And then there is the fact that he has NEVER EVER lost to the Cookies at Camden Yards–NEV-VAH. And, until yesterday, he had a sparkling 14-1, .263 ERA in 21 career starts against the cookies,

FRACK…This is like Pedro losing to Seattle…Just. Doesn’t. Happen.

And, personally, when he got off to such a hot start (6-0), I never would have predicted that he would have started to struggle like he is…and I’m not sure anyone else would have either…

But the Skanks have been crashing and burning, too, so they are still 3 games behind the Sox, and 1.5 games behind the Oreos…But the Sox need need NEED to find a way to beat this freaking team–and soon–Cause they have won ONE game against them out of 6 this year–and that’s complete crap…

And, because its seems to be the way it is, it looking more and more like That Clay Person will be heading to the DL because his right trap muscle is still sore. At this point, it’s been 9 days since he pitched, his bullpen session was canceled because he was still not well enough, and the Sox are going to need to roster move to compensate–especially with the doubleheader against Tampa Bay tomorrow….

And then there is Mike Napoli, who has been so dizzy weak, and nauseous, he flew back to Boston to make sure it’s not more than the flu that has been going around…So we may be seeing Will Middlebrooks pull a Youkilis and play 1st base–he has been taking grounders there to help get more depth at the position…

And, apparently, Jonathan Papelbon might be on the trade block, if the woes of the Phillies continue. And it’s the Cardinals, Tigers and the Sox who have interest. Yeah, I know Andrew Bailey is the 2013 version of a heart attack closer, but Papelbon again? Nooooooooo! He was a d*ck when he was here at the end of May, and the Sox have had great chemistry as of late–I guarantee HE WILL SCREW THAT UP…

Finally, I wanted to send out a Happy Father’s Day to my Dad, a diehard Cleveland Indians fan, who taught me how to throw, bat and catch, which was very helpful in my 4 years of Little League when I was a girl…

Coming up: An off day, and then the Sox play 3 with Tampa Bay in the Fens, including a day/night doubleheader tomorrow, to make up the April 12th game that was rained out. Felix Doubront gets the nod for the afternoon game, opposed by Chris Archer, and Alfredo Aceves starts the evening contest, opposed by Jake Odorizzi. First pitches: 1:05 and 7:10pm…

In 2014, the cruise line and the Red Sox begin offering citizens of Red Sox Nation an unmatched opportunity to escape from the daily grind while also escaping anyone who is not a loyal fan. On the once-in-a-lifetime cruise, fans will get to rub elbows with former players while relaxing next to their favorite announcer, Joe Castiglione. Featuring the luxurious Celebrity Silhouette ship, the cruise departs from Fort Lauderdale on January 12, 2014, and it takes fans through the western Caribbean on a beautiful seven-day odyssey, according to the Boston Herald.

With prices that range from about $900 to almost $1,300 for a double-occupancy cabin, this cruise includes a range of accommodations, a variety of entertainment options and a delightful array of gourmet meals. Guests can include an overnight stay in Fort Lauderdale before their departure. Family members who are not sports fanatics will also love the many non-sports-related activities available on board.

On Labadee, Celebrity’s own private island, cruise participants will have the opportunity to attend a beach party like no other. Those who prefer quieter offerings can explore the local ancient ruins when the ship docks in Cozumel, and the adventurous at heart can join an underwater diving or snorkeling expedition in the Grand Cayman Islands. While on the ship, the offerings are just as diverse and exciting.

According to celebritycruises.com, you can meet and greet some of your favorite Red Sox players at one of the cruise’s two cocktail parties. Whether you want to belt out your favorite baseball anthem, croon a new pop song or indulge in an old favorite, karaoke night is just right for you. Finally, you can treat yourself to a swanky martini at the ship’s most exclusive bar, or you can indulge in a range of spa services when you decide to pamper yourself onboard.

Although this cruise is designed for Red Sox fans, fans of other teams may also have the opportunity to vacation on water surrounded by players from their favorite teams. Cruise liners sailing up and down the Mississippi and the Ohio rivers offer fans of varying teams the chance to learn more about their favorite sport while surrounded by players from the New York Mets, the New York Yankees and other great teams. Departing from baseball-centered cities like St. Louis and Cincinnati, these trips also offer fans the chance to meet sports writers, umpires and other baseball legends, according to the USA Today.

Countless Red Sox fans have espoused the idea of escaping to an island where they won’t have to see fans of rival teams. That may finally feel like a possibility thanks to this new partnership. Whether you want to meet your favorite player or just relax while getting a massage at sea, a ticket to one of these cruises may be just the ticket you need.

Guest Blogger Christina Lee is a financial adviser who lives in the Boston area.

And all of this on a night after a 14 inning “Shouldn’t have taken this long to win it” cluster that depleted the bullpen–a game where the Sox NEEDED their ace to give them 7 innings of work…

Thankfully, Jose De La Torre came in and gave the Sox the rest of the game: 3 1/3 innings of 1 run ball–thereby saving the bullpen…

And I feel a haiku coming on:

Lester is struggling.

Clay Buchholz is injured again.

Do we have an Ace?

So last night’s contest was played in front of 16,870. Sixteen Thousand Eight Hundred fans. Despite the fact that I am surprised there are that many Tampa Bay fans in the world–and all of them were apparently at last night’s game–Could you imagine only that few at Fenway? I know it was commonplace 20 years ago–but never now…Unless they repeated the sh*t storm that was the 2012 Campaign…

Dustin Pedroia was hit by a pitch in the 8th inning last night…and Joe Maddon is STILL going on about how John Lackey hit Matt Joyce on purpose on Monday night, starting the bench clearing non-brawl. Coincidence? Or something more? Honestly, if there wasn’t some sort of retaliation, I would have been surprised…

It’s quite possible That Clay Person will start again on Sunday. It all hinges on how his bullpen goes on Friday. As long as there are no surprises, he should be ok. And with the crap Jon Lester is tossing these days, the Sox need a stopper…

Jose Iglesias is making a pretty compelling case for Rookie of the Year: a 14-game hitting streak (longest for a rookie this year) and a .449 (!!) batting average in the bigs in 78 at bats…

Coming up: The rubber match of this 3 game series, Alfredo Aceves returns from Pawtucket for a spot start, opposed by rookie Chris Archer for Tampa Bay. It’ll all depend on which Aceves we get tonight. 1st pitch: 7:10pm…

Ryan Dempster got his 4th win, which creeps him that much closer to a .500 record, pitched 6 innings of great baseball, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits including 2 homers (he has given up 14 so far this year, tying him for 4th in the AL), while walking 2 and striking out 6. He threw 110 pitches, 66 for strikes. He also notched his 2000th career strikeout during the contest…

So That Clay person leads the AL in Wins (9) and ERA (1.71), and that is fracking amazing–but the fact that he has already been injured THREE TIME this season? Not so much…This time, its neck tightness, which necessitated his removal from Saturday Night’s Contest with 2 outs in the 7th. The reason? in the 6th, he made a throw to first base, and felt his neck tighten up. Now no one knows when he will make his next start. The Sox hope it will be during the Baltimore series–but it doesn’t look good. And everyone is sort of split on whether or not its related to his previous injury to his AC joint, which happened when his toddler daughter fell asleep on his arm…But both sides seem to be in agreement: He won’t pitch again until this is resolved.

Holy Hell…

Will Middlebrooks continues his time at Pawtucket, trying to get his groove back. In the 4 games he has played with the minor league ballclub, he is hitting .333 with 2 homers, 3 walks and 3 strike outs. There is no timetable for this return, despite the fact that he was eligible to come back on Saturday. John Farrell weighs in: “He’s doing a very good job and as we outlined upon his rehab beginning, we want to be sure that he gets some momentum going. He’s doing a good job of getting that started.”

But Shane Victorino was the in the starting lineup on Saturday night, after being out since May 20th with hamstring tightness. And then he was not for Sunday’s day game after the night game. Which, according to John Farrell, is the plan: to ease him back into regular every day play, in hopes to avoid the injuries that have be plaguing him this season thus far…Jackie Bradley, Jr., was sent back to Pawtucket to free up the spot on the 25 man…

In what reality is Daniel Nava BETTER the Albert Pujols? Apparently this one. With a .299 BA (2nd only to Dustin Pedroia), 8 homers, 40 RBI’s, and an OPS of .878–he is #17 in BA of all hitters in baseball right now. Albert Pujols? Doesn’t even crack the top 40, with a .239 BA, 10 homers, 37 RBI’s, and .732 OPS. Holy Buckets!

Finally, Fellow BBA‘er, Eugene from 85 Percent Sports has compiled everything you needed to know about the MLB Draft from last week, including daily updates on any and all signings. Definitely worth checking out!

Coming up: The Sox take it on the road for 7, hitting 2 other AL East foes: Tampa Bay and the Oreos. First up is Tampa Bay, where John Lackey takes the mound in Game 1 of this 3 game series. He is opposed by Alex Cobb. 1st pitch: 7:10pm…

John Lackey had another very good game, only giving up 1 run (a solo shot by Adrian Beltre–naturally) on 5 hits while walking none, hitting a batter, and striking out 5. Throwing 108 pitches, 75 for strikes He is the owner of a nifty (and reallyREALLY surprising) 2.79 ERA for the 2013 campaign thus far. Oh, and in his last 5 games? Rivaling that Clay Person with a 1.44 ERA…

Too bad Craig Breslow put 2 men on base, and then Kenji Uehara allowed both of them to score, resulting in a ND for Lackey, a loss for Breslow, and absolutely no penalty for Uehara. Do NOT get me started on the whole “inherited runners thing” Gah! I HATE that!

So it looks like Will Middlebrooks probably won’t be back when his 15 days on the DL are up on Saturday–and it has nothing to with his lower back. He has been struggling his sophomore season, batting just above the Mendoza line with .201 BA, 21 RBI’s and 8 homers. John Farrell is hoping that some extra time in Pawtucket could help him close that gap. He weighs in: “(A chance) to get his timing back. But then also let’s use this as an opportunity to get a little momentum going before he comes back. We’re hopeful that that is sooner rather than later. Saturday is still the day in which he’s first eligible to be activated. It could very well be Saturday. It could be shortly thereafter… (He just needs) to take his normal, natural approach and repeat it. That’s what we’re looking for.”

And….he’s still not back. After breaking a Sox record last Thursday night by steal 5 bases, Jacoby Ellsbury has not played since, with last night being the 5th game he’s missed because of a left groin strain. Supposedly, he is going to be back for tonight’s contest, but if this goes on much longer, it’s probably to the DL for him. Satan must be gnashing his teeth, as he sees the 12 year, $360 million contract slipping away… Yeah, that’s a crazy stupid number-but you know Scott Boras–go big or go home…

But it looks like the Flyin Hawaiian is back on the path of righteousness, scheduled to play tonight in Pawtucket for his first rehab game. If all goes well, it’ll be 3 or 4 there, and then he will be back with the Sox, although, with all his injuries of late, expect the ballclub to handle him with kid gloves–at least for a while…

So how about this big PED Scandal? Apparently, a bunch of players (and not the obscure, “I’ve never heard of him” guys either, are looking at 50 game suspensions for purchasing stuff at the Biogenesis Clinic in Miami. So far, the Sox seemed to have dodged the bullet, but Holy Buckets, there are allegedly some BIG names on this list: A-Fraud (NO surprise there–just fracking RETIRE AND GO AWAY ALREADY) Ryan Braun (No dodging it this time) and Nelson Cruz…

The draft is today. Don’t understand it, probably will never understand it. I DO know the higher the pick, the better, and this year the Sox have a #7 pick, something they haven’t had since 1993, when they selected a young outfielder. You may have heard of him: Trot Nixon. So if they get a young’un like Trot, they’ll be in pretty good shape…

Coming up: Jon Lester takes the bump in the rubber match of the series, and hopes to get his 1st win since May 15th. He is opposed by Derek Holland, who currently has the lowest ERA against the Red Sox among active players who have thrown at least 40 innings. Fracking wonderful. 1st pitch: 7:10pm.

And that is exactly what we got, keeping the Sox in 1st place, and pushing the Skanks down to 3rd place, a 1/2 game behind the Oreos, and 3 games behind the Sox. Still a long season, but the Sox are now leading the Skanks 4-2 in the 6 games played so far, and hopefully the dominance with continue…

And last night, despite the 3 rain delays (1 for absolutely no reason), That Clay Person put on a clinic, pitching 5 innings of 2 hit ball, while walking 1 and striking out 4. He threw 71 pitches, 43 for strikes…He is now 8-0, with MLB leading 1.62 ERA, which is more than a 1/2 run LOWER than Seattle’s Hisashi Iwakuma, who is #2 with a 2.13 ERA… We all knew Clay could be good–but Holy Buckets, THIS good?

And speaking of good, when the hell did Felix Doubront become a Yankee killer? Because he was fracking great on Saturday night, throwing 6 innings of 1 run ball, allowing 6 hits, while striking out 6 and walking 3. In 9 career appearance against the Skanks (Including 5 starts), he is 2-1 with a 2.52 ERA…Uh, HOW did THAT happen?

So after stealing all those bases (5) on Thursday night against the Phillies, Jacoby Ellsbury has missed the last 3 games with a left groin strain. Fortunately, the Sox were able to get it done without him this weekend. The expectation is that he will be back in the lineup when the Sox return to Fenway tomorrow…

Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for Shane Victorino, who is eligible to come off the DL on Wednesday for his left hamstring strain–it’s not gonna happen…The guy can’t even run fill boar yet…John Farrell weighs in: “At times he was [tentative]. He’s not running at 100 percent. The one thing that we’re being cautious with here is that based on experience of having him come back and play successive games and he’s had a couple of those setbacks prior to going on the disabled list, we want to be sure that there’s a gradual improvement, which he’s showing.” So there is no firm timetable for his return at this point.

Finally, with the All-Star game in about 6 weeks, David Ortiz is once again leading the pack of DH’s in the voting with 1,045,283 votes. And with good reason; Despite being 37, and starting the season late with his cranky Achilles, The Large Father is hitting .333 with 10 homers, 36 RBIs and a 1.023 OPS in 39 games…So, unless something crazy bad happen, we’ll see Big Papi at Citi Field in New York on July 16th…

Coming up: The Sox have today off, after playing 20 days in a row (they went 13-7 in that span), and head to the Fens for 6. First up: 3 with the “Dark Bright Blue” team, AKA The Texas Rangers, who swept the Sox in Texas a month ago–let’s hope that trend ends now…Ryan Dempster gets the start in Game 1, opposed by Justin Grimm, 1st pitch: 7:10pm…