The Sox enter May on a modest 2-game win streak thanks to back-to-back dramatic wins over the Blue Jays. Before anyone gets too excited about the wins however, it needs to at least be acknowledged that there are also serious areas of concern. The offense has scored a total of 4 runs in the last 4 games. The fact that the Sox have pulled out two wins in that span is reason to be happy/relieved, but by no means content with the team's production. The middle relief corps continue to worry me, once again blowing a lead last night before getting the ball to Paps. Delcarmen, Timlin, Lopez and Tavarez all fill me with absolutely zero confidence at the moment, and it's' pretty sad when David Aardsma, who posted a 6.08 ERA last year and has walked 11 batters over 13 innings in '08, is beginning to look like the best bet to get from the starters to Okie & Cinco-Ocho. There are also still injuries (Drew, Casey, Ellsbury, Lowell) and lack of production (Drew, Varitek, Lowell, Ortiz) to be concerned about. So while the Sox enter May in 1st place in the AL East with a 17-12 record, a nice easy blowout win over Toronto's AJ Burnett (6.07 ERA) could go a long way towards helping me to dwell on the positive and forget about being swept by the Rays this past weekend.
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Yesterday I asked for a blowout win by the Celtics (they won by 25), a solid start by Dice-K (he pitched 7 shutout innings) and Big Papi to hit start breaking out (he homered). Nice 3-for-3 start on the blog for me.
So tonight I ask for the Sox offense to start kicking it into gear after scoring just 4 runs in their past 4 games and facing a starting pitcher with a 6+ ERA. So what happens? AJ Burnett pitches 7.2 and allows just 3 hits and no runs. Sox lose 3-0. Am I the only one getting upset/annoyed/concerned about the lack of production from this offense?
On a positive note, David Aardsma, who I tabbed as our most reliable middle reliever of late, pitched a solid scoreless inning. Javy Lopez and Mike Timlin combined for a scoreless ninth too. I guess they are better at protectin deficits than leads.
Did anyone else see the Globe today? In the "Red Sox Notes" section they talk about how TORONTO is so terrible batting with runners in scoring position, and how much better the Sox are. Does this seem odd to anyone else? Do they realize that the Sox have scored 4 runs in their past 5 games? Is Boston's only problem getting runners in scoring position in the first place? Is the Globe scared to criticize the Red Sox? This is some of the most pathetic/odd/annoying reporting I can remember in a long time.
lopez and timlin blow...we need better middle relief than those fools...but thats a problem we can postpone solving for the time being...got to admit that will all our poor playing we are still in first...which isnt too bad.
We can't postpone it much longer Daniel...if the Sox continue to score so little they can't afford for innings 6-8 to be such risks. I wish Timlin had retired after last year. I'm afraid people might forget all of the great memories of him by the time this seasaon is over.
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