John Lester threw a gem in his return to Fenway after a battle with cancer. It was good he drew the Rays and it's nice he pitched well,but by the end of the game it was overshadowed with a Red Sox win in the bottom of the ninth.

I'm pretty sure that Red Sox fans use the expression "here we go again" more than any other sports fans. We say it aloud. We think it. We feel it. And the combination of the Yankees' (who suck) play as of late and the Sox leaving men on base as of late has brought that here we go again feeling to the fore once more. So while it is hard to complain with a five game lead, and hard to say that this series with the hapless Devil Rays is important, it is important. I was listening to game last night and was giving the old here we go again by about the 6th. When Manny struck out in the 9th is was a full blown here we go again. Then, with a swing of the bat by Lowell it's tied and swings by The Captain and Crisp and it's over. Oh joy! Red Sox 2, Tampa 1. What's that? The Yankees lose 12-0 to B-more? Joy times 2.

whatever works..

The BoSox's John Lester, the 23 year old who had his rookie season cut short by a cancer diagnosis, really couldn't have had much of a better return to the majors. Here is his line:

Welcome back.

The Red Sox won the game 6-2 over Cleveland who still lead the wildcard race.

The Boston Red Sox have called up John Lester to replace Tavarez:

Pitcher Jon Lester will make his anticipated return to the Boston Red Sox lineup Monday night, 11 months after his 2006 rookie season was cut short because of a bout with cancer.

Three things:

1.  The way Taverez has been pitching of late, I'm not surprised that Lester is up until Schilling gets back;
2. Just how deep is the Sox pitching roster? Lester, Gabbard, Bucholtz... wow... those are some good young arms
3. Best of luck to John Lester in his comeback.

At SawxBlog a question is asked:

• Not sure if this is a complete Red Sox fan trait, but have you ever felt such anxiety in having the best record in baseball and an 8 game lead in the division?

Truthfully, I must admit to feeling some anxiety. Why? Because it's only the middle of June and there is a lot of baseball left. My concerns do not surround the pitching (despite the performance last night) they surround the offence. With that said, I expect Manny has started on a hitting tear that will jump start the offence. Nonetheless, I am getting that here we go again feeling.

Over at The Sports Economist thee is a look at the race issues in baseball when it comes to choosing the goats.

For me it will always be the obviously juiced Mark McGwire being hailed as he chased the single season record while the obviously black Sammy Sosa was a side show who happened to be putting together one of the great seasons while in a penant race.

As for steroid use, it is time to stop testing...it has gotten ridiculous.

If he can stay healthy, Ken Griffey Jr. is putting together a hell of a season.  In 48 games he's hitting .285, slugging .527 and has an on base percentage of .395. Add 11 homers, 31 RBIs and 32 walks and it's pretty much an all-star sort of year. His OPS is .922.

(picture from www.news-star.com)

Julian Tavarez celebrated his 34th birthday by pitching the Red Sox to a 7-2 victory over the New York Yankees (who suck). I've been talking up Tavarez lately. In my mind he is a solid number five pitcher. The guy I watch the most baseball with these days is a Toronto Blue Jays fan and he thinks Tavarez is a bum, though a bum the Jays could use. But I've been looking at the numbers and Tavarez is doing the job. What is it you want from a 5th starter? A sloid fifth starter gives you 5 innings and keeps the run total in a place that gives you a chance to win. Tavarez has delivered:

DATE		GAME		W		L		ERA		G		GS		CG		SHO		SV		SVO		IP		H		R		ER		HR		BB		SO		NP-S		GO-AO
APR 07		@TEX		0		1		9.00		1		1		0		0		0		0		4.0		6		4		4		0		5		3		87-51		6-3
APR 19		@TOR		0		0		6.75		1		1		0		0		0		0		5.1		6		3		3		2		0		4		82-56		10-2
APR 24		TOR		0		1		8.36		1		1		0		0		0		0		4.2		7		6		6		1		1		2		85-53		9-3
APR 29		@NYY		1		0		7.58		1		1		0		0		0		0		5.0		3		3		3		1		2		2		84-46		10-3
March/April Total:				1	2	7.58	4	4	0	0	0	0	19.0	22	16	16	4	8	11	338-206	35-11

DATE		GAME		W		L		ERA		G		GS		CG		SHO		SV		SVO		IP		H		R		ER		HR		BB		SO		NP-S		GO-AO
MAY 05		@MIN		0		1		6.48		1		1		0		0		0		0		6.0		4		2		2		0		3		7		98-64		11-0
MAY 11		BAL		0		1		6.60		1		1		0		0		0		0		5.0		10		5		4		0		0		2		90-62		8-5
MAY 17		DET		1		0		5.59		1		1		0		0		0		0		7.0		4		1		1		0		4		3		104-60		9-9
MAY 22		@NYY		1		0		5.27		1		1		0		0		0		0		5.2		3		2		2		0		4		2		106-58		7-8
May Total:				2	2	3.42	4	4	0	0	0	0	23.2	21	10	9	0	11	14	398-244	35-22

Take out his season opener against Texas and his match-up with Halliday in Toronto on April 24, 2007 and his numbers are rock solid for a fith starter (every pitcher has off games). Note in particular, his steadily declining ERA and inning totals. He's also beaten the Yankees (who suck) twice this year. So far so good for Tavarez. Jon Lester may have some trouble finding a spot in this rotation.

The Great Debut by 22 year old Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Jesse Litsch apparently has earned him another start in the bigs... and well it should:

A near-complete game in his major-league debut was enough to convince the Toronto Blue Jays' brass that pitcher Jesse Litsch deserves another start, and perhaps more.

Litsch, 22, will get the call this Sunday in Philadelphia in an interleague game against the Phillies.

Taking the mound for the first time in the big leagues and you go 8 & 2/3 innings, giving up 5 hits and 1 run for the win... i'd call that a dream start to your career ... add the fact that it's your Dad's birthday and he's flown in from Florida to wwatch the game and you almost have a made for TV movie. Well that's exactly what happened in Toronto this evening for 22 year old Jesse Litsch.

Here are his numbers in a 2-1 victory for the Blue Jays over the Orioles.

The Roger Clemens question behind them, the Red Sox start the 3 game set in Toronto with a convincing win (9-2) sending Josh Beckett to 7-0. I note for the record that I was wrong on the Clemens signing. I had asked how much the Yankees (who suck) were going to pay and I was predicting not a penny less than $30,000,000. It was $28,000,000 or some such thing. In any event, it appears that Clemens is putting about $18million in his pocket. Analysis here and here.

I'm heading to 2nd game of the set tonight. Dice-K vs Ohka. I'm not sure who is pitching better (worse?) but I've seen Ohka pitch twice this year and frankly, he's pitch well for a 4th starter on those two occassions. As for Dice-K, at times he looks great and then he's suddenly in trouble. I still believe that he will find his way and I stick to the position that if he can start 35 games, win 12 or better, throw close to 200 innings and keep his ERA at 4.00 or better, it will be a successful first season.

I'm also heading to the 3rd game. Wakefield vs. Halliday. Seeing Doc Halliday pitch is always a pleasure, even when it's against the Red Sox. In my mind, he throws the heaviest ball in the game and he operates quickly which makes the game more enjoyable. Of note, the Jays GM announced yesterday that the top will be off the Rogers Centre (formerly the Sky Dome) when Wakefield pitches, regardless of the forecast for rain. Wakefield generally pitches well in the domed environment.

UPDATE: Much like Alan, I'll be eating a hot dog, drinking beer and taking in the game.

2 of 3 from the Yankees on the weekend making the Red Sox 5 of 6 for the season against the Yanks. There is lots of baseball left in the season, but The Boss must be completely pissed off... it looks good on him.

At some point, the Red Sox are going to have to get some run support for Tim Wakefield. He has pitched well, eating up the innings and keeping the era way down. He should have won the 2nd game, but alas, one run was all the Sox could muster.

 I am particularly liking Okajima's pitching line out of the pen:

SEASON TEAM W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV SVO IP H R ER HR HBP BB SO 2007     Boston Red Sox 0 0 0.71 12 0 0 0 1 1 12.2 5 1 1 1 0 3 17 Career Totals 0 0 0.71 12 0 0 0 1 1 12.2 5 1 1 1 0 3 17

Brendan Donnelly's  statsaren't so bad either: 9 games, 6 innings, 4 strikeouts, 2 hits and no runs, earned or otherwise. The 2 hit batsmen and the 2 walks aren't great, but he's looking pretty confident out there.

Here's my simple question: How much money are the Yankees going to offer Roger Clemens to put on a Yankee uniform this year?

Last year Clemens signed $22,000,022 contract, prorated to approximately $12.25 million for the portion of the season he missed.

The Red Sox had back-to-back-toback-to back homers last night as the Sox hung on to beat the Yankees and sweep the set, the first sch sweep at home for the Sox over the yanks since 1990. There is plenty of baseball left in the season, however, this was a great series. The best part is they get to do it again next weekend in the Bronx.

April 20, 2007

1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   R   H   E  NY Yankees 0 0 1 1 3 0 0 1 0   6 11 0 Boston 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 5 X   7 13 0

April 21, 2007

1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   R   H   E  NY Yankees 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0   5 9 0 Boston 2 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 X   7 13

April 22, 2007

1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   R   H   E  NY Yankees 2 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0   6 9 0 Boston 0 0 4 0 0 0 3 0 X   7 11 0

It was a classic baseball series. There was plenty of big pitching, blown opportunities, big hits, big homers, great plays. It was great. I can't wait for the weekend.

For now, the Jays come to Fenway. The jays are banged up and struggling a bit. I have contended that the Jays own the Sox, however the Sox took the last set ,2 out of three in Toronto.

(all stats & charts via www.redsox.com)

Perhaps the Jays will not own the Red Sox this year ..... The BoSox took 2 out of 3 in the set by beating the Jays (with Roy Haliday on the mound) yesterday afternoon. Final score Red Sox 4, Blue Jays 2.

But then again, who gives a rat's ass about the Jays? The Yankees are coming to Fenway... and everyone knows that The Yankees Suck.

The Redsox pitching line via redsox.com:

It doesn't look like a losing line, but it was: Jays 2, Red Sox 1.

Dice K has had Two solid starts this year that have resulted in losses. The Jays, on the other hand, this week lost to injury their closer and two position players and they still beat the Sox. The Jays just seem to own the Sox.

I am attending the second game of the set this evening at the former Sky Dome.

Branch Rickey was a rare man who decided to break the color barrier in baseball. He hand-picked Jackie Robinson for the job and made him promise that he would never fight back on the field. 60 years ago today, Robinson took the field for the first time in a Brooklyn Dodger uniform and the world changed.

(Branch Rickey signing Jackie Robinson for the Brooklyn Dodgers)

In the realm of baseball, George Will can certainly say it better than I, and he does today in the Washington Post:

"Robinson," writes Eig, "showed black Americans what was possible. He showed white Americans what was inevitable." By the end of the 1947 season, America's future was unfolding by democracy's dialectic of improvement. Robinson changed sensibilities, which led to changed laws, which in turn accelerated changes in sensibilities.

Number 42 is retired by Major League Baseball, though some players will be wearing it today to honor Mr. Robinson, a trned started by Ken Griffey Jr. On this day, however, I also think of Branch Rickey. He was ahead of his time. He knew somene would break the barrier and it might as well be him. It would make the Dodgers better, no doubt, but it had to more than that.

They were great men.

Rickey's obituary quoted Jackie Robinson:

Jackie Robinson, who was signed by Mr. Rickey to break baseball's barrier against Negro players, said "the passing of Mr. Rickey is like losing a father." He said his death was "a great loss not only to baseball but to America."

If he was a father to Robinson then he was a demanding one, setting his "son" loose to be insulted and threatened. But Robinson was up to the task, proving on the field his detractors wrong and his "father" correct.

21 year old Felix Hernandez, who one-hit the Red Sox last night (no hitter into the 8th), and who has a 2007 line that looks like this....

 ...is a rare talent and if you get a chance have a look. Guys like this do not come around very often.

...but it still looks good:

March 12, 2007

1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   R   H   E  NY Yankees 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0   5 12 1 Boston 0 2 0 0 0 2 3 0 X   7 11 0

I so want this guy in a Red Sox uniform this season:

And last week, his agent, Randy Hendricks, told the Houston Chronicle: "I think it is more than 50-50 that Roger will play in 2007, but for a shortened season." Hendricks added that if Clemens pitches, he will pitch for the Astros, or the Red Sox, or the Yankees.

...

The Red Sox offer the possibility of an unbroken circle, with Clemens returning in greatness to the place it all began for him. His first stay in Boston didn't end happily, but that was under a different Red Sox administration, and now he could return to a team that remains a solid contender.