I usually don't get all worked up about the All-Star game even though "It Counts" but I would like credit where credit is due. So vote for Papi, Adrian Gonzalez, and Jacoby Ellsbury they are haveing tremendous years! Keep Texiara on the Bench! Voting ends 6/30/11

VOTE HERE

Matchup Red Sox Vs. Phillies a preview?

After a week hiatus from everything I am back. Thanks to Brad for keeping this going  * while I recharged my batteries at the Bruins Stanley Cup Parade and 2 Red Sox games when they played the Brewers. 2 Questions 1) What in the world is wrong with Jon Lester? 2) Where will we find a competent backup OF? Or conversely, maybe a competent starting outfielder? As has been noted, the Red Sox lead the league in nearly every single offensive category, but in right field, they are nearly dead last in those same categories. The ghosts of Drew and Cameron kill this team in big spots, and while JD might accidentally get into on here and there, his days as a full-time outfielder for the Red Sox are over, and Theo should be looking to move on. In the Pittsburgh series, the Red Sox right fielders went 2-24 in their respective at bats. One of those two was an infield hit. The Red Sox are a Lamborghini with a flat tire right now, and they better take care of it one way or the other. But alas, Those are questions to be answered in other entries...now lets size up arguably the 2 best teams in MLB.

* Brad added this photo

Tuesday: RHP Josh Beckett (6-2, 1.86) vs. LHP Cliff Lee (8-5, 2.87)

-The Good: This is an amazing matchup between Cliff lee the big free agent signing last year for the Phils against the comeback player of the year and AL Cy Young winner contender. Josh Beckett has hit 2 HR's at Citizens Bank Park. (Brad and I were at the first game Beckett his a HR in) Adrian Gonzalez is 7-10 against Lee. Crazy good!

-The Bad: Beckett has missed a number of starts due to a wicked stomach flu. Will he have his stamina back and will all of the rust be off? This could be the moment where Beckett wins or loses the Cy Young. A bad outing or two heading into the All-Star break could be ok with the team but horrible for the kid.

Brad Picks: Red Sox Win
Randy Picks: Red Sox Win

Wednesday:
 RHP John Lackey (5-6, 7.36) vs. RHP Vance Worley (2-1, 2.83)

-The Good: Rollins and Utley are a combined 0-9 against the Lackey.

-The Bad: Obviously John Lackey is a negative right now. He has struggled recently but some might just chalk his last loss up to horrible wet weather, but those people may wear pink hats. My take Lackey is going to eventually go back on the DL when Bucch is healthy and Lester figures out what is wrong with him. The Red Sox have never faced Worley and the Sox always struggle with pitchers they see for the first time. Add that Agon is going to have to take a day off or move to the OF  sooner or later to let Papi play could see it here against the righty. Franciso and Ibanez have good numbers against all of the Red Sox pitchers.

Brad Picks: Red Sox Win
Randy Picks: Red Sox Win

Thursday:
 LHP Jon Lester (9-4, 3.66) vs. LHP Cole Hamels (9-4, 2.49)

-The Good: Lester is on the Mound! Howard is 0-6 with 5 k's. Adrian Gonzalez is hitting .364 while Pedroia is 5-10 against Hamels.

-The Bad:Lester is on the mound. 9-4 record and a mid 3 ERA are not to shabby, but if you watch the games Lester is all over the place. How is his velocity? It is sitting in the low to mid 90's. His control though is awful.
Coming into the season people were saying Lester had surpassed Beckett as the ace of the club, and maybe that will happen soon but Lester has not shown that he can do that. Take two Saturdays ago when he faced the Brewers: Lester gave up 2 runs in the first and struggled, but that isn't where it went down hill for Lester and doesn't make me question if he is an ace its what happens next. The Sox tied it up in the bottom and had the momentum. A good ace will shut the door and get the lineup up again. Lester gives up a HR and the sox never had a chance. An Ace will shut the door and Lester couldn't do that when the team needed it. One example yes but until he can do that consitesntly Beckett is the Ace! Oh don't forget Cole Hamels is a great pitcher!!!

Brad Picks: Red Sox Win
Randy Picks: Red Sox lose

Stop Embarrassing Yourselves: Sox v. Pirates

Okay, well in what should have been one of the most lopsided beatdowns in recent history, despite the pitchers going, the Red Sox once again, embarrassed themselves by losing a couple to the worst team in the NL.
The Padres are about as bad an offense as you'll find in baseball, and their pitching isn't much better, but somehow, the Red Sox managed to lose two of the three games at Fenway. They outslugged the Padres nearly 3:1, but just couldn't bring those ducks in off the pond when they needed to. Yesterdays rainfest was the straw. With four rain delays in the game, Lackey completely shitted the joint up. Again. The DL list is starting to hurt a little bit, as yesterdays gamed featured both Darnell McDonald and the ghost of Mike Cameron in the starting lineup - nevermind Drew Sutton, but I'll get to all that in a later post about roster moves that I've been cooking up.
But, this is a new series, and the Sox have to take advantage of what is an imperative set of games in the NL parks. The Yankees aren't falling back anytime soon, so they can ill-afford to start losing games and series that they should win, less they find themselves four games out at the break.3
So, while I called for a sweep of the Padres (foolish, I know), I'm once again making that mistake for this series (steak dinner be damned). There is a little bit of a mix-up about who's gonna start Saturday, as Beckett has been diagnosed with some kind of stomach problem, but we'll go with the scheduled starters for now. With the off day today, things might change, which I'll reflect tomorrow.

Lets break it down:

Tomorrow's Game:
Jon Lester [9-3, 3.70] versus Paul Maholm [3-8, 3.29]
-The Good: It's the Pirates, and granted I said the same thing about SD, c'mon now. If the Red Sox can't beat a lowly Pittsburgh team with Jon Lester on the bump, we're in pretty bad shape right now.
-he Bad: Jon Lester's last few outings have not inspired me at all.
My keys to this game lies solely on Lester: he has to throw strikes and get them deep into a game and give this team a chance to get those bats heated back up. The Sox have been good on the road after that first road set of the year, so let's hope the big left pulls it together.
Brad Picks: Red Sox win.
Randy Picks: Red Sox Win

Saturday's Game:
Josh Beckett*[6-2, 1.86] versus Jeff Karstens [4-4, 2.54]
-The Good: Again, it's the Pirates, and the Sox have seen Jeff Karstens before, so many of them are at least a little bit familiar. I don't really think it matters if AGon has seen him (or any other pitcher on this planet).
-The Bad: Beckett has been sick for a week, so if he makes this start, he could be a little shaky after the time off, but on the other hand, it could help him as well. Hopefully he comes out and is as absolutely brilliant as he's been all year.
Brad Picks: Red Sox Win
Randy Picks: Red Sox Win

I think beckett got pushed back not sure of rotation

Sunday's Game
Tim Wakefield [4-2,4.56] versus James McDonald [5-4, 4.56]
-The Good: Wakefield has been pitching well, and despite the fact that the Pirates have beaten the piss out of RA Dickey twice this year, Tim's flutterball is a little different than Dickey's, so I'm hoping for the best. I absolutely hate picking Wakefield to win any game ever, but I'm going with him on this one and hope the Sox knock around McDonald early. The Pirates hurler boasts a very, very bad stat line the second and third time through the lineup this year.
-The Bad: Wakefield is due to be taken to the woodshed anytime now...
My keys to this game are the offense. Wake's gonna give up a few, so you gotta score in this one. Wake loves to face the team he came up with, and in the past has done well. He's also a decent hitter in his interleague games, so we'll see...
Brad Picks: Red Sox Win
Randy Picks: Red Sox win

In closing, let me say this: If AGon finds himself in RF this week, to avoid David Ortiz getting his panties all bunched up about not playing, I'm going to think much, much less of Terry Francona. Ortiz could use a night or two off, and to be honest, when these games get out of hand, he'll be put in anyhow (crosses fingers).

Sorry, Everyone.

So, We're really sorry for the time off, but this past couple weeks has been crazy. Randy had a family event (at Fenway no less), and I have been super busy moving, so things have just been hectic and it all came to a head during the Brewers series.
We missed the picks on that Series, but we're here now.
We text each other last night the picks, and we both picked a Sox sweep here in the SD series, and so far, we're a third of the way there.
Josh Beckett has been "sick" the past few days, which I personally think is bullshit, and that the Sox are just trying to line up the Philly series, but he'll be skipped tonight for Aceves.
There seems to be some uproar over moving AGon to left field, which I'm going to say is STUPID. If Ortiz can't handle pinch hitting, then go screw. AGon is the best player in baseball right now, and you don't move him to a weird position just so Ortiz can keep swinging. Period. If AGon gets a day off, that's fine, but under no circumstances should he be in the outfield.
Anyhow, we'll be back in full force soon enough, and as always, thanks for reading.