Blood Red Nation

Praying for the lottery and waiting for Interleauge play...

2006-05-18T15:52:00.001-07:00

So,

The Sox, as is the rest of baseball, are about to go into Interleauge play, a concept I love. Many people bash it, saying it's mixing oil and water, but that's just not true. Getting to mix things up, see faces you don't normally see, it keeps the year EXCITING. Without excitement people lose interest in real close games. That's not something I worry about with dedicated sox fans, more so with those fairweather yankees fans who have nothing but Benjamin to root for.

Seeing Josh Beckett go up against his former N.L foes, waiting for something hysterical to happen in Philly, the city of brotherly love, the fun. I don't see what is at all bad about it. Yeah it makes the schedule erratic but that's what baseball is about, weathering challenges your team faces to get to the World Series.

in other news....

CELTICS.
The lottery is May 23 for the NBA Draft. If the celtics are to somehow get the first overall pick I will scream with joy. If they can get a big man on the inside, there may be hope of revitalization on this team.

Praying for the lottery and waiting for Interleauge play...

2006-05-18T15:52:00.000-07:00

Wrap Up 5/15/05

2006-05-15T19:06:00.000-07:00

What a game.

Beckett Was ON FIRE! Even better than my prediction. He really pitched dominantly tonight. Willy Mo and Mike Lowell hittin' blasts along with Tek. Beckett can really be one of the most dominant pitchers in the game if he can pitch consitently like that. It is indecscribable how electric his fastball is. Can't wait to get to the old Yankee Stadium on June 6th, Yankees -Red Sox, god I hope Beckett is pitching. That could be such a great game.

I know of course they will be on top of all that stats by mid-july but what's goin' on with Manny-Ortiz. Only two hits combined tonight in 10 at-bats. Ortiz hit well against the Yankees but was slumping a little. They are not doing poorly, but if they could really catch fire as a tandem this team is going places. There is a really good chance that will happen, as it usually does.

If Schill is dominant, Beckett is dominant, Mirabelli can catch Wakefield well, and they find a solution at the 5 spot in the rotation this team can really beat the Yankees in the division and possibly head back to the classic. I don't like to predict Red Sox seasons, but this is looking good if we have a winner in Beckett like that.

Pre Game

2006-05-15T14:34:00.001-07:00

BOSTON RED SOX (21-14) V.S BALTIMORE ORIOLES

THE PITCHING MATCHUP

Josh Beckett(4-1, 4.70) v.s Rodrigo Lopez (1-5 7.03)

Tonight should be very interesting. Coming off a terrible, rain shortened loss 3 days ago, the Sox try and come back with a rested and rechared lineup. David Ortiz has great numbers off of Rodrigo Lopez, 12 for 38 (.316 avg) 2 Doubles, 2 Triples, RBI, 6 Walks, 7 Ks lifetime. He should be able to use tonight to pull out of his mini-slide and get the team back on track after the long layoff. Mike Lowell is also a factor; if he is able to hit some doubles the team has a great chance to jump on top early and hold on. Jon Papelbon will probably close it out.

PREDICTION: 5-2 Red Sox Victory, W-Beckett, L- Lopez, S-Papelbon

A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall

2006-05-14T17:08:00.000-07:00

It's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard life waiting for the sox to play already!

Coming off of a semi-successful series against the evil Yankees, another rainy day washed the Rangers out of town and ended a pitiful series in which only six innings were played. The first month and a half or so of this season have been a mixture of the good and bad, the emergence of a great young star in Jonathan Papelbon and a doubles king in Mike Lowell, a walk off homer on Patriot's Day by Mark Lorreta, the return of Judas, and so much more. My Highlights:

Kevin Youkilis-- An a-typical leadoff hitter, the hot hitter has filled the top spot vacated by Damon nicely. Of course, he won't be there when Coco Crisp returns, but to say that Kevin would be in this position back in March would get an egg thrown at you.

The Yankees Series-- Yes, there were some problems, but a 14-3 rout and good pitching performances by Beckett and Wake left Schilling as the lone loser. All in all, two succesful games, and in the second win a key Yankee, Matsui, went down. Not that we wish injury upon others, but it's the Yankees.