Streaking Sox hammer Pedro...

Did you ever imagine that headline?

Out with the old....



And in with the new...

Pedro's return to Fenway was not what he imagined. Although he noted last week he preferred not to face his old teammates. It wasn't pretty. Petey looked rattled in the first when he had trouble deciding what to do with a grounder hit right back to him. An easy double play ball translated into only 1 out and the runners on base scored. It was clear that the return clearly affected him.

Beckett stole the show last night. So was it that big of a mistake not signing Pedro? You wouldn't have Beckett if you did. Here's a few questions to think about:

How effective would Pedro be if he stayed in the AL? Is the NL he's pitching in truly as weak as the last 11 games have shown?

How much does Pedro have left in the tank? Only 1 pitch hit 91 last night. He's got 2 years left on his contract. How effective is that $14m going to be in the next 2 years?

Looks like the Sox might have been prudent sticking to 3 years...

Beckett looks like he's found himself. The transition to the AL may finally have taken hold. Oh yeah, he's only 26...

Few random thoughts...

Correction - last Sox 10 game win streak was late Aug into Sep, back in 2004...

How hot is Gonzo? His average rose from .220 to .267 in 13 games. Wow.

Sox are hitting .340 as a team during this 11 game streak, and bypassed the Yanks and Toronto in runs scored for the year.

Sox are now on pace for over 100 wins...

Despite multiple injuries and this recent run, the Yanks are only 3 1/2 back. Toronto is hanging in at 5 back. Just feels like more distance should have been made. They were tied with Toronto & 1 behind the Yanks.

What's going to happen at the deadline?

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Probably bullpen help only. Why? The emergence of Lester, the pickups of Snyder & Johnson, and Clement's rehab reportedly going well. Don't forget David Wells, who they may just hold back until Aug 1 anyway. If he was going to retire, he would have already.

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Defense? Nope. Already best in the majors...

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Offense? Who do you take out of this lineup? Outfield: Kapler is back & Wily Mo will be in mid July. Infield: Apparently Pedroia is on fire in AAA, and Cora is batting over .300

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Intangibles:

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Manny has not asked for a trade, and won't, according to his agent.

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Maybe look for a backup for 1B, although Hee Sop Choi is in AAA.

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Dontrelle Wills? No way the Marlins part with him.

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Miguel Tejada? O's looking for an established starter (and not Clement).

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Trot Nixon? Is Wily Mo the future?

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BEST WISHES to Peter Gammons who reportedly is recovering well. Supposedly he will make a full recovery. Let's hope so. We miss you already. Get well soon!

The Papi factor...

Amazing. Outstanding. Clutch. Ice water in his veins. Get used to this scene Boston fans, and burn it into your memories. This is a special time and a special player...

How many times can he possibly throw the team on his back when the game is on the line? Not since Larry Legend have we seen this many clutch performances. Maybe you can throw Brady & Viniteri into the mix, but at a distant third.



He does it in almost every situation including big playoff games. His ability to dial back the emotion and be selective at the plate is amazing. He also doesn't swing for the fences when he doesn't need to. He'll take a single to end it.

Ortiz made the comment that he must be getting into people's heads, after Saturday's walk-off homer. Joe Torre admitted that Papi has caused him bad dreams & sleepless nights wondering how to get him out. He's not alone. Would you want to be the closer facing him?

Is there anything better than putting fear in the heart of pitchers in all of baseball? The alternative? One of the best right handed hitters in the game is on deck...

Is there a better clutch player in all of baseball? Not right now. You'd be hard pressed to find similar prowess from any era. Attention MVP voters, do NOT screw Ortiz out of the award this season. The "I can't justify a DH getting the award" excuse doesn't fit any longer. Ortiz is the exception. An aberration. He's a special player that does not come along very often. Don't miss the boat. Enjoy the ride with all of us...

Who the heck are these guys?

Talk about a drastic turnaround... Think the Sox mind playing vs. the NL after a 9-0 run and now 11-1 overall? Wow.

Almost afraid to write anything seeing as we hammered them after their last loss. Since then they've averaged 7+ runs a game of offense and 3 runs allowed. Pitching has been outstanding, other than Seanez vs Atlanta & today.

Even if the competition hasn't been robust, they've still rattled off 9 in a row. That's impressive. You have to go back to 2002 for the last time they pulled that off.

How does this team stack up against the last 2? Take a look at the standings from the last 2 seasons at the all-star break...

2004: 48 - 38
2005: 49 - 38

2006: 45 - 28

If they stumble to a 4-9 finish, they will still have a better record at the break. Never would have thought that 2 weeks ago. A modest 7-6 record before the break puts them at 52 wins...

Coming to the Fens on Wed: Petey & his Soul Glow return to Fenway...


Will fans step up & applaud?

Or do they think his sugary sweet comments are insincere?

We'll be standing. Welcome back Petey...

Massacre in Minnesota...

Well Sox fans, if you weren't aware of this teams shortcomings, you certainly are after this last series. Other than game 1 with Schill, Papelbon & Timlin, it's been ugly. This is a sub .500 Twins team that had been struggling. They couldn't hit Silva who came in with a 2-8 record and 7+ era. Ouch.

Is this a June swoon? Or is it something more this time? Don't look now, but here comes Atlanta who they struggle mightily against. And here comes Toronto charging into second (tied now) & maybe even first.

Unless things change in a hurry...

Starters

Schill - the staff anchor, having a good season

Wake - poor record but has pitched fairly well, no run support

Beckett - somewhat of a disappointment with lack of consistency

Clement - tired arm & latest whining episode is NOT GOOD, trip to DL coming?

Wells - will he ever pitch again? Effectively if he does?

Lester - youngster needs to come up big
Pauley/DiNardo/Alvarez - just filling the void...

Here's your slated starters upcoming:
Lester - Beckett - Schill - Clement/Pauley - Wake

What does Theo do? Boy, that Arroyo trade just looks worse and worse as time goes by...

Bullpen

Other than Papelbon, yikes. If Timlin stays healthy, he should be fine. Theo just traded Riske - their 3rd best reliever with a 3.72 era - for a 28 yr old lefty from AAA with minimal success in the bigs. Do you buy the "we had a number of righty's in front of Riske and really needed a lefty" line? Unless Riske is a serious injury risk, would you pull the trigger on this one?

This year's staff era combined: 4.84 Last year? 4.74

Offense

1B - Youkilis has been outstanding, #'s better than Millar/Olerud even at leadoff spot
2B - Loretta has been good, #'s way up over Belhorn
SS - Gonzalez is not paid to hit, big drop-off even from struggling Renteria
3B - Lowell has been outstanding, #'s way up over Mueller
C - Tek has been off in average only, #'s similar to last season
DH - Papi has been himself, just awesome
LF - Manny has not been Manny - RBI's 30+ short if multiply to 162 games
RF - Trot has been healthy & significantly more productive than last year
CF - Injuries, #'s slightly off Damon (10HR 75RBI)

Overall runs scored - on pace to score about 900. Last year? 910.

Current projected wins at 92 on current pace, vs 95 from last season...

What to do Theo? Pitching, pitching, pitching. Best out there is probably Zito & Schmidt. Only problem is that both of their teams will still be in the hunt come July 31st. Not much else out there.

All you can count on right now is Schill & Papelbon.

Beckett needs to turn things up. He has the stuff and the mentors to do it.

Clement needs to grow a set. Hopefully he's not done.

Lester must perform. He is the key right now.


All we know is that if things don't change quickly, this could be a long summer...

Did you hear that sound? The HGH bomb just went off...

Thank you Jason Grimsley. Whatever you did to bring attention to yourself and get caught, thank you. And for all those players you named in the affadavit (who will be leaked sooner rather than later) thank you again.

Let's just hope that this forces the hand of MLB and the dispicable MLBPA to start testing NOW. It's probably too late to raid the players named in the affadavit because they probably flushed the evidence as soon as they heard about the Grimsley arrest.

We've heard the argument about the lack of accurate or reliable testing for HGH. So here are a couple of ideas for the geniuses over at MLB:

1) Implement IOC testing immediately, and use the labs they already have in place. Meet with them and LEARN from their experiences.
2) Draw blood from EVERY player & store it until a proven method of testing can be implemented.
3) Impose stronger penalties for substances not able to be detected yet, such as 81 game suspensions. For those who have retired or are retiring, hit them in the wallet (1/2 of salary or all of it) and block them from being voted into the Hall of Fame.
4) How about some jail time for players? Isn't proof of usage a crime?

While #2 may raise some concerns over issues such as mishandling, it will be a DETERRENT.

How long will it take to make a change? Hopefully Congress steps in on this one. They were able to sway MLB to make sweeping changes in steroid testing. If Selig wants to stay in power, he better stay in front of this one.

Let's just hope this will weed out the remaining cheaters out there starting NOW. MLB can't hide from this much longer.

Let's put some pressure on them ourselves. Write to your Congressman. Seriously. If you want to keep your kids (and others) safe from dangerous and harmful drugs, you are crazy if you don't. As a society, do we want our youth growing up thinking they need to cheat in order to succeed or be the best? Send a message that it's not OK.

Make a difference today! Contact information provided below...

(as a side note, is it really that surprising now that T.O. healed in time for the Super Bowl?)


Massachusetts:

Senator Edward M. Kennedy
Washington Office
317 Russell Senate Building
Washington D.C. 20510
p (202) 224-4543
f (202) 224-2417

Massachusetts Office
2400 JFK Building
Boston, MA 02203
p (617) 565-3170
p (877) 472-9014
f (617) 565-3183

http://kennedy.senate.gov/senator/contact.cfm

Senator John Kerry
Washington D.C.
304 Russell Bldg. Third Floor
Washington D.C. 20510
(202) 224-2742

Boston
One Bowdoin Square, Tenth Floor
Boston, MA 02114
(617) 565-8519

http://kerry.senate.gov/v3/contact/email.html


New York:

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
New York City
780 Third Ave, Suite 2601
New York, NY 10017
Phone: (212) 688-6262
Fax: (212) 688-7444

http://clinton.senate.gov/contact/webform.cfm


Senator Charles E. Schumer
Washington, DC
313 Hart Senate Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-6542
Fax: 202-228-3027
TDD: 202-224-0420

New York City
757 Third Avenue, Suite 17-02
New York, NY 10017
Phone: 212-486-4430
Fax: 212-486-7693
TDD: 212-486-7803

http://schumer.senate.gov/SchumerWebsite/contact/webform.cfm

Wang, Yanks survive outstanding rookie performance...

Yankee Stadium. Your second major league start. Against your teams' all time hated nemesis. Sold out hostile crowd. You watched a pitcher in Beckett with electric stuff get absolutely shelled the night before. Your first outing jitters last time out made you erratic. Enter Pauley onto the big stage...

And wow. What a performance. He wasn't overpowering or unhittable. We thought Francona was blowing a little smoke when he noted Pauley's poise. If not for a mistake pitch to Bernie, and the infield hit in the 7th it would have been masterful. If not for Peter Pan (aka Francona, or the opposite of Capt Hook (get it), Seanez could have come in with men on 1st & 2nd instead of a uncorking a bases loaded walk to Giambi. This game should have been tied.

But, we'll take this performance any day. He's still learning, but has proven he can get it done on the big stage against a good lineup. This may keep Lester in AAA for the moment. If anything, we'll be sure to see Pauley later in the season.

Second major league start? Fugedaboutit...

Sox bats just couldn't get the job done with runner in scoring position (not that the Yanks did vs Pauley either). So pass the blame pie to the offense & Capt Hook for this one. Sox should be able to muster at least one win this series...


Other random thoughts...

Is it just us, or have the folks in the MLB scheduling dept screwed the pootch on this one? The Sox & Yanks only have 2 series left & its only the first week of June. Just dumb...


Is Beckett tipping his pitches? Why did he get lit up seemingly every time he shook off signs? Did he just not have any other pitches than his fastball? That would explain Yankee hitters jumping on the fastball...

Will the rain ever stop? What is the record for most rainouts in a season? The Sox already have 4...

Will the beatings continue?

Ouch. What a horrible showing by the Sox. It's reminscent of the first Yankee performance vs the Sox this year. Remove it from your memories...

Tonight, the rook from AA Pauley takes the mound. His first major league outing was rough but that is to be expected especially with a tough Jays lineup (best in AL maybe majors). His task doesn't get any easier tonight in NY. Let's just hope he isn't scarred for life by the experience...

A few thoughts...

Has anyone noticed how amazing Youkilis has been this season? He's played first, and seen time at third and in left field. His defense has been gold glove worthy. He leads the league in many categories at lead off, and has hit successfully in almost every other part of the lineup including cleanup. Amazing. The crime is that he is not on the all-star ballot (no DH this year @ NL park).

As the injuries pile up, the Yankees "B" level players are performing well and keeping them afloat, despite inconsistent pitching...

Loretta & Lowell continue to impress despite recent nagging injuries...

Lets not run the 5-4 Clement out of town just yet. How many #4 starters are that much better? He's supposedly working hard on off days & was fatigued after the 6th. He may have righted the ship. Let's not forget the great run he went on at the beginning of last season...

Will Foulke head to the DL with a bad back? He's actually been effective & a good soldier...

Will the Hansen call-up save tonights game for the Sox? What does it mean for Lester? At least the Sox have been very cautious in his development. Remember it is only the first week of June. But yeah, we're dying to see him pitch too...

Will Boomer ever pitch again? Hopefully, we need him...

How about this?

Do you realize that Papelbon will more than likely be an All-Star & rook of the year? Now the staggering part. He also has a legitimate shot at both MVP & Cy Young. While it's waaaay too early to crown him with any honors, it's astounding that its not only possible, but really feasible. This is the stuff of legends if he holds up. The Sox may have just found the new Mariano Rivera. Why do you think the Yanks were so successful? Best part? He's only 25...