BoSox Sweep Toronto In Three

Although they couldn’t pull off the sweep against Baltimore (due to a close 7-6 loss on Sunday), the Red Sox swept Toronto in the very next three game series.

On Monday night, the Red Sox traveled to Toronto to begin the exciting series against the Blue Jays.  The scoring went back and forth between the two teams, but eventually the Sox pulled out a 13-12 victory.  After a slow start, the only completely scoreless innings were the 2^nd, 7^th, and 9^th, with 18 hits for Boston, and 16 hits for Toronto.  Unfortunately for Beckett, who gave up 9 hits, a three run homer, and eight runs in the 4 innings he pitched, this game was meant to be a battle of the bats.  Our line up was able to back him up and outhit the Jays.  The major contributors were Jason Varitek with three hits and four RBIs, and Marco Scutaro with three hits and one RBI.  We eventually secured the win with much need help from the bull pen, including relievers Delcarmen, Okajima, and Bard, and our closer Papelbon.  Here are the highlights from the game.

Tuesday night ended in a better, but less exciting 2-1 win for the Sox against the Blue Jays.  This game was all about defense, which is why Clay Buchholz was the shining star with a great pitching start for Boston.  The game proved to be an epic battle between Buchholz and Shaun Marcum of Toronto.  Both pitchers gave up one run early on, but it was Buchholz who pitched 8 full innings, striking out 4 batters along the way.  Finally in the eight inning, with Kevin Gregg on the mound for Toronto, Mike Lowell drew a bases loaded walk to take the 2-1 lead for the Sox.  Click here for the highlights.

On Wednesday night, the Sox were successful in both taking the sweep, and also shutting out the Jays with a 2-0 win in the final game of the series.  This time the pitching champion came in the form of Jon Jon Lester, who had a season high eleven strikeouts, along with just one hit over seven innings on the mound.  His amazing performance was backed up by Dustin Pedroia scoring Darnell McDonald in the sixth, McDonald scoring Adrian Beltre in the seventh.  Bard and Papelbon filled in on the mound in the eighth and ninth innings to finish out the game and hold onto the win.  Check out the highlights here. 

Red Sox Win 4 Of The Last 5

Since the last miserable post about the Red Sox, they have actually won four out of the five games they played.  From Tuesday to Thursday they played a series against the Texas Rangers and won the first two games.  On Tuesday night, the Sox were down 6-2 in the bottom of the sixth against the Rangers.  Before the inning was over, Josh Reddick doubled on a fly ball to left field, scoring Victor Martinez and Jeremy Hermida.  Reddick was then replaced by pinch hitter Darnell McDonald,a substitution that would prove extremely influential for the Red Sox.  In his first at bat for Boston during the bottom of the 8th, McDonald hit a two run homer to tie the game at 6-6.  Closer Jonathan Papelbon did his job during the top of the ninth by not allowing the Rangers to score, which led to McDonald's even more amazing walk off single to end the game and win it for the Red Sox!! For some reason I can't embed the video, but click here to see the walk-off hit and the Fenway crowd go wild!

On Wednesday night the 8-7 victory was somehow even more exciting than Tuesday nights game.  This time the game was tied at 7-7 in the 9th, so the game had to go into extra innings.  Twelve innings to be exact.  In the bottom of the 12th, Kevin Youkilis became the hero of the night with another walk-off hit (this time a double) to win the game!! We did horrible last week and now have begun a walk-off winning streak...go figure with the Sox, right? Click here to see Youk's walk-off hit!


The boys weren't so lucky in the final game of the Rangers series on Thursday.  Poor pitcher Clay Buchholz had 6 scoreless innings, but lost it in the seventh when he gave up three runs to the Rangers.  That was all it took, and the Red Sox lost 3-0 in the end.  Rangers pitcher CJ Wilson shut out our offense in the 7 innings he pitched. 

Friday night began a three game series against the Baltimore Orioles, and the Red Sox took game one in a 4-3 win.  Big Papi hit his first home run of the season in the second inning to give Boston an early lead.  Then Hermida scored in the third and Beltre scored in the fifth to put the Sox on top 3-0.  Then all of a sudden the score was tied at 3-3 after a two-run homer from Orioles's Adam Jones in the seventh, followed by Julio Lugo (former Red Sox player) scoring in the eighth.  However, Adrian Beltre came through in the end by drawing a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the eighth.  Per usual, Papelbon did his job well pitching in the top of the ninth to finish the game. Click here for the highlights.   

Tonight the Red Sox beat Baltimore again in game 2 by a close 7-6 victory.  The Sox were down 3-1 (thanks to a homer by Varitek), but came back in an unbelievable fashion by Marco Scutaro and Kevin Youkilis hitting BACK-TO-BACK three run homers in the bottom of the seventh.  Papelbon actually showed his mortality with his shaky performance in the ninth, where he gave up three runs, but somehow made it out alive and still gave Boston a win.

Less Than A Good Start For The Sox

The Red Sox have had a rough season so far, and an even rougher past week.  They are now riding a pitiful record of 4 and 9, six of which losses came during the past week.  

In the road series against the Minnesota Twins from Monday to Thursday, Boston managed to pull out one win from the three games.  On Monday they lost 2-5 to Minnesota, with starting pitcher Jon Lester giving up four runs in five innings.  Twins' Joe Mauer had 3 hits and 2 RBI's.  On Wednesday night, with help from Jeremy Hermida's three-run, bases clearing double in the eighth inning, the Red Sox grabbed a 6-3 win over the Twins.  John Lackey pitched for 6 2/3 innings, giving up seven hits and 2 runs.  Thursday nights game was absolutely horrible thanks to the Twins shutting out the Red Sox 8-0.  Not only was Tim Wakefield's performance on the mound less than stellar, the Twin's starting pitcher Fransisco Liriano completely silenced our team's bats.  

Unfortunately the weekend only got worse at Fenway.  The Red Sox were swept in a 4 game weekend series against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.  Friday nights 1-3 loss was delayed and then set in stone when it was completed on Saturday.  Saturday's regularly scheduled game was played out and the Red Sox lost 5-6.  Maybe Sunday and Monday's games will be better.  Not a chance.  The Sox lost to the Devil Rays by 1-7 and 2-8 on Sunday and Monday respectively.  

Yuck. This post was not fun to write.  One problem with having a sports blog is that you are obligated to still report on the games when your team plays horribly and loses.  Of course I would never let these losses sway my loyalty to the Red Sox, but it is a lot nicer and more exciting to write posts when they win.  You have to keep in mind, however, that your readers are expecting updates from your blog so you should provide both the good new and the bad news.  Hopefully from here on out it will be a lot more good news coming from the Red Sox!!     

BEST EASTER EVER!!

First of all, I’m in beautiful and sunny Florida with my family for Easter Sunday.  Second of all, the Celtics had a glorious 117-113 win over Lebron and the Cavaliers this afternoon!!  And third of all, the Red Sox beat the Yankees tonight 9-7 in the 2010 season home opener at Fenway!!!! YES! BEST EASTER EVER!!!

The Celtics had a 22 point lead for most of the game, but all of a sudden in the 4^th quarter Lebron decided to take over and completely erased the difference.  For the last few minutes of the game, the lead continuously switched back and forth between the Celtics and Cavaliers.  The final result, however, was also thanks to Lebron James’ big head.  With 10 seconds left, he had a chance to tie the game and send it into overtime, but instead chose to go for (AND MISS) the 3-pointer win.  After that, KG knocked down two free throws to give the Celtics their Easter win.  The big name of the game, despite what Lebron would like to think, was actually Ray Allen who scored a season high 33 points, including 10 field goals, SIX three pointers, and all of his 7 free throws.  His biggest shot came with 47 seconds left, when he knocked down a three to give Boston a 4 point lead.  

Finally, baseball season is here at last, and there is absolutely no better way to start it off than to beat the Yankees in Fenway Park on Opening Day!!  Down 5-1 in the fifth inning, the Red Sox got right back into the game with 8 runs in the next four innings to come out on top 9-7.  To really make the game a spectacular entrance into the 2010 season, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith sang "God Bless America" during the 7th inning stretch and Neil Diamond sang live his infamous Red Sox anthem "Sweet Caroline."  

Both this game and the Celtics game were a perfect combination to make it an awesome Easter in Boston!!   

Red Sox Rockin’ Spring Training

During the second of week of Spring Training in Florida, the Sox are proving that they will be a serious contender for the World Series this season.  During six games from March 8^th-14^th, the Sox won 5 out of the 6 games and are looking great for our die hard Red Sox Nation. 

On Monday, they faced the St. Louis Cardinals and pulled off a walk-off 7-6 win in the bottom of the 9^th inning.  Beckett was the star on the mound while young Josh Reddick was the clutch batter during this victory.  Beckett started for the second time this Spring Training and struck out 3 batters throughout 3 perfect innings.  Papelbon, Okajima, and Ramirez also threw hitless innings (the Cardinals didn’t score until the 7^th when Manny Delcarmen was on the mound).  J.D. Drew started things off with a triple and later scored off a single.  Josh Reddick tripled in a run in the 5^th, doubled in a tying run in the 9^th, and eventually scored the winning walk-off run to finish the game.  Jose Iglesias also hit a 3 run homer on 2 outs in the bottom of the 8^th to put the Sox on top.

On Tuesday, Tim Wakefield used his famous knuckle ball to shutout the Florida Marlins as the Red Sox demolished them 9-0.  Wakefield threw for three scoreless innings, only giving up 2 hits and striking out one.  He had complete control over his knuckleball, allowing him to throw 22 strikes in only 30 pitches.  The Red Sox scoring was very well rounded, with almost the whole lineup contributing to the win.  Hermida had an RBI single and a double, Reddick had two doubles, and Kalish, Brown, and Ellsbury all had singles.       

Can’t win ‘em all.  The Sox lost 8-6 to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays on Wednesday.  At the plate, Jacoby Ellsbury started strong for the Sox with two homeruns and 3 RBIs.  Youkilis helped out with two hits and an RBI double, along with Pedroia’s 2 hits and a run in.  On the mound, Jon Lester didn’t perform quite so well.  In just 2 and 2/3 innings, Lester gave up two hits and a run, and walked one batter.  However, he also somehow managed to strike out four Rays batters during his outing, so it sort of balanced out.  His hard work was destroyed when rookie Adam Mills took the mound and gave up seven hits and six runs in just one inning!!  Papelbon succeeded in cleanly closing out, but the damage had already been done.

Thursday turned out much better and the Red Sox beat the New York Mets 8-2.  John Lackey started on the mound and for the second time this Spring Training threw three shutout innings.  He allowed three hits but never walked anyone.  It wasn’t until the seventh inning that the Mets scored their only points with back to back homers by Mike Jacobs and Jason Pridie.  Former Red Sox outfielder Jason Bay played against us for the first time since leaving as a free agent, and to the fans delight was 0 for 2.  Alex Cora, who also played for us, but way back when, hit a single for his new team.  Its interesting how different the fans will treat ex players depending on how/why they left the Red Sox.  The classic examples that come to mind are obviously someone like Nomar Garciapara (who was traded by the Red Sox) vs someone like Johnny Damon (who despicably signed with the Yankees as a free agent).  Now whenever Nomar plays against the Sox, our fans still cheer for him and show our appreciation, but Johnny Damon will forever be booed and despised for his complete lack of loyalty to Boston.  I still wear a shirt all the time that says ‘No Hair. No Beard. No Soul.’ In reference to Damon leaving the Sox for the Yankees who forced him to cut his hair and shave his beard to fit their required appearance.  Boston has the greatest fans in the world, but if you double cross us, don’t expect to still be loved. 

On Saturday the Red Sox had a 3-2 win over the Pittsburg Pirates.  Clay Buchholz was the starting pitcher and had an impressive outing allowing only one hit and one walk in 3 innings of work.  Papelbon once again showed off his closer abilities by pitching a single perfect inning.  At the plate, the Red Sox were quiet until the 7^th inning when Mike Cameron doubled and his pinch runner Darnell McDonald scored with Ryan Kalish off a single by Tug Hulett. 

Finally, on Sunday the Sox finished off the weekend with a 6-4 win against the Minnesota Twins.  Due to an unfortunate illness on game day, Josh Beckett was unable to start and was filled in for by Ryne Miller.  Big mistake.  Miller walked two and allowed 3 runs on 2 hits in just one inning of play.  Scott Atchinson, who has been in the Minor leagues for 3 years, stepped up and threw a scoreless inning for the Sox.  Dustin Pedroia hit a single in the 4^th and had an RBI double in the 5^th.  Jeremy Hermida double in the 4^th to knock in two runs, and Kevin Youkilis helped out with an RBI single in the 5^th.      

Sox Looking Strong During First Week Of Spring Training

The Red Sox are coming out strong in Florida this Spring Training, and so far are 5-2 after almost a full week of games.  They beat Northeastern on Wednesday 15-0, with a two-run homerun by Ortiz in the six-run fourth inning.  Later that day, they went on to defeat Boston College 6-1 with Youkilis, Julio Iglesias, and Ryan Kalish all contributing to the score.  

Thursdays game against the Minnesota Twins was a little closer, but the Sox pulled off a 2-1 win with the help of Dustin Pedroia and Mark Wagner at bat.  They suffered a couple losses on Friday and Saturday: a 0-5 loss against the Twins, followed by a 4-6 loss against Tampa Bay.  

However, they looked better again later Saturday with a 9-3 victory over the Twins, in which Tug Hulett pinch hit for David Ortiz to score a three run homer in the bottom of the seventh inning.  John Lackey looked great on the mound, retiring all six Twin batters he faced.  

Finally, on Sunday the Sox finished out the weekend with a 5-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles.  Lowrie had two hits, but Mark Wagner was the key factor with his go ahead home run in the top of the ninth inning.  Clay Buchholz seemed a little rusty on the mound, but was supported by Boof Bonser later on with 2 scoreless innings.      

Red Sox Update: Spring Training

In case you didn’t know, my count down to Spring Training gadget malfunctioned and never worked on this blog.  So to keep you updated, the first Red Sox spring training game starts in approximately 4 days, 2 hours, and 24 minutes!!! Exciting, I know.  The prospective players will start it off easy Wednesday with a double header against Northeastern University and Boston College.  New additions Casey Kelly and Boof Bonser will take the mound for the Red Sox.  They will show off their skills for the next month in beautiful and sunny Ft. Myers, Florida.  The next few series opponents include the Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and Baltimore Orioles.  Terry Francona will be keeping his eyes open for young, new, consistent talent to add to the current roster of players.  I figure we won the World Series in 2004, and then 3 years later in 2007, so three years later in 2010 we should win it again!  I’ll keep you updated on any new shining stars during the spring training games, and maybe even some that hold on until opening day against the Yankees on April 4^th!!  Can’t wait!!

Red Sox Fan Wins First Gold Medal for USA

First of all, my room mate and I are, to say the least, OLYMPIC OBSESSED.  We have not left our couch since the opening ceremonies began on Friday night.  I am proud to say that one of our fellow Red Sox fans and Vermont native, Hannah Kearney, won the gold medal last night for the women’s skiing mogul competition.  Check out how unbelievably balanced and fast she had to be to beat the Canadian holding first place.

I get so into the Olympics that I would have been happy either way, but I was absolutely thrilled to see Hannah rocking a Jacoby Ellsbury t-shirt!  Go Sox and go USA!!

OH FORTUNA!!!

There's absolutely nothing like an intense or emotional sports commercial on TV to get you pumped up for the big game!!  Today I'm posting a few of my favorite ads from recent years featuring Boston teams to try to make everyone forget about the last three heart wrenching losses the Celtics have suffered.

The first Red Sox Commercial from 2004 may make you want to cry, as it displays an emotional time line of Fenway faithful as they watched their team come so close, over and over again, from 1918 to 2004.  Lucky for us though, we know that the drought of no championships finally ended that year!

Next we have the Patriots Commercial by Visa from just last Fall of 2009.  Although you won't tear up watching these New England fans, you will most certainly get energized by the great musical accompaniment of Boston's own Dropkick Murphys and their  "Shippin' Up to Boston."  

Finally, I bring you what I know as the epitome of an effective, intense sports commercial.  This Celtic's Gatorade Commercial of 2008 not only channels the great intensity of Kevin Garnett, but it also used the all powerful song 'Oh Fortuna.'  I have never been able to hear this song in a commercial without getting hyped up.  So watch this commercial right now and cheer wicked hard for the Celtics tonight!!!