Boston Struggling to Find Consistency

Chance for Big Saturday Turns Bad with Red Sox DH Finish

When Zdeno Chara's wrister from the point snaked past Ryan Miller's right shoulder, Boston fans celebrated. When Mark Recchi empty netter rattled the back of the cage, Boston fans celebrated, and if you think they were done, you were wrong.

Dwayne Wade took control of the opening game of the Celtics/Heat series, but then Tony Allen came in in the third quarter and shut down Wade, and Celtics fans celebrated. Even when Kevin Garnett got into a scuffle with Quentin Richardson and was ejected, Boston fans celebrated; after all, this was the fire and intensity that had been missing for the last several months from the 2008 NBA champions.

It was shaping up to be a great weekend for the Boston sports scene, and the Red Sox were in position to seal it, possibly taking two games on Saturday night from the Rays. But it was not to be. Red Sox could not muster a run in the suspended game and then imploded in the night-cap.

So far this season if the Red sox troubles were not coming from the plate, they were coming from the bullpen, and the starting rotation has even been dinged up a bit, but on Saturday night the defense decided to join in on the unspectacular play.

An error by Mike Cameron allowed the flood gates to open and the Rays scored four unearned runs in the first and never looked back. Even after a pair of two run jacks, one by Dustin Pedroia (five HRs) and the other by Kevin Youkilis (two HRs), the Red Sox were not able to make up the six run difference.

Sunday was not much better; Jon Lester, who has well documented troubles in the month of April, allowed six runs and the Red Sox bats were just as bad; the Red Sox through seven innings only collected two hits, one of those from hot-hitting Jason Varitek (that's a line most Boston fans would not have believed any time over the last two years).

But signs are pointing up for the Red Sox as John Lackey (1-0 1.42 ERA) is set to take the mound and today is Patriots Day in Boston and the Sox have won their last six Patriots Day games.

Game starts at 11 AM and let us hope the Red Sox do not just wake up for the game, but come ready to play because if they keep bringing this type of, ummm, intensity, they will be looking up at not just the Rays and Yankees, but the Blue Jays too.

John Lackey Notches First Win as a Red Sox

Sox Back on Winning Track, but Baard/Bullpen still Shaky.

John Lackey went 6 2/3 innings while allowing two runs, both earned to grab his first victory as a member of the Red Sox. After going six shut-out innings in his first start, but having the bats disappear, the bats made backed him up in his first away performance.

The Sox got some much needed offensive help from Dustin Pedroia who is coming to be known as "ol' reliable" for the sox (2-5 with a double and a home run). They also got some help from one of the new faces. Jeremy Hermida only roped one hit, but it was a big one; a bases clearing two-out double in the eight inning that put the Sox up 6-2.

They Sox needed the hit too as Daniel Bard's troubles in the eighth inning continued. After allowing the game winning hit two games ago against the Kansas City Royals, Bard had another shaky outing at Target Field in Minnesota.

It may be all the hype he recieved as possibly the new Jonathan Papelbon has painted a target on every single one of his 98 mph+ fastballs, but so far this season he has not looked good. Against Minnesota Michael Cuddyer welcomed Bard rudely by taking a meaty slider and hooking just over the fence in left.

He did settle down though. After allowing a double to Delmon Young, Bard was able to get pinch-hitting Jim Thome to pop out to Marco Scutaro to end the threat. The shakiness almost seemed contagious as Papelbon could not get through the ninth without having to face the game-tying run in the person of that same Michael Cuddyer.

Papelbon was noticeably low in his deliver to the plate; both in arm angle and in stature. He was getting a great push off of the rubber, but it seemed to be lowering his whole frame in his approach to the mound causing his fastball to dart low and moer importantly, giving a better view for the better.

Despite the mechanical problems, which resulted in two walks, Papelbon still battled through it and was able to finish off Cuddyer and the Twins almost exclusively on fastballs (the one split-fingered fastball was a wild pitch that travelled 58-feet before demolishing the dirt in front of the plate).

The news was not all bad: afterall, the Red Sox did get the win, Hideki Okajima came on to relieve John Lackey and got out of a bases loaded jam by forcing a pop-up out of the dangerous Justin Morneau, and Papelbon, despite having B- stuff on the mound, recorded the save without allowing a run.

It may have been ugly, but the Red Sox pulled out the win, and if its going to take ugly wins to get the ball rolling for the Red Sox, then the Sox will take all the ugly they can get. Plus, they are already well acquianted with ugly... they have Kevin Youkilis don't they?

"It's a Jump...To Conclusions Mat"

It's Early, but... They Kinda Suck

Red Sox Red Sox Red Sox.

The Red Sox and their players have one of the greatest fanbases in all of professional sports (I'm looking at you Manchester United). With that distinction comes a rabid fanbase and media scrutiny unlike anything most players have ever seen; John Lackey, after one start and six shut-out inning, might just be the greatest free-agent acquisition ever.

The fanbase knows how to overreact, and why not with the second highest pay-roll in the major leagues; the fans expect a great show when they tune into NESN for away games and an even greater show when they go to Fenway and sit in the ever-increasing pricey seats.

However, the Sox are off to unspectacular 3-4 start; losing two of three to the Yankees, at home, then taking two out of three at Kansas City (big whoop, except for the lone win came off of Zach Greinke), and just yesterday lost the Twins' home-opener (a true home opener as it was the first professional baseball game played at Target Fiend).

Like every year the starting lineup has some new faces (Marco Scutaro, Mike Cameron, even Victor Martinez is technically new) and old faces (David Ortiz, Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis), but for some reason this team has come out of the blocks in unspectacular fashion. It could be a simple case of, "they haven't meshed yet" or "it's early, no time to overreact," and while that may be the case, it's how they have lost some of the early games that is cause for concern.

The Red Sox lost a game in which John Lackey went six shut-out innings, but the bullpen blew it in the eight and eventually the tenth, only scoring one run in those ten innings. They lost a great start by Tim Wakefield when the bullpen blew it in the eight, this time only scoring four runs. Then, just yesterday, they lost to Carl Pavano and the Twins 5-2 when the bats never really did get going; one of their two runs was on a warning track drive by Big Papi which bounced off the heal of left-fielder Delmon Young's glove.

The main concern for Red Sox fans coming into the season was "how are the bats going to hold up." Now I know you cannot expect 9 runs a game, but it's more than that; the Red Sox have no energy coming into the games and it seems that there is something missing from the entire team, with the exception of Papi (who despite the atrocious start, 3-22 with 11 Ks, is still playing with passion; see, eighth career ejection), Youk, Pedey, and when he plays, Jason Varitek.

It is not that the new players do not yet understand how to mesh with the veteran Red Sox, its that they don't understand when you play for the Red Sox, you are expected to bring the intensity everyday. Red Sox fans can take losing (see, the 1900s), but what they cannot take is players that do not come prepared with energy everyday; the fans cannot take players thinking the Red Sox are like every other average, run of the mill baseball team because Red Sox fans, in the 2000s, have come to expect anything but average from their players.

Playing The Role to Perfection

Jason Varitek Showing Early on He Can be a Backup

Having to sit the first four games for Red Sox Captain Jason Varitek could not have been a good feeling. After being the Red Sox primary catcher since 1999 Varitek took on the role of backup catcher having to take the back seat to a less efficient defensive catcher, but a much more potent offensive catcher in Victor Martinez.

The common consensus before the season was that Varitek would catch the majority of Josh Beckett's games, like a specialty catcher, because of the problems that Martinez and Beckett had meshing last season. He would also spell Martinez when needed and start when it appeared that a certain pitcher needed the help and influence of the veteran catcher labelled by many as the best pitch caller in the majors.

His first start did not get off to a stellar beginning; Beckett allowed a run in the first inning and Varitek's first at-bat against Zach Greinke ended like many last year, with him staring at a tw0-seamer that finished right down the heart of the plate.

But Varitek is a veteran and did not want his first start of the season to fizzle out. After Jeremy Hermida homered to tie the game in the fifth inning, Varitek took the next pitch into the bullpens in right. But Varitek was not done.

In the ninth inning, with the Red Sox clinging to a 5-3 lead, Varitek, who was batting again from the left side, the side many people thought the switch-hitting catcher could no longer do any damage, took a meaty change-up from reliever Luis Mendoza and handed a nice souvenir to a lucky fan in right. Dustin Pedroia finished off the scoring with a two-run homer later in the inning to make it 8-3 and the Red Sox took the second game of this three game series.

And of Varitek and his role as backup catcher? He still preaches the same values of catching that made him a mainstay behind the dish over the past decade, "My focus obviously was Josh and what has to go on there," said the veteran catcher, but he was not complaining about the offensive spurt, "It's nice to contribute, absolutely. Both swings, I was able to get the good part of the bat on the ball. The ball was carrying a little bit to the right."

So Varitek, who spends the majority of his time watching films of opposing batters, not pitchers, knows his role, and although it is only one start into his 2010 season, sure looks like he is fitting perfectly into that role.

(Portions of this article came from Associated Press articles)