against the Rays this season. So, I see no reason for that not to continue. They follow that up with four against the Tigers. The Sox actually have a better record than the Tigers this season. But, they’re still a scary team. Going 4-3 during this stretch should be doable. It would also put the Sox above the .500 level entering June.

I can’t wait.

Filling Up the Bench

Voting is now open at FenwayPark100 to fill out the rest of the All Fenway Team. This time, you get to select the 12 bench players. The rules don’t say you need to split them up any specific way. So, let’s see who should be on the team. The players left to choose from are: Roger Clemens, Dom DiMaggio, Bobby Doerr, Dennis Eckersley, Bruce Hurst, Bill Lee, Jon Lester, Jim Lonborg, Mike Lowell, Frank Malzone, Trot Nixon, Johnny Pesky, Rico Petrocelli, Jerry Remy, Jim Rice, Reggie Smith, Bob Stanley, Luis Tiant, Mike Timlin, John Valentin, Jason Varitek, Mo Vaughn, Tim Wakefield, Carl Yastrzemski, and Kevin Youkilis.

That’s quite a list. How on earth am I going to whittle that down? Let’s make it easy, and start with the members of Baseball’s Hall of Fame. The fact that Bobby Doerr isn’t the starting second baseman is a crime. So, he needs to be on the bench. Jim Rice had the misfortune of playing the same position as Ted Williams. But, he’ll find a nice spot as a power hitter off the bench. The same goes for Carl Yastrzemski. He’d be the starting left fielder for almost any other team. On this team, he’s a super sub at left, first, and DH. So, that’s three votes. (I’ll get to Eck later.) Now, there are a couple players (other than Doerr) I would have put in the starting line-up. So, it’s an easy vote for Dom DiMaggio, Bob Stanley, and Jason Varitek. Now I have six votes. As for the other six?

I don’t have any starting pitchers on my bench. So, how about one of those. Unfortunately, the one that stands out is Clemens. I have to give it to him. I know Eck is in the Hall of Fame. But, he built that resume as a closer, and none of that was with the Red Sox. I don’t think I can put him on a Fenway team.

That puts my seven bench players at 1 SP, 1 RP, 1 IF, 1 OF, 2 OF-1B-DH, and 1 C. That’s actually pretty good variety. Let’s spread it out a bit more.

Another starting pitcher I’d give a slot to is Tim Wakefield. When you’re second in wins for the Sox, you need to be on the team, right? Another reliever? How about Mike Timlin? He was a key member of the pen for a long time. I think I want him back there. Another infielder. Let’s go with Rick Petrocelli. I could use some power on the bench from an infielder.

Two more. Another outfielder this time. Reggie Smith looks to be the best of the available outfielders. Let’s go with him. And whom am I missing? I’ll go with Kevin Youkilis simply because he can play first or third. Really, the only reason I’d replace a guy in this starting line-up is for defense. So, having Youk there is a nice option.

So, there you have it. Doerr, Rice, Yastrzemski, DiMaggio, Stanley, Varitek, Clemens, Wakefield, Timlin, Petrocelli, Smith, Youkilis. Wow. That would actually be one hell of a starting line-up for an all-time team. I bet that team would beat a lot of teams from other organizations. Seriously, look at that bench:

P – Clemens

C – Varitek

1B – Rice

2B – Doerr

3B – Youkilis

SS – Petrocelli

LF – Yaz

CF – DiMaggio

RF – Smith

Not bad at all.

Who is on your bench?