Hanley Ramirez back with the Boston Red Sox? Whoo boy! Can you say 'dream come true?'

The Boston Red Sox traded one of their top prospects, shortstop Hanley Ramirez, to the Florida Marlins during the 2005 offseason. Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell came to Beantown in the deal, and both produced for the Red Sox, and helped bring the franchise a championship in 2007. But Ramirez also flourished with the Marlins.

He won the National League Rookie of the Year award in 2006 by hitting 17 homers, 46 doubles, 11 triples, while driving in 59, swiping 51 bases, and scoring 119 runs. The following season, he had 29 homers, 48 doubles, 212 hits, 81 rbi’s, and hit .332 with a .386 on-base percentage, and then after a similar 2008 campaign, he clubbed 24 homers and drove in 106 while batting .342 this past season.

The Red Sox kept an eye on the budding pro-turned-superstar, and with these statistics it’s hard not to. Currently, they don’t have a shortstop. They lost Alex Gonzalez to the Toronto Blue Jays. In response to his departure, they expressed interest in free-agent Marco Scutaro, and talked to the Arizona Diamondbacks about the availability of Stephen Drew. Evidently tired of searching for just average shortstops, they have turned their attention to the 25-year old Ramirez.

Their former top prospect is due nearly $50 million over the next five years, relatively inexpensive given his talent-level. But the Marlins, with a payroll well under $30 million, simply may not be able to afford to hand out that kind of cash. This is where the Red Sox come in. In need of a shortstop, and a franchise that can easily dole out millions upon million like candy, they contacted the Marlins, and the porous franchise apparently listened intently.

“Bill Madden of the New York Daily News writes that ‘the Red Sox are reportedly engaged in talks with Florida about reacquiring the All-Star shortstop.’”

This is music to my ears. Ramirez is only 25-years old and is the best shortstop in baseball. He would shore up a hole that’s been gaping since Nomar Garciaparra left in 2004, and bolster an already formidable lineup. Can you imagine a Jacoby Ellsbury-Dustin Pedroia-Ramirez trio atop their lineup?

To make this happen, the Red Sox would have to give up major-league ready talent, which means starting pitcher Clay Buchholz, and a few of their top prospects–most likely three of shortstop/pitcher Casey Kelly, pitchers Michael Bowden and Daniel Bard, and outfielders Ryan Westmoreland and Josh Reddick. The package would have to be pretty overwhelming, and would presumably deplete their farm, but if they could somehow get the Marlins to take Kelly, Bowden, Westmoreland, and another prospect not named Reddick, Bard, or Buchholz, I would pull the trigger.

Ramirez is a rare talent with power, speed, and plate discipline. The Red Sox have players with power, speed, and plate discipline, but not one with all three attributes. Their roster is old, which could keep their management from giving up an array of touted prospects, but Ramirez’s youth and talent would help them short-term and, given they would still have plenty of players roaming on the farm, allow the Red Sox to stay extremely competitive longterm.

Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein and Owner John Henry watched arch-rival New York win the World Series. This offseason, they have sought out to improve in order to overtake the Yankees. They want to celebrate next year just as New York did this year. Hanley Ramirez could help them achieve their goal.

The 2009 season is officially over.  It’s amazing how time flies when you’re having fun.  Seriously.  It was a great season.  Plenty of highs, plenty of lows, plenty to celebrate, plenty to scratch your head and have no idea what’s going on.  But now we have the second season on our hands: the postseason.  And with the approach of the postseason come the all-important roster decisions that must be made to give us the greatest ability to advance to the World Series.  This is what Terry Francona may have in mind, with a little help from the Portland Press-Herald.

As far as the pitching staff is concerned, there’s no surprise there: Lester, Beckett, Buchholz, and Dice-K, in that order.  Lester is starting first because, had it been the other way around, one of them would’ve been on normal rest and the other would’ve been on ten days’ rest.  Plus Lester had the better second half, plus Lester is the go-to man for Game 4 should we find ourselves in a hole.  Or we could use Beckett on four days’ rest for Game 4 and Lester on five for Game 5 since there’s an off day between the two, but I’m not a fan of that option.  Tito hasn’t announced the starter for Game 4 yet, though.

No surprises in the relief corps, either: Papelbon, Bard, Wagner, Okajima, and Ramirez.  Saito and Delcarmen will fill out the bullpen.  Wakefield has officially been scratched, Michael Bowden is still pretty new, and Byrd, while he could be a long reliever, wouldn’t necessarily be as effective.  Yes, Saito and Delcarmen (especially Delcarmen) have had their struggles, but that’s why it’s called the second season.  You take a rest, you put it behind you, and you record punchout after punchout.  If I need options for innings in October, I want Saito’s experience and Delcarmen’s power.  But Delcarmen’s health may eliminate him; after the car accident this weekend, his back and neck are pretty sore.

The catchers are obviously V-Mart and Tek. For the first time in a very long time, we don’t need a third catcher.  The third catcher was supposed to pinch-hit for the offensively challenged Tek and backup, but with V-Mart’s bat, that need is gone.  (Not to mention the fact that the role of a backup changes dramatically now that Wakefield isn’t in the mix.  Instead of having to concentrate on catching knuckleballs, the October backup catcher this year will have to concentrate on getting all the hits that Tek doesn’t.)

The infielders are obviously Youk, Pedroia, Gonzalez, Lowell, and Kotchman.  Nick Green’s back and leg will probably keep him off the roster, so Jed Lowrie and Chris Woodward will probably come on as utilities.  Jed Lowrie can hit in the clutch (I refer you to his grand slam on Sunday), and Woodward can flash leather, even if he can’t buy a hit.

The outfielders are obviously Bay, Ellsbury, Drew, and Baldelli, and you really can’t get much better than that.  We have three options with which to fill out the outfield: Joey Gathright, Josh Reddick, and Brian Anderson.  Brian Anderson is out; his speed, glove, and bat don’t compare to the other two.  Gathright has remarkable speed, but Reddick has a remarkable bat.  So you’re basically choosing between a clutch steal and a clutch hit.  Dave Roberts’s heroism wills all of Red Sox Nation to go with Gathright, but let’s remember that Dave Roberts’s steal only counted in the long run because Bill Mueller singled him home.  And it’s not like Reddick has no speed at all.  On the other hand, it’s not like Gathright has no bat at all, and it’s been Gathright who’s been seeing playing time recently as part of the reserve.  So I think Gathright is the answer.  And we may need him more than ever because of Baldelli’s hip injury.

The designated hitter will be David Ortiz.  Obviously.

And now for the lineup.  It’ll be Ellsbury, Pedroia, V-Mart, Youk, Ortiz, Bay, Drew, Lowell, and Gonzalez.  If it’s a righty.  If it’s a lefty, Baldelli will take Drew’s spot.  If Tek catches, that’s a whole different story, and Tito will have to do some serious finagling to accommodate that.  Look for Tek to be at the bottom of the order.

Speaking of the lineup, in response to “Second Shift,” Jeremy commented:

Boston may have the most well-rounded team heading into October however one thing I’ve noticed is that the offense struggles a lot versus good pitching. The line-up will pound a bad pitcher or a pitcher with an off night and the offense will explode. However, for most of the season there has been very little output against great pitching. And that has to be concerning. Because that’s what your likely going to face come playoff time.

Jeremy makes an excellent point.  Remember when we played the Tigers in June? We swept.  We didn’t face Justin Verlander.  Remember when we played the Royals in July? We took three out of four and didn’t face Zack Greinke.  We just played the Royals again and split a four-game set, and one of the games we lost was pitched by, you guessed it, Zack Greinke.  We’ve been very lucky this season with pitching schedules, but this luck is about to run out.  The teams you face in October are guaranteed to be the best of the best, and part of what makes them so good is their pitching.  There’ll be no escaping a Justin Verlander or a Zack Greinke in the postseason.  So I completely agree with Jeremy, but I don’t think it’ll affect the outcome of our October.  The ALDS is a big reason why.  Playing the Angels in the ALDS is kind of like a warm-up for the rest of the month, but it’s a warm-up that counts, so you get all the pressure of the October stage, including great pitching, with all the confidence of having a pretty good feeling that you’ll advance.  Now, you’ll notice that in both 2004 and 2007, the ALDS wasn’t enough to remind us who we are offensively, which is probably why it took moving ourselves to the brink of elimination and facing postseason death in the ALCS to remind us that, yes, we actually are capable of handling these arms.  Between the ALDS and half of the ALCS, we play a lot of games against quality pitchers, so by the time we’re almost out of the playoffs completely, we come roaring back and get ourselves to the World Series, where we obviously have no problem with the National League.  And let me tell you, it helps in the long run, because nobody wants to be the team that finishes the ALCS early and just sits around waiting for the Fall Classic.  I refer you to the Rockies in 2007.

We are exactly where we need to be to make this October count.  The Yankees played the month of September like they had something to prove.  And they did.  You don’t spend a quarter of a billion dollars on three players in the offseason and not win the division.  But at what cost, both literally and figuratively? It is entirely possible that the AL East is the kiss of death for New York; they’ve exhausted all of their resources.  I refer you to 2004, when they ramped it up big time in September specifically to win the division, which they did by a hair.  Then they lost steam in the ALCS, and look what happened.

Finally, I know some people have taken issue with Terry Francona’s approach to the final games of the season.  Let me put that issue to rest.  There are two possibilities to consider here.  The first is Angels Syndrome and the other is Yankees Syndrome.  In the first, you rest on your laurels for such a long time that you’re not prepared for the intensity and competition of the playoffs.  In the second, you use all your resources to accomplish a regular-season goal and run out of steam halfway through the playoffs.  Fortunately, we are not a victim of either, because we’ve only been resting on our laurels for about a week, and the rest was absolutely necessary given the health concerns of several of our starters.  And since the division was out of the question, we had no reason to burn out.  So I’m pretty happy, although my fandom revolts at this notion of being happy with the Wild Card.  But I’d rather get in with the Wild Card than not get in at all.  And I’d much rather get in with the Wild Card than resort to a one-game playoff.  Did you know that winners of one-game playoffs haven’t won the World Series since 1978? (Of course, we all know who played that playoff against who, and who went on to win the World Series that year.  Let’s just say it involved pinstripes.  I’d rather not talk about it.)

Regarding how the teams stack up, we’re pretty even, and most of the gaping holes are in our favor.  We’re much better at home than they are on the road, hit many more home runs, have a higher team slugging percentage and ERA, and our bullpen ERA is much higher.  We also had a better September, which is key.  We’ll need David Ortiz to handle Brian Fuentes, and we’ll need Bard to be in top form as a set-up man.  The Angels’ problem will be scoring runs, so if our starting rotation keeps us in it, we should be able to come away with a win.

So that’s it.  All we have to do now is wait.  Let’s start this party.

Boston Globe Staff/Yoon S. Byun

Well, we have no way of knowing which outcome we would’ve seen from Beckett because Beckett was scratched due to back spasms.  The spasms are in his upper back and are mild, so that’s good.  And he may actually benefit in more ways than one from the extra rest.  So Michael Bowden started, and he showed everyone exactly why he will not amount to being a Major League starter.  He’s a good reliever, and with some more experience he could turn himself into a truly great reliever.  But he’s not a starter.

Starters don’t give up seven runs on seven hits in three innings pitched with a walk, three strikeouts, and one-run and three-run homers.  Well, some starters do.  But it’s usually a fluke, and if it’s not a fluke, they usually don’t stay starters for long.  This is not a fluke for Bowden, who’s had plenty of ugly outings this season.  (I refer you to our 20-11 loss to the Yankees in August.  That’s about as ugly as you could possibly get.) So as soon as Beckett was scratched, we all knew it was going to be a long night.

Hunter Jones made it even longer.  Four runs on five hits in less than two innings pitched with one strikeout and a two-run shot will do it.  Dustin Richardson and Delcarmen each pitched two innings of shutout ball, but it was too little, too late.  The rain started coming down, and they called it after seven.  We lost, 11-5.  But I do have to say that Delcarmen pitched well.  The inning was over in ten pitches, seven of them strikes.

Youk hit two home runs last night, one in the first with one on and two out, and the other in the third with nobody on.  They were both some nice pieces of hitting, though.  Really nice pieces of hitting.  Ortiz hit a solo shot of his own to lead off the sixth.  Pedroia doubled in Gonzalez in the seventh.  And that was all we had time for.  I’d like to think that if we were actually able to finish the game, we would’ve been able to come back.  Or maybe not.  When the bullpen pitches literally an entire game, it’s tough to predict anything.

Lester was cleared to start on Thursday.  Lowell received an injection for his hip and should be back in action by the end of the week.

Tonight it’s Ricky Romero at Clay Buchholz.  One more win and we clinch.

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So last night the Sox, knowing that the rain was coming, decided not to waste a Josh Beckett start in what could be a called game depending how quick the rain got here. Instead they opted to pitch September call up Michael Bowden. Bowden then proceeded to give up seven runs in his three innings of work (four in the first). He was followed by two guys I’ve never heard of and then Manny Delcarmen (who gave up no runs, shocking).

My headline being I like it and I don’t is for this reason; I love the fact that Francona knew this game could get called at any minute so why not rest a lot of guys. I don’t like it for the reason of, you’re trying to get hot now and carry that momentum into the post season. After dropping three straight over the weekend and handing New York the division without a fight, the doormat Blue Jays were the next best thing to having Baltimore come to town.

I like the getting all the young guys into the game, make sure no one from your post season roster gets hurt but at the same time don’t you want some momentum to ride into the post season? With rain expected tomorrow and this weekend are you going to do the same thing with your pitchers and line up and limp into the playoffs after dropping series to Toronto and cellar dweller Cleveland.

How about we take a page from Kevin Youkilis (two homers last night) and pretend that these games matter. Sure we’re getting the rotation set for the playoffs but they’ll be awful short playoffs if the team is playing crappy into the post season. Get hot now because you’ll need it heading to California.

And dominate we most certainly did not.  Again, Red Sox fans work from nine to five to come home and watch the Red Sox lose, 9-5.  But the loss isn’t important.  The nine runs we gave up and the five runs we scored aren’t important.  Jon Lester is what’s really important.

Lester pitched two and a third innings of very shoddy ball.  One of his worst outings all season.  Five runs on eight hits with three walks, three strikeouts, and a two-run shot by A-Rod.  He was inefficient, he was nervous, and he was ineffective.  At one point, John Farrell and Jason Varitek came out to the mound to talk to him, but what do you say to a guy in that situation? It’s not like he’s pitching like that on purpose.  The postseason’s around the corner, and he’s feeling pressure, like this is his big audition to prove that he can handle being our Number 1 starter.  Obviously, no pitcher of his experience should feel that way at this stage, especially not since he was our Number 1 starter last year.  But it wasn’t just that.  The Yankees were figuring him out.  Suddenly, he was an easy pitcher to hit.  That’s never been the case.  It was easy to see, though, that his timing was off, as evidenced by the fact that the Yankees were running all over the place.  A-Rod stole three bases.  Even Robinson Cano was running, and when Cano is running, you know something’s up.  Never mind the fact that everyone tries to run on Tek; this was just ridiculous.  Lefties are notoriously slow in their delivery, but still.  Seven stolen bases in a single game.  But that’s not important.

Lester’s seventy-eighth pitch was a line drive by Melky Cabrera that came straight back to him.  It hit him on the side of the knee, just above the bone, inches away from his kneecap.  Lester went down, and he stayed down, and you could literally see his pain.  Red Sox Nation held its breath as one as the fate of the World Series rested on the knee of Jon Lester.  He finally made his exit, walking off the field on his own, and was taken for x-rays immediately.  The x-rays were negative.  It’s just a contusion.  He’s listed as day-to-day put plans to make his next start on Thursday.  Red Sox Nation sighed in relief as one as the dream was kept alive.

And that’s what was important.  Right now, the division would be absolutely fantastic, but it would be more valuable to us in the long run if the starters rested and the bullpen got its work in so that we’re raring to go when the playoffs start.  And if Jon Lester were injured, the entire timbre of the playoffs would have changed.  Our expectations of how deep we would go would have changed.  All you need is your ace writhing on the ground in agony to make you realize just how valuable he is to your club.  But thankfully, and when I say thankfully I mean thankfully, he’s okay.

So the bullpen was in for a long night.  Hunter Jones, Michael Bowden, Delcarmen, and Ramirez each had shifts.  Between them, they pitched 5.2 innings, gave up four runs on six hits, walked six, and struck out five.  Not the greatest.  Not at all the greatest.

Heading into the fourth inning, all we wanted was at least a hit off Joba Chamberlain to get us started.  It came in the fourth in spectacular fashion; a home run by Victor Martinez with two out in the inning.  That was quite a hit.  He finished the night two for four.  Youk also went two for four with an RBI.  Drew went two for three with a double.  And Big Papi hit quite the two-run shot with two out in the sixth; he would finish the night with three RBIs.  Pedroia stole.

Tek went 0 for 4 and struck out twice.  He’s currently batting .208 and only .124 since August 1.  He has a neck injury that’s been bothering him since June.  He just had a bad night, period.

Guess who finally convinced Billy Wagner to come to Boston? His wife, Sarah.  Smart woman.  Very unlike one Leigh Teixeira.

Okay, so we’re six and a half games behind the Yankees.  That’s fine.  Lester is okay and will be ready to go, and that’s all that matters.  We’ll get to the playoffs, have our way with the opposition, make it to the World Series, win the World Series, and enjoy the Rolling Rally.  It’s all good.  Although a win today would be just what the doctor ordered.  Speaking of orders, it’ll be a tall one; Dice-K at Sabathia won’t be easy.  But it’s doable.  The key is that, because the bullpen worked overtime last night, Dice-K will have to go deep.  Which is also doable.  Should be an interesting game.  And hey, we could still clinch on Yankee soil, which means their attendants will play bartender for us as we celebrate.  That’s always a plus

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How many times this year have we seen one inning, just one inning, ruin an entire night.  How many times.  My guess would be way too many.  But what can you do? Especially if it’s your starter and it’s early in the game? You can’t exactly take him out in the middle of the first; that would be a complete and total disaster.  You have to back him, for better or for worse.  So even though he allowed five runs in the first inning, we were sticking with Paul Byrd.

Turns out those were the only runs he would allow all night.  The rest of his outing was spectacular.  Six and two-thirds innings’ worth of work produced five runs on nine hits with four walks and no strikeouts, but believe me, that’s spectacular for Paul Byrd.  Delcarmen pitched the last out of the seventh, and it took him just two pitches to retire the batter.  Bowden had himself a good eighth inning.

Five runs isn’t terrible.  It seems like a lot when someone scores that many runs early in the game in a single inning, but really five runs isn’t that bad.  If we scored about half the runs last night that we did in either of our last two games with Baltimore, we would’ve at least tied it up.  But no.  We scored one run when V-Mart grounded out to first to plate Ellsbury in the eighth.  That was it.  Thank you, Zack Greinke.  Notice the sarcasm.

Pedroia doubled and stole, and Ellsbury stole.  And V-Mart did have a hit, extending his very quiet hitting streak to twenty-one games, during which he’s just been on fire.  He’s currently batting .299.  That’s it for highlights from last night.

Curt Schilling has officially decided not to run for senate.  To be honest, I didn’t think he would.

So what does it all mean.  Well, first of all, it means that we’re six games behind the Yankees, who just became the first team to clinch a playoff spot.  And that means that winning the division will be that much more difficult.  Not, as the New York Daily News says, impossible, but just more difficult.  Think about it.  Aside from our series in the Bronx, we have eight games left to play.  There is no way the Yankees are winning all eight, and there is no way we’re losing all eight.  And there is no way the Yankees will not lose at least once when we win.  But even if we don’t end up winning the division, we’re still in great shape.  Teams that sit back, relax, and count the days until October don’t perform nearly as well as the teams that actually have something to continue to play for.  Last night also means that Tito is going to have to ramp up his usual managerial genius to configure our starting rotation for the playoffs.  It’ll probably be Lester, Beckett, Buchholz, and Dice-K, though not necessarily in that order.  Last night means that we reduce our magic number! We are now that much closer to officially clinch what was unofficially clinched for a very long time: a playoff spot.  It doesn’t matter whether you win the Wild Card or the division.  As long as you get to October, the second season, you’re gold.  And finally, last night obviously means that we need to step it up against Zack Greinke.  But we can table that issue until next season.  Zack Greinke will be watching us from the comfort of his television, so we have plenty of time to think about how to light him up.

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How does that even happen.  I saw it with my own eyes and I’m still not quite sure how the whole thing unfolded.  Either that or I was so disgusted that I didn’t want to dwell on it for too long.  Either way, apparently it did happen, so now we have to deal with it.  You win some, you lose some.  And some you just tank awfully, washed away in the rain, as it were.

The final score was 12-9.  Not in our favor.  We blew two six-run leads.  And because the score was 12-9 and not 12-1 or 12-3 or 12-5, this one has nothing to do with the offense.  This one falls squarely on the shoulders of the staff.

Starting with Wakefield, who was horrible.  Five innings, five runs (four earned; thank you, V-Mart) on five hits, seven walks.  Seven walks! The Royals didn’t need to bat at all; all they had to do was stand there while Wakefield actually gave them an invitation to first base! Only two strikeouts, and let’s not forget Mike Jacobs’s three-run shot in the fifth.  This was one of Wakefield’s worst performances of the entire season, if not the worst.  Technically, we have to cut him slack because he just came off the DL, and technically it’s not like we haven’t seen Wakefield pitch outings like this.  On the contrary, we’ve seen plenty of these.  But even if we do take those two facts into consideration, it still doesn’t mask the fact that he was awful.  He deserved the loss.  Not more than Bard deserved it, but he still deserved it.

And speaking of the bullpen, it was worst.  Much, much worse.  Where do I even start.  I guess I’ll just go in order because it was all just really bad.  Delcarmen continued his struggles by allowing four runs on three hits with a walk and a strikeout.  We have starters in our rotation who don’t allow that much in an entire game.  Then Bard with the epically blown save, when he allowed two runs on two hits with a walk before getting out of the sixth.  Not one strikeout.  Only one retired batter.  I’m still fuming about it.  Wagner decided he didn’t want to feel left out and allowed a run on a hit with two walks while striking out three.  See, I think he missed the memo on this, but you’re supposed to record the three strikeouts before you allow all the other stuff.  That way, the other stuff doesn’t actually happen and you walk away with a win.  Ironically, Bowden, with the 9.00 ERA and the absolutely abysmal outing against the Yankees, was the only bright spot.  No runs, no hits, no walks, and no K’s either but twelve pitches thrown, eight of them strikes, to close out the ninth.  Of course by that time it was too late.  The loss was already in the books.

We had only one extra-base hit (a pretty epic one at that) all night; it’s amazing we scored nine runs playing small ball, because as the name would suggest, it’s the opposite of a slugfest.  Usually you don’t score many runs.  So that was something we can be happy about.  Ellsbury batted in two.  Pedroia went two for three and batted in one, and he’s starting to pick it up at the plate.  In addition to his throwing error and passed ball, V-Mart went two for four and batted in two.  Youk, Ortiz, and Gonzalez hit.  Baldelli went two for four.  And Jason Bay, last night’s offensive man of the hour, went two for five with three RBIs, plated with one swing of the bat.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Jason Bay struck again with our sole extra-base hit of the night, a towering three-run shot that practically screamed, “Sign me, Theo Epstein, sign me!”

I do have to say that the outcome was appropriate to the weather.  The downpour was so bad that Trey Hillman, Kansas City’s manager, couldn’t believe they actually played the game.  And how indeed the game wasn’t called short is amazing to me.  This has nothing to do with the fact that, had they called it, we would’ve won.  This has to do with the fact that it’s customary to call a game in torrential rain when one of the teams is significantly ahead, and I’d say we were significantly ahead.  Twice.  Which brings us back to the painful part.

This would be so much less concerning if it didn’t take place so close to October.  Wakefield reverting back to his inconsistent self is not exactly a plus heading into the playoffs.  Neither is this latest effort from the bullpen.  Like I said, we can take heart in the fact that we scored nine runs while playing small ball, but that won’t do much good if you score nine runs in a playoff game but the opposition scores more.

With Nick Green’s health a serious concern, Chris Woodward is back on the roster, courtesy of Junichi Tazawa, who was placed on the sixty-day DL with a mild left groin strain at about the same time he reached his innings limit for the season.  That’s one of the things I like and really respect about this organization.  We don’t rush our young stars through development.

Good thing the Yankees are slumping right now.  We’re still five games back.  But we need as many wins as possible if we’re seriously going to overtake them in the division standings, which is still doable.  I’m telling you, this smacks of 2004, when we surged so powerfully late in the season that we barely missed the division but had all the momentum necessary to run away with a World Series.  Kansas City’s six-run sixth inning may not make it seem like it, but I think we’re definitely a force in October, regardless of last night’s complete and total implosion.  Tonight’s matchup is Paul Byrd at Zack Greinke.  We have work to do.

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What can I say? Camden Yards is basically our home away from home.  If you’re the Red Sox and you have to go on the road, you want to start the trip at Camden Yards with some wins and some encouragement from Red Sox Nation.  It’s sad that the Birds have fallen from glory.  It used to be that the Yankees’ big rivalry was with Baltimore and not with us because Baltimore was actually really good.  But that fall from glory isn’t as sad as their performance in this day and age.  Bottom of the pile in the American League East, can’t buy a win, and don’t even have the support of their own fan base when we’re in town because Red Sox fans flood the stands.  It’s like being at Fenway.  Good for us, but quite sad for the Orioles, I’d say.

That first paragraph would be very out-of-place without a win.  Turns out there was a win.  3-1, thanks to Buchholz, Kotchman, Bay, and Ellsbury.  Buchholz had a terrific night, working six innings and relinquishing just one run on five hits with three walks and a strike out.  That one run was Luke Scott’s long ball with two out in the second.  It happens.  But it’ll be interesting to see Buchholz’s strikeout count progress in the long run.  Right now he doesn’t record many strikeouts per game, because he relies heavily on off-speeds, which usually induce outs not of the K variety.  But as he gets older, he may discover more power on his fastball, and I’m looking forward to seeing how he’ll use that and incorporate it into his already remarkable mix of pitches.

Bard, Okajima, and Papelbon got a hold, a hold, and a save, respectively.  No incidents to report.  Finally.  Three no-hit innings that would’ve been perfect if Bard didn’t allow that walk.  So aside from a very gratifying sense of satisfaction, nothing to say about an impeccable performance like that.  I will say that it was a breath of fresh air after what we’ve seen from the ‘pen over the past few days.

Kotchman singled to left to score Bay in the second.  Bay hit an absolutely fantastic home run to lead off the fourth (ever notice how a lot of our home runs lately are lead-offs?).  He was all over it.  Perfect swing, perfect trajectory, perfect result.  Perfect.  And Ellsbury singled to left to score Reddick in the sixth.

Ellsbury and V-Mart both went two for five; Kotchman went three for four.  Ellsbury stole second.  Pedroia almost scored in the third on a hard-hit double by V-Mart, but he was out at the plate.  A valiant effort, though.  I mean, he was hustling, and that’s really what we love about Dustin Pedroia the dirt dog.  Youk was back in the lineup last night.  He went hitless but ran in to gather up a grounder and fire to first to get Melvin Mora out in the fourth, which was good because you need to be pretty healthy to make a play like that, so it appears that Youk will be fine.

Wakefield is officially scheduled to pitch Monday! I hope all goes well.  I know the rest of the rotation is rooting for him; they could use the extra day off.  The Angels’ coaches will be fined for bad deportment following Wednesday’s win, which they view as controversial.

So as usual, we beat the O’s.  Also as usual, Clay Buchholz got that win.  And for the third and final “as usual,” we discuss the Red Sox’s annual rookie hazing ritual, which involves the rookies dressing up in altogether hilarious costumes.  This year’s theme? “The Wizard of Oz.” Junichi Tazawa was Dorothy, Josh Reddick was Glinda, Dusty Brown was the Scarecrow, Daniel Bard was the Cowardly Lion, Michael Bowden was the Tin Man, and Jed Lowrie was the Wicked Witch of the West.  (This is actually Lowrie’s second time around because he hasn’t completed a full Major League season yet; last year he dressed up as a character from “High School Musical.”) All in all, it was a great day.  Tonight should be even better.  Something tells me a Lester-at-David-Hernandez matchup will be a very good game to watch.

In other news, we traded Phil Kessel to the Maple Leafs for two first-round draft picks and a second-round pick in 2010 and a first-round pick in 2011.  Can’t say I didn’t see it coming, and to be honest with you, at this point I don’t think I’d want him in a Bruins uniform this season.  His head wouldn’t be in the right place after all that’s happened, and so it wouldn’t be fair to him or the team.  He didn’t even want to come back; he didn’t particularly like Claude Julien’s approach.  Besides, the Leafs gave him $27 million for five years.  For us to match that, we probably would’ve had to either send down or trade Michael Ryder and Andrew Ference.  So good luck to him in Toronto.  I know he’ll be great there.  He’d be great anywhere.  That’s the unfortunate part.  If only it had worked out, right? But that’s the downside of a salary cap.  Kessel was asking for a lot of money, so Peter Chiarelli had a choice: he could sign him, or he could sign all of our other young guys who were free agents, not to mention all of the guys who’ll be free agents after this season.  He chose the latter, which was wise I think, because having one Phil Kessel won’t do much for you if you don’t also have a David Krejci and a Matt Hunwick, for example, to support him.  But he’s got his own work to do.  He may be great in Toronto, but it’ll have to be without Milan Lucic creating space and without Marc Savard sending him pinpoint passes.

AP Photo

The annual rite of sanctioned hazing in the MLB has begun in full force, last night was the Red Sox’ turn as they prepared for their road trip the rookies were dressed up as characters from the Wizard of Oz – which it should be pointed out the Yankees did 2 years ago.

Sox rookies such as Jed Lowrie, Junichi Tazawa, Dusty Brown, Daniel Bard and Michael Bowden were dressed up in semi-embarrassing outfits and are required to stay in them until they reach the hotel. At least this year’s is better than last year’s lame High School Musical version, but I think Joba might have made a more precious Cowardly Lion than Sox fireballer Daniel Bard.

[WBZ]

I don’t even know where to start.  That was some of the most fun I’ve had watching baseball all season long (beatdowns of the Yankees notwithstanding).  Last night’s game was exactly what we needed, exactly when we needed it.  If you can call it a game.  It wasn’t so much a game as it was a very decisive assertion of dominance.  To be honest with you, the Orioles should have seen this coming.

So last night’s affair wasn’t so much an exhibition of Baltimore’s mediocrity as it was a celebration of our supremacy.  That’s pretty much the only way I can describe it.  Every single player in a Boston uniform was on fire last night, including the pitchers and excluding Kotchman and most of the B team.

The final score was 10-0.  The 10 is first, so we’ll start with offense.  We hit six home runs last night.  Six.  That’s a season high.  Six in one game.  I saw it, and I still can’t quite believe it.  It was like running a replay over and over six times, and then you realize it’s a different batter, a different swing, and a different run scoring.  And we scored in every inning except the fourth, fifth, and eighth.  We scored three times in the first.  Dustin Pedroia started the night off with a two-run shot that bounced off the AAA sign above the Green Monster.  Dustin Pedroia.  Slumping Dustin Pedroia swung for the fences and hit it out.  I knew we didn’t have long to wait.  And indeed we didn’t, because two innings later, he led off the third with another rocket into the Monster.  First a fastball, then a changeup.  Nothing like a return home against a team you’re comfortable with to get back in your groove.

But back to the first inning.  Pedroia did his thing, followed by Youkilis, who smashed one over the AAA sign, clearing the Monster completely.  In the second inning, it was Gonzalez’s turn, and with two out he smashed one of his own over the AAA sign, also clearing the Monster.  I didn’t even know he had that much power.  Then came the third inning, and with it Pedroia the Destroyah’s second long ball followed by JD Drew, who made a mark on the score with a three-run shot with two out in the frame that ended up in our bullpen.  (He probably figured hitting one over the Monster would’ve been a little boring at that point.) So that’s his twentieth of the season so far, which is already one more than his total for all of last year, and something tells me he’s not quite finished.

In the sixth, V-Mart kept it interesting by grounding out to first while Gonzalez scored, but by the bottom of the seventh we were back to normal as Big Papi swung for the fences and knocked a leadoff solo blast into the center field seats.  That was his twenty-third of the season and the 269th of his career, tying Frank Thomas for the most home runs ever hit by a designated hitter.  And that, much to the relief of the seven Oriole pitchers who were on duty last night, was the ballgame.

But not before Clay Buchholz had his way with the Birds, which is where the 0 in 10-0 comes in.  He pitched seven beautiful shutout innings.  No runs on three hits with a single walk and five K’s.  This kid has to be one of the most interesting pitchers to watch in all of Major League Baseball.  It’s rare to have someone so young who has such a command with off-speeds.  And let me tell you, his command wasn’t there last year but it is now.  You watch him and he just exudes confidence.  This is the Clay Buchholz we’d been waiting for.  Ladies and gentlemen, he has arrived!

Michael Bowden did well.  Two innings of two-hit shutout ball.  No walks, one strikeout.  Nice and clean and simple.  I like it.

Dice-K will start for single-A Salem tonight, and that should be it for his rehab.  Meanwhile, Wakefield will receive another cortisone shot tomorrow or Friday for his back.  We called up catcher Dusty Brown and Jed Lowrie yesterday.

In conclusion, that makes one small spread for Baltimore and one big blowout for Bostonkind.  I don’t really know how else to say this: Baltimore stood no chance.  We were winning that one all the way.  We were on the road for a while, we were tired, we lost games we probably shouldn’t have lost and it was sometimes difficult for us to win when it should have been easy.  But for better or for worse, we came back home, we faced a team we love to face, and we made it count.  Man, did we make it count.  Dave Trembley has work to do.  A lot of work to do.  But not as much smiling as we citizens of Red Sox Nation have to do.  I’m just saying.  And after all that, we were only three for seven with runners in scoring position.  But hey, that’s what happens when you score nine of ten runs with long balls.  You don’t wait for guys to get on base.  You just hit it out and make the round trip yourself.  Trust me.  I can live with that.  Byrd will close out the two-game set with Jason Berken.  After last night’s performance, I’m feeling pretty good.

Boston Globe Staff/Jim Davis and Getty Images

We knew Josh Beckett would come around.  We knew there would come a game that could be labeled the start of his turnaround for 2009.  We knew it, and we were ready for it, so I think I speak for all of Red Sox Nation when I say that that’s part of what made yesterday’s loss so annoying.  That was, to put it simply, Beckett’s first good game since his last good game, but the lineup conspired to ensure that it wouldn’t be a win.

He pitched a full seven, gave up three runs on six hits, walked two, and struck out four.  Not very high on the strikeouts but low on the walks, nil on the home runs, and right on the money on the pitch count at ninety-six.  He used three pitches: the four-seam, which topped out at ninety-five miles per hour, the curveball, and the cutter, with very heavy emphasis on the four-seam and curve.  But hey, it worked; he threw sixty-two pitches for strikes.  And so I also tip my hat to Tek for calling this one so well.

Hideki Okajima didn’t help.  He let Carlos Quentin go yard with a man on and two out in the eighth.  Honestly, he couldn’t just get the other out? Okajima’s been very porous lately; he’s been allowing runs right and left.  He hasn’t been as porous as Michael Bowden was in that awful 20-11 blowout with the Yanks, but maybe we should start putting Bowden in, because this is just getting ridiculous.

The final score was 5-1.  Again.  We only managed one run for the entire game.  Ellsbury went two for four with a steal.  Pedroia doubled, finally.  V-Mart, Bay, Lowell, and Gonzalez each had hits.  Gonzalez threw Kotsay out at the plate in the third as he tried to score from first, which was an absolutely phenomenal play.  The ball rolled into the corner of left field, and Kotsay had a legitimate shot, but Bay fired to the infield, Gonzalez fired home, and Tek successfully applied the tag.  Play of the game.  Youk was responsible for the RBI.  Again, pathetic.

Wakefield will skip his Friday start.  That’s not good news.  Neither was the fact that Papi was benched because of the current slump he’s in.  I think it’ll do him good to return home.

This was Mark Buehrle’s first win since his perfect game on July 23.  That’s a long time to go without a win.  And that’s part of what makes it more painful.  We were the team that gave him his first win in that stretch.  We’re not supposed to be a team that provides solace for struggling pitchers.  We’re supposed to be the team that makes those struggles continue.  But in the long run, we’ll be so much the better for this game, because this was Beckett’s twenty-eighth start of the season.  That puts his twelve-million-dollar option for 2010 on the table.  So unless he finishes the year on the DL, it’ll be there for us to pick up.  I venture to guess we’ll be seeing Beckett pitch for Boston for a long, long time.  Meanwhile, we’re back at Fenway and David Hernandez will square off against Clay Buchholz.  I’m looking forward to this.

AP Photo

Paul Byrd has had two starts this year.  One was pure gold, and the other was just so much scrap.  So which one was the real Paul Byrd and which is the fluke? It’s hard to tell with only two outings.  On the one hand, maybe that initial adrenaline rush made him pitch better than usual.  On the other hand, maybe anxiety made him pitch worse than usual.  Either way, he’s got some serious apologizing to do to the bullpen after leaving the game only two and a third innings into it.  But he had to get out.  There was no way he was staying in.  Seven runs on ten hits with no walks, three K’s, and an extremely ironic two-run shot by Mark Kotsay later, Junichi Tazawa found himself on the mound preparing for a long night.

And when I say long I mean long, because Tazawa didn’t do much to limit the damage.  In three and two-thirds innings, he gave up five runs on seven hits with a walk and a strikeout.  Delcarmen needed twenty-nine pitches to take care of the seventh, and Saito needed nineteen.  It wasn’t a good night.  At all.

Incidentally, I wonder what our winning percentage is for games during which the starter leaves before the fifth inning.  We have the best bullpen in the Major Leagues, so it has to be higher than most teams, but it’s very difficult to win those.  We should be very thankful for Tazawa, though.  Yes, we lost and he was a reason why, but he also ate up innings.  This loss would have been so much worse in the long run had we gone to the bullpen proper instead of to a starter-by-trade.  For example, if Justin Masterson were still here, this is exactly the kind of situation in which we’d use him.

The offense, essentially, did absolutely nothing.  It was ridiculous.  Every member of the starting nine, with the exception of Alex Gonzalez, was gone by the time the game was over.  They were all replaced by the B team and callups.  Pedroia, Green, V-Mart, Youk, Ortiz, Gathright, Drew, Kottaras, and Gonzalez each had hits.  With the exception of Kottaras’s, which was a double, none of them were for extra bases.  We batted .333 with runners in scoring position, but that was because we only had three such chances and made good on one of them.  Youk singled to center field to plate Pedroia, and Kottaras doubled in Gathright.  End of story.  Oh, and Green made a throwing error.

Ozzie Guillen had a lot of praise for Youk and Pedroia.  Ironic this praize came after we lost.  But then, it’s Ozzie Guillen.  You never know.  Mikey Lowell says it’s hard not playing everyday, and I believe him.  He’s a starter by trade.  He wants to be out there, but he can’t so often anymore because of his hip.  Still, since the All-Star break he’s hitting .339 with six home runs and twenty-six RBIs, coupled with a .389 on-base percentage and a .583 slugging percentage.  Since Tazawa is unavailable, we’re calling up Michael Bowden for today’s start, just in case Wakefield has to make an early exit.

The final score was 12-2.  So we scored once in the fourth and once in the ninth.  They scored twice in the second, five times in the third, and five times in the fourth.  This loss was infuriating but not as worrisome as its ramifications.  And when I say ramifications, I’m referring to its impact on the bullpen, its effects on the starting rotation, its alterations of both the Wild Card and division standings, and its impact on the team’s morale.  Any way you look at them, lopsided scores are never good.  There’s never a silver lining.  There may be a silver lining to how you deal with them at the time, like putting a pitcher in to eat innings in an effort to save arms and substituting for your starters to give them some rest, but there’s never a bright side to the outcome.  With the possible exception of identifying areas of improvement, but that happens after every game.  The only thing we can do after a game like this is move on and hope the team does the same.  Tim Wakefield will be leading that charge this afternoon opposite Gavin Floyd.  And I really hope this goes right.

In other news, Peter Chiarelli announced an extension of Claude Julien’s contract.  Well done.  In his first two season as head coach, Julien took us from the bottom of the Eastern Conference to the top, with playoff appearances after both season.  Last year was our first Eastern Conference Semifinal appearance since 1999.  That says something.  All we have to do is lock up Kessel, and we’ll be all set!

AP Photo

Ballplayers don’t come cheap, but the acquisition of Paul Byrd was just about the lowest-risk investment the front office could’ve possibly made.  He kept himself in shape during the offseason, and we signed him to a minor league contract.  If anything had gone wrong, we had flexibility and we had options, like trading for someone younger and better, and at least it wouldn’t have gone wrong at the Major League level, where right now that would have been extraordinarily inconvenient.  And trust me, things could’ve gone very wrong.  He could’ve injured himself early.  He could’ve pitched consistently horribly.  But as it happens, everything went right.

During his first outing in almost a year, Paul Byrd pitched six shutout innings of three-hit ball with three walks and a strikeouts.  He starts 2009 with an ERA of 0.00 and an undefeated record of 1-0.  And he did it all with just eighty-three pitches, the vast majority of which fit a mixture of cutters, sliders, and changeups, with a fastball here and there.  Pretty impressive for a non-knuckleballer who’s thirty-nine years old and hasn’t thrown a Major League pitch since the end of last season.

Delcarmen pitched the seventh.  Wagner pitched the eighth, and after striking out the side, the inning was over.  Not bad.  An auspicious start to Wagner’s Boston career.  Let’s hope it continues in that direction; for an example of the other direction, I refer you to Eric Gagne.  Saito pitched the ninth.

We had a nice spread yesterday.  We scored one run in each of the first four innings and three more in the seventh, making the final score a very decisive 7-0 to complete a sweep with the Jays.  Pedroia and V-Mart both doubled.  Youk went two for three with a double and three RBIs.  Gonzalez went three for two with an RBI of his own.  Baldelli went yard on Halladay to lead off the second with an RBI of his own (Bay had the day off).  And then two of our runs were unearned (the Jays can thank Shawn Camp for making the throwing error that scored both).  And that was pretty much the ballgame!

Wake will receive a cortisone shot today and could be back in action in a week.  And finally, today is the last day of August! And we all know what that means: September callups.  The first set will join the roster tomorrow, and the next on September 7 after Pawtucket’s season is over.  George Kottaras, Jed Lowrie, Junichi Tazawa, Brian Anderson, Josh Reddick, Jeff Bailey, Michael Bowden, and Hunter Jones will probably be on that list.  Especially Lowrie.  Being that he’s technically our starter, when his wrist is healthy, which is where Alex Gonzalez comes in.

It doesn’t get much better than that, folks.  A shutout, a sweep, a very clear display of our offensive prowess.  Last night’s contest had it all.  Just to keep tabs, last night extended our Wild Card lead to three and a half games, even though our rank in the division remains static.  (The Yankees won yesterday; again, I don’t know how I feel about that.)  We’re on the road now for a series with Tampa Bay, and Lester will take the hill opposite Andy Sonnanstine on Tuesday.  I never liked Tropicana Field; it’s an indoor ballpark with lots of strange angles which complicates the game in a way that’s very unnecessary.  But hey, the more comfortable we get playing there, the easier it’ll be each time.  Hopefully that’ll be the case this time around.

Boston Globe Staff/Barry Chin

Usain Bolt won the 200 meters at the World Championships in Berlin, shattering his world record time by running a remarkable 19.19. And I missed it.

On Friday, August 14th, I began my journey to Idaho’s Sawtooth mountain range, a long ten hours from my Eugene, Oregon home. I arrived at my destination the following day, pitched a tent at the campground, then after a rocky night’s sleep, began the 11-mile trek to my next destination, a beautiful spot in between the three Baron Lakes. There I spent the next six days fishing, hiking, and relaxing with the complete collection of Sherlock Holmes.

Without cell-phone service nor internet connection, I was forced to painfully wonder what was happening in the world of sports during my time in the mountains. As it turns out, I missed a lot.

Usain Bolt won three gold medals at the World Track and Field Championships in Berlin. He shattered the world record mark of 19.30 in the 200m he set at the 2008 Beijing Olympics by running a remarkable 19.19. With that time, the flashy Jamaican wasn’t able to flaunt his shoot-’em-up-bang-bang celebration, but once the time was made official, he sported a gleaming smile. The track and field world was stunned, but upon hearing this, I wasn’t surprised in the least. I am not affluent in the history of Track and Field, but as far as I am concerned, he’s the best sprinter I have seen since Michael Johnson and his gold shoes lit up the 1990’s.

Interviewed following his race, Bolt, who certainly doesn’t lack confidence, said “I am on my way to becoming a legend.” I have no reason not to agree, but here’s the million-dollar question: Is he clean?

While Track’s best athlete was running wild, Golf’s looked to be on his way to his fifteenth career major victory and fifth victory at the PGA Championship. Tiger Woods led for a majority of the tournament, but stunningly lost his advantage when Y.E. Yang chipped in from 60 feet for eagle on the 14th hole at Hazeltine. It was one of many remarkable shots he made on the back-nine in order to become the first Asian golfer to win a major. The 37-year old, who was in the PGA Tour’s Qualifying School last year, dethroned Tiger, who was 14-0 previously in a major when entering the final round with a lead. What a fabulous story.

After losing the final two game of their series against the Texas Rangers, the Boston Red Sox throttled the Toronto Blue Jays. On the road for a three-game set at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, they outslugged their division foe in the first contest, 10-9, used home-runs by Jason Bay, David Ortiz, and Victor Martinez and stellar pitching by Clay Buchholz to defeat the eminent Roy Halladay–one of the best pitchers in baseball–then, backed by J.D. Drew’s four hits and ace Josh Beckett’s magnificent eight innings, Boston completed the sweep.

The New York Yankees, whom they were swept by a week prior, were on the horizon. The Yankees, entering their three-game series at Boston’s Fenway Park, held a 6 1/2 game lead over their arch rival. It was increased to 7 1/2 after an unbelievable offensive performance. They pounded Red Sox starting pitcher Brad Penny, who will be replaced in the rotation by Tim Wakefield later this week, to the tune of eight runs on ten hits in four innings.

Michael Bowden relieved him. The 22-year old making his third career appearance and second of the season wasn’t much better, allowing seven runs on eight hits in just two innings.

New York finished with 23 hits and won 20-11.

This next story doesn’t deserve much ink, so I’ll give it it’s due. Brett Favre, fresh off a terrible season with the New York Jets, decided not to bask in his millions and relax on a beach for the rest of his days, signing with the Minnesota Vikings. For the record, he should have retired with the Green Bay Packers. He can’t play anymore, as last season showed, but clearly and understandably doesn’t want to leave the game. I respect Favre; he has the right to play for as long as he wants. But this is getting ridiculous. Even though he is only a shadow of his former self, he still loves the limelight.

ESPN’s Sportcenter obliged and gave him the attention he desires, spending twenty minutes dissecting his first preseason game with Minnesota, a game in which he played only two series and completed one–I repeat, one–pass.

So, Tiger crumbled, Bolt flew, Boston was shellacked, and Favre unretired…again. This was the sports world I was welcomed back too. Even though three of these four top stories were disappointing, I am ecstatic to rejoin society and live under the glow on my computer screen–to write again.