What was even nicer is that no crazy ass pitching threw away a wonderful lead like that, and the ailing Will Middlebrooks even added another run with a solo shot in the 8th inning.

So hopefully this is them turning the corner, and not a flash in the pan, 2 weeks of continuous suckage is PLENTY, and I for one, am ready to move past that and get back to some more April-like mojo…

John Lester got his 6th win of the 2013 campaign with a great 7-inning, 2 run effort, remaining undefeated for the season…

The rest of his line: Throwing 107 pitches, 74 for strikes, giving up 8 hits (NO homers) while walking none, throwing a wild pitch, hitting a batter, and striking out 5…

And with those 5 strikeouts, he surpassed Josh Beckett on the Red Sox all-time strikeouts list, holding sole possession of the #5 spot with 1110. Next up: Cy Young who is #4 with 1341. Rounding out the Top 5 are Pedro (1683) Tim Wakefield (2046), and Fatboy Roger (2590)

Defending AL Cy Young Award award winner David Price did not fare very well in the contest, getting his 4th loss of the season, and had to leave the game in the 3rd inning with left tricep tightness…

Andrew Bailey, who will be back on the road trip, pitched a simulated game this afternoon, and will probably pitch in at least 1 rehab minor league start before coming back to the bigs…

So Blue Jay Colby Rasmus accused John Farrell of over reacting when things got tense on the field in Toronto: “It was like panic mode, ‘What are we doing?’ It was just a bad feeling.” I know we don’t always know what goes on behind closes doors, but I never got the vibe that John Farrell was a panic-er…He always seems so calm and unflappable. Sour Grapes, or something more?

Coming up: The rubber match of the series against Tampa Bay, with Felix Doubront back as a starter. But Franklin Morales is expected to be back soon–and he is being stretched out to start,so if Felix doesn’t get it together–his time may be running out. He is opposed by Alex Cobb. 1st pitch: 7:10pm

Now their closer (the first one) is now done with the season, as his elbow tendon FELL OFF THE BONE, the best catcher they have is on the DL with a concussion, their 3rd baseman is playing with broken and/or separated ribs–and no one can pitch to save their life–and in the middle of May, they have lost 8 of their last 12, and are now THIRD in
the Al East–nowhere NEAR the best record in baseball..

W.T.F. Happened?

I get that there are some injuries–but Will Middlebrooks was struggling before his collision with David Ross, and Hanrahan was off the DL for like 15 minutes before his arm fell off—so what is everyone else’s excuse? Is this market correction–or just a momentary lapse of reason?

And I truly believe Ryan Dempster messed with his Karma with all that “I’m gonna win 30 games this year” crap. Even if he was kidding, it sounds bush league–and he has never been “That guy” and Holy Hell, at this rate, he might end up LOSING 30 games this year…CRAP…

Thankfully, the injury bug is not leaching onto Shane Victorino, who was cleared to play tonight after banging up his torso running into the wall during Sunday’s drubbing by the Jays…

And while Andrew Bailey will NOT be activated today, he IS making progress, throwing a mound session today. If all goes well, he’ll probably need a rehab start or 3 before returning–can’t imagine they would activate him straight from the DL…But the Sox really need him back–Junichi Tazawa, while effective, is no closer–plus the fact it throw the entire bullpen (and their roles) off…

Interesting stat: Despite the fact that John Lackey is 1-3 for the 2013 campaign, he has a 2.28 ERA, and 24 strikeouts in the 22 1/3 innings he has pitched. So, his W-L record is really more a lack of run support, as his ERA is over 4 runs LESS than it was in 2011…

Coming: The Sox kick off a 9-game road trip with 3 with the resurging Tampa Bay. John Lackey is on the bump tonight, opposed by Matt Moore who is 6-0 with a 2.14 RA on the season (but lifetime 02- with a 5.87 ERA against the Sox). 1st pitch: 7:10pm

Then, we get to May. Holy. Hell.. We are 8 days into the month and already they have been swept for the 1st time this season, have lost 4 of their last 5, lost not one but TWO closers in as many days, and players are getting banged up left and right, with Will Middlebrooks and David Ross leaving with “right side soreness”, and a left quad contusion, respectively, after colliding into each other in the 5th inning…

And, neither of them are in the lineup for tonight’s contest…and, although it looks like Ross will be back by the weekend, there is no definitive return date for Middlebrooks…

I’m have flashbacks to Adrian Beltre and Jacoby Ellsbury in 2011…UGH

Ryan Dempster did all he could last night to keep the Sox in the game, throwing 7+ strong innings. Unfortunately, 2 errors in the 8th inning contributed to 2 unearned runs, and then Craig Breslow, fresh off his rehab stint in Pawtucket, couldn’t even record an out, allowing both runners he inherited to score..and then pretty much the same happened to him A THIRD error lead to another earned run, and Alex Wilson allowed one of HIS runners to score…

So, basically, no one could pick up the guy behind him–what a cluster….

The rest of Dempster’s line: 110 pitches, 76 for strikes, giving up 5 hits including a homer) while walking 1, striking out 8, and have a balk…

So, now that Hanrahan, whom I completely THOUGHT would be done with Tommy John, has no structural damage on his right forearm, only a strain, and is back on the DL, Junichi Tazawa has been crowned the closer–at least until (hopefully) Andrew Bailey is back…

Big Papi’s hitting streak, which started LAST JULY, continued last night with Game #27, when he hit a single in the 2nd inning. That means he had hit successful in all 15 games he has played in for the 2013 campaign…

Coming up: Allen Webster, freshly called up from Pawtucket, will take Felix Doubront’s turn in the rotation for the 3rd game of this 4 game series–with Doubront going to the bullpen, in the hopes that Doubront will be more effective as a reliever, or at least get his velocity back up so he can be an effective starter again . Let’s hope the offense accomodates this rookie by driving in runs–LOTS and LOTS of them… He is opposed by Pedro Hernandez for the Twins. 1st pitch: 7:10pm

The fact that they have exceeded that expectation beyond our wildest dreams (and stil have the best record in baseball at 20-11–tied with St. Louis) so far, in a season that is A MONTH OLD does not mean that:

1. They are playoff bound; there are 131 games left to play, and its a looong season.
2. Its all over, and they are going to turn into a big pile of suck, and that the line should start forming at the Tobin Bridge.

I think that we should enjoy whatever we get this year–they are a fun team, play hard, and are enjoyable to watch. Honestly, anything over 83 wins is GRAVY.

Yeah, I think I’ll be checking for pods in MY basement!

With the exception of Friday, where Felix Doubront got beat up, both Lackey and Lester pitched well enough to keep the Sox in the game–unfortunately, the starters for Texas kept the offense quiet enough for all 3 contests. The “Dark Bright Blue Team” is going to be trouble this year–I can feel it…

And, Honestly, Ian Kinsler is the fracking Eva(n) Longoria of the Rangers. EVERY. STINKIN. TIME. there was something going on, he was right in the middle of it…

And when is someone going to realize that Clayton Mortensen is NOT all that and a bag of chips–not even the snack sized one…

But it looks like he will be around for a while longer at least, as Andrew Bailey heads to the DL, retroactive to April 29th, with strain in his right bicep. Craig Breslow will take his spot on the 25 man, and hopefully stick when Bailey comes back, which can be as soon as May 14th. Fortunately, there was no structural damage shown in the MRI, so he will not throw for a time, to rest the strain, but I think he is still going to need to ramp back up, as well as some rehab work, so the 14th doesn’t seem super realistic to me. Joel Hanrahan will assume the closer role again…

Finally, Happy Anniversary to my parents, who took a young girl to the Holy Land when she was 13, and where her love of the Boston Red Sox was born, which is pretty ironic, considering that my mom was a “Scream-at-the-TV” Skankee fan, and my Dad is a Cleveland Indians Fan. Talk about your mixed marriages…

Coming up: Where the rubber meets the road. Time for That Clay Person to take his rightful place as Ace of this Red Sox Staff and do what an ace does: Be a stopper. The Sox are back in the Fens for 7, kicking off with a 4 game series against the Twins. Buchholz, going for his 7th win of the season (with a 1.01 ERA, I might add) is opposed
by Vance Worley, owner of a 0-4 record, and a 7.22 ERA–Yikes! Let’s Hope the Reverse Lock doesn’t come into play here…

My name is Kurt Smith, if you’ve been reading Boston Red Thoughts for a while you may know that I am the author of Ballpark E-Guides, detailed PDF-format fan’s guides to MLB ballparks.

Christine has been a great friend to the site and has done several promotional favors for me, so I asked her if I could make an offer for her readers and she agreed.

If you would like a Fenway Park E-Guide—full of knowledge on getting tickets, the many seating areas, the numerous ways to get to the ballpark and the food both inside and out—please use the contact form on this page and let me know you are interested and a reader of this blog, and I will e-mail you a link to download a Fenway Park E-Guide free of charge (a $4.99 value). It will help you truly get your money’s worth at Fenway.

The only catch is that your name would be added to the e-mail newsletter list, from which you can opt out at any time. Hopefully you won’t want to though…the newsletter is full of ballpark tips, commentary and discounts on other E-Guides.

This is a limited time offer, of course, so take advantage of it while you can. If you would like to see what Christine wrote about the Fenway Park E-Guide, you can read that here (it’s been updated since then, by the way…).

Thanks and Go Red Sox!

Best Regards,

Kurt Smith

www.BallparkEGuides.com

As you know, my prediction for the 2013 campaign was that the Sox would win 83 games–and not make the postseason. And I was alright with that–as long this team was a team I could like. Because, as we all are painfully aware, the Boston Red Sox hadn’t been very likable as of late…

So, if you had told me that on this last day of April, the Sox would have a sparkling 18-7 record, and have won every series they have played except for 2, and have NOT EVEN BEEN SWEPT YET, I would have told you that you were a Stark. Raving. Lunatic…

And I would have probably called you something MUCH stronger if you told me that John Lackey, (JOHN LACKEY!?), would have a 1-1 record with a 2.61 ERA to start off the season, after having one of the worst records for a starter in all of baseball in 2011. But it’s true; fresh off his DL stint for the right bicep strain, he pitched a 6-inning, 1 -run gem on Sunday, securing the sweep against the hapless Astros.

The rest of his line: 5 hits, with 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts. He threw an economical 81 Pitches, 56 for strikes….

And the bullpen returned to their dominance, with 3 innings of 2-hit ball…

I was so sorry to hear that David and Tiffany Ortiz are divorcing after 9 years and 3 kids together. Big Papi weighs in: “I’m going to separate things. Whatever is happening to me off the field is happening, but I try not to confuse that and bring that into my job. I know how to separate things. Personal life matters, and hopefully everybody respects that.” And, for now, it seems to be working: As of Sunday’s contest, in 8 games, he is hitting .516 with two homers, 11 RBIs and a 1.400 OPS…1.400!!

Neato Stats: Some Sox players broke some team records for this month of April: Mike Napoli, with 18 extra base hits, and 13 doubles, and Jacoby Ellsbury had 11 (yes, ELEVEN) steals this month!

And how bout Daniel Nava?? He was the feel good story of 2010, hitting a Grand Slam off his first PITCH in the majors, after and never even supposed to have GOTTEN to the majors. Now, he’s batting .310, which is 11th in the AL, 2nd of the Sox, and he has really developed as a steady and dependable outfielder…which the Sox need, since Shane Victorino came up lame last week…

And it looks like Shane Victorino may be able to avoid the DL for his balky lower back. The MRI only shows inflammation in the area, and no structural damage. He has been receiving treatment, and is getting better, so the Sox are hoping he’ll be able to play soon. He hasn’t been in a game in nearly a week, so a DL stint, retroactive, wouldn’t be that bad…

Daniel Bard is back to the minors, as the Sox activate Joel Hanrahan from the DL, where he has been since mid April with hamstring issues…I didn’t get a chance to see him pitch this weekend, but my friend Paul from Boston said he looks like a head case-and is still VERY inconsistent, and much slower…

Tonight: The Sox hope to close this great April out with a 19-7 record, as they kick off a 3-game series against the “looked-much-better-on-paper-but-now-reality-kicks-in” Toronto, who they took 2 out of 3 from at the beginning of the season. Jon Lester looks to match That Clay Person with win #5, opposed by Brandon Morrow. First pitch: 7:07pm…