6-25-2010: Sox weather rocky series,

After coming into Colorado on a torrid streak of dominating Inter-League opponents, the Red Sox dropped two of three to the Troy Tulowitski-less Rockies this week. Tampa Bay continues to fizzle, but we need the Yankees to stay slow if we want to catch up.

Game 1: Jon Lester was good again, but the Sox just couldn’t get anything going versus Jhoulys Chacin. Chacin is a young talent, and he did a good job keeping the ball low and away from right-handed hitters, especially. We wasted a couple of bases loaded opportunities in this one… Dustin Pedroia made a nice play on that ball that took a bad hop on Kevin Youkilis, but that’s no rarity. He also backed up that bad throw in the 2nd on the swinging bunt nicely. I see him in the right position all the time, just the way you’re supposed to play… I don’t know why the injured Mike Cameron was trying to steal 2nd in the top of the 3rd; that must have been a botched hit and run or something, right? Normally I don’t complain about a strikeout for one of our pitchers, but that punchout in the 8th was clearly on a ball way outside. Hideki Okajima got lucky.

Game 2: Closer Jonathan Papelbon had a meltdown of historic proportions (again), blowing a 3-run lead on two HRs by Ryan Spilborghs and Jason Giambi in the bottom of the 9th. It was only his 2nd blown save of the year, but the problem was the way in which it happened. Papelbon blamed it on a “flat” flastball- hey, that’s exactly what he said after he blew his first save against the Yankees, another late-inning two-HR debacle of an outing… John Lackey continues his string of lackluster starts; if something’s not wrong physically, does he maybe have fat cat syndrome? Daniel Nava collected 3 hits and 3 RBI against Colorado’s Ubaldo Jimenez on a night where we needed someone to kickstart the offense. He’s quickly convincing me that he could stick as a 4th outfielder for us.

Game 3: What kind of player is Pedroia? He’s the kind who cares deeply about winning and can seemingly will his team to win at times. His 5-5, 3-HR, 5 RBI performance was the best hitting performance of his career, and it saved Papelbon’s tail, who blew his second straight save in as many nights. And don’t think this puts Pedey in the power hitter category, because he just doesn’t hit them like those guys… Both bullpens were horrible last night, reemphasizing our need for help out there… I keep thinking that Adrian Beltre has to come back to earth soon, but every time I say that, he goes out and gets two or three hits. Credit Theo Epstein for signing a capable player who is motivated to get a big contract next year, and the benefit we are reaping from him this season. Beltre’s numbers and overall quality of defense (despite the high number of errors) make him a legitimate All-Star candidate in my book… Josh Reddick needs to relax out there. He’s all tense about proving he can hit, and that’s making him, well, not hit.

2009 Offseason: Yankees get Teixeira

Well, in case you missed it, it is now official – Mark Teixeira will be a New York Yankee for the next eight years. Just when I was beginning to think it was possible for us to win. GM Brian Cashman played this one close to the vest, and swooped in to land their third major free agent prize in two weeks. The Red Sox were standing firm on their offer of 8 years, $168M, and New York trumped them with a $180M offer over the same term. Teixeira’s new deal comes with full no-trade protection.

44-28: Sox continue winning ways against O’s, Reds

Two out of three ain’t bad, especially when you’re doing it every series. And doing it without David Ortiz and Daisuke Matsuzaka playing. Midway through June, the Sox have opened up a 2 1/2 game lead in the AL East over the Tampa Bay Rays, who are still around. Also beginning to come up in the rear view mirror are the Yankees, who are getting some phenomenal play out of Alex Rodriguez, Johnny Damon, Mike Mussina, Joba Chamberlain and Jason Giambi.

10-7: Beckett and Ramirez punish Yanks, 7-5

With a very strong outing by Josh Beckett (2-1) and a two home run performance by Manny Ramirez, the Red Sox earned a split of this two game series in New York. Beckett gave the Boston bullpen some much needed rest after some very short starts this week, which overexposed the middle relievers; that’s never pretty on any team.

7-6: Boston wins an ugly one, 8-5

It was a strange sight, seeing David Ortiz on the bench. I guess even DHs need a day off now and then. The number 3 spot was filled by J.D. Drew, who went 0-3 with 2 walks and 2 runs scored. The Red Sox were able to take game 3 of this first series against the bad boys from New York, thanks to some timely offense by Manny Ramirez, Kevin Youkilis and Sean Casey.

5-6: Wang 2-hits Sox, 4-1

It was the first Red Sox-Yankees contest of the season, and New York came in a bit banged up. They are likely without Derek Jeter for this whole series. But last night, it didn’t matter, as Chien-Ming Wang (3-0) threw a complete game and completely throttled the Sox lineup all night. The wet, drizzly conditions didn’t make it any easier.

Yankees top Sox in Spring match, 8-4

Three hits, three walks, four runs. Two outs. That was what Bartolo Colon contributed today in the Sox’ only Spring contest against the Yankees. Colon seemed to struggle with command in this outing, and it cost him against what is still the best lineup in baseball. Julian Tavarez came into the game, and escaping the first inning, got smacked around in a long second inning, giving up doubles to Jason Giambi and Bobby Abreu, who also added a 2-run shot.