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?

This Feels Familiar

Sox Bullpen Blows Another One

In movie theaters right now you can check out "Hot Tub Time Machine," and if you get NESN or know anyway to watch or listen to Red Sox baseball, you can tune into "Red Sox Bullpen Time Machine." Watching the Red Sox right now is like taking a time machine back to the 1990's and the years of the bullpen by committee.

The Red Sox are 1-3, and last night spoiled another great effort by a starter, this time though it was an old face, a very, very, very old face the bullpen collapsed for. With his first knuckleball to David DeJesus in the bottom of the first inning, Tim Wakefield became the oldest starting pitcher in Red Sox history (43 years, seven months and seven days to be exact).

The knuckleballer who was born on August 2, 1966, has been the model of consistency for the Red Sox. Whenever he steps on the mound I always pencil him in for six innings, and three to five runs.

More times than not he proves me wrong; like last night's outing where he went seven innings, striking out six and only making two mistakes: a 73 mph four seamer in the sixth to Billy Butler that was nothing more than a batting practice pitch, which Butler kindy deposited into the left field stands, and the next pitch, a 63 mph knuckleball to Rick Ankiel (yes, that Rick Ankiel) which landed fair and in the bleachers down the right field line.

Besides those two pitches Wakefield was phenomenal; he allowed just those two runs through his seven innings, and most importantly, only needing 98 pitches to do so. That is now two strong starts in a row for Red Sox pitching; Wakefield's performance came on the heels of a six-inning shutout performance by John Lackey who needed 100 pitches to do so.

With the travel day between games the Red Sox bullpen did not need the help, at least that's what the common consensus was until the Red Sox bullpen took the ball in the eighth.

Holding on to the 3-2 lead Hideki Okajima allowed a leadoff double, but got the next batter out when Terry Francona called on Daniel Bard to get the final two outs. Bard allowed a walk, got the next out, and with runners on second and third allowed a broken bat single to Ankiel who sawed the pitch into left and the lackluster arm of Jacoby Ellsbury.

Just like that a 3-2 lead turned into a 4-3 deficit and a great pitching performance by the oldest starting pitcher in Red Sox history, vanished. It was the bullpen's third straight loss (second straight blown save for Daniel Bard) and stopped Wakefield from gaining his 190th win (176th win the Red Sox), which would put him just 16 wins shy of the all-time Red Sox record owned by Roger Clemens and Cy Young.

But most importantly, that third straight loss by the bullpen is harkening back images (nightmares?) of the days of Heathcliff Slocumb and the Bullpen by Committee when Red Sox fans knew that they were in for a roller coaster ride once the starter was out. The problem here is hard to grasp; Francona has two legitimate set-up men in Okajima and Bard, but right now he has them splitting the eighth, and it just seems that both are uncomfortable knowing that neither owns the inning and that at the slightest trouble, one will go in for the other.

The Red Sox most impressive bullpen season in recent memory was in 2007 when it was Okajima in the eighth and Papelbon in the ninth, and until this question of "who owns the eighth?" is resolved, you can be assured the bullpen struggles will continue.

No matter "whodunit" in the latest bullpen collapse of this very early season, the saddest thing is to see another chance at history dance away from Tim Wakefield and the Red Sox. Here's to hoping that the man who has done everything for the Red Sox over the past 16 years starts to get some help from his bullpen... Oh yeah, one more thing; did we mention he has 22 saves as a Red Sox pitcher?