We didn't really think there was going to be any Wally Pipp-ing of the injured Red Sox (well, maybe one of them). Even though the kids have been on fire, the Sox welcomed back Josh Beckett from arm trouble and Mike Lowell from a strained oblique with open (if sore) arms. And the two of them chipped in, in an 8-1 ripping of the Rangers that pulled the Sox within 2 1/2 of the AL... [continue]

It's a good thing nobody took us up on our bet that Tom Brady would be in his usual spot on the injured list. Well, he's not. And even though we all know, and everyone knows we all know, that the injury list is only mandatory because of wink-wink gambling, it's a good sign. Tom's going to play. We hope he plays better than all those weeks he was injured. Speaking of gambling...we'd love our... [continue]

Folks...the late season magic has arrived. The Red Sox seemed poised for another near-sweep, so close and yet so far. Daisuke Matsuzaka, the master at digging then getting out of holes, had gotten the Sox down 4-0. The seventh-inning stretch had arrived. (By the way, Bostonist was at Fenway the other night and noted that fans now have to be reminded to stand up for the seventh-inning stretch, but leap up out of their seats... [continue]

The mighty midget is making his case to become the AL MVP this season; Dustin Pedroia went 2-4 last night when the Sox beat the Orioles 7-4. Paul Byrd, who threw for seven innings last night and recorded the win, called Pedroia the MVP of the league. Coming from a guy whose spent 13 years playing baseball and has seen a lot over the years – it’s a compliment. Plus, if it doesn’t work in... [continue]

The Red Sox came ohsoclose to sweeping the Yankees out of the picture in New York last week. And they came, well, not quite so close this weekend, as good Chicago hitting and a dearth of run support for Tim Wakefield doomed the boys to a 4-2 loss to the White Sox at Fenway. Wake gave up a first-inning homer to Jim Thome (now tied with Mickey Mantle on the all time list for home... [continue]

"I don't really like hitting fourth," said Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia, after being moved in the lineup to cover for the ailing Kevin Youkilis. Luckily, at this point, Dustin can hit when he's hitting fourth, or eighth, or underwater, or with one leg pinned up behind his back. Dustin, to put it another way, is on fire. He went 4-for-4, again, to help the Sox batter Chicago 8-2, and now leads the AL at... [continue]

Someone switched pages in the script. The Red Sox were supposed to leave Yankee Stadium for the last time yesterday flying high, having crushed New York's spirit and set their sights firmly on catching and dispatching Tampa Bay. And it was headed that way, with Jon Lester cruising on a 2-0 lead going into the seventh. But Lester gave up a double, Francona decided to trust in his bullpen, and before you could say "Seriously,... [continue]

It wasn’t too long ago when the Yankees came to town for a five game series that was a make or break situation for the Sox. But in historic Yankee fashion, they threw us over the proverbial barrel and violated us. But now the tables are turned and it feels good to be on top. Well, in second place and first in line for the Wild Card. But still, it could be worse. We could... [continue]

Is this going to be the game that we look back on and say, yes, this was the day the 2008 Red Sox got it together? It's not out of the question. The Sox have been - let's go with scuffling - for a couple of weeks. They've watched Toronto blow them out of Fenway and blow Jon Lester out of SkyDome or whatever it's called now. And they stepped up, taking the Jays to... [continue]

Oh, Clay Buchholz. You teased us with that no-hitter last year. But, at heart, you're still just a young, inconsisent kid, except for the last few months, when you've been consistently bad. And last night, when your team gave you a 4-0 lead, well...that may have been the last straw. Yes, the Sox turned the 4-0 lead over to Clay and watched it quickly turn into an 11-6 loss, which will send Buchholz (who last... [continue]

While Carl Yastrzemski was "resting comfortably" at MGH after his triple bypass surgery, the current Red Sox were 400 miles south, honoring Yaz with some clutch hitting and some fire as they beat Baltimore again, 7-2. The hitting came from Jason Varitek (2 HR in 2 nights?!?) and Kevin Youkilis (3-for-5 with a homer), among others. The fire came from Dustin Pedroia, who launched a few indiscretions at umpires, and Coco Crisp, who became the... [continue]

Well...that sucked. Trying to stop a modest 1-game losing streak, Josh Beckett was turned into hamburger by the suddenly red-hot Blue Jay bats. The Jays shelled Josh for eight runs in less than three innings, and Beckett got the loss in a 15-4, 22-Toronto-hit massacre. "They were just really, really bad pitches. Well, good pitches to hit," said Beckett, and it's hard to argue. The Sox did scratch out a little offense - an RBI... [continue]

A ten-run inning wasn't enough to hold a lead on Tuesday, but a nine-run inning was last night. That's partly just the vicissitudes of baseball, and partly the difference between wet-behind-the-ears Charlie Zink and pretty-reliable Daisuke Matsuzaka. The Sox pounded yet another hapless Texas pitcher (Tommy Hunter, and we wouldn't bother memorizing that name) for a nine-run second inning, highlighted by another Ortiz 3-run home run amid 13 Sox batters. Other offensive stars for the... [continue]

Were the folks at Fenway disappointed last night? 24 hours after the zany madcap roller coaster 19-17 win, the Red Sox came back and dispatched Texas in a much tidier fashion. They did it by riding a Kevin Youkilis hit parade and a (mostly) solid Jon Lester start to an 8-4 win. Youk got three doubles, the big one coming in the third and scoring two runs to make it 4-0. Jason Bay and Jed... [continue]

Folks got their money's worth at Fenway last night. But what do you say to recap the game? We were set to write about the big-league debut of knuckleballer Charlie Zink. Then we were going to write about the titanic 10-run first inning (Bostonist was returning from a weekend trip, and the first inning alone got us from near Meriden all the way up past Hartford and to Vernon. That's a good first inning.) and... [continue]

Before Bostonist introduces you to Charlie Zink, we’d like to discuss Josh Beckett’s 5-1 win last night against the Chicago White Sox. Even without David Ortiz in the line up, the Red Sox were able to leave the Windy City splitting the series and the Beckett we were use to seeing last season made another appearance. Beckett, who’s now 11-8, threw for eight innings, getting tagged for one run off of seven hits. He struck... [continue]

We've got one pitcher down, and one pitcher out. Not a great day for the Red Sox in Chicago yesterday. Out is Tim Wakefield, who has a soreness in his back or shoulder, depending on who you ask; it's the same nagging injury that made him miss the World Series last year. Wake was scheduled to start on Tuesday, so now obviously Tito has to make other arrangements. Down is Clay Buchholz, who just sinks... [continue]

Two Red Sox may have moved themselves off the "what's wrong with this guy?" list in Kansas City last night. Well, nothing's really been wrong with Tim Wakefield; although he went into last night 6-8, he's gotten miserable run support and has had to deal with the constant emotional roller coaster that is the lot of the knuckleballer. But he was awesome last night (6 innings, 4 hits, 1 ER, 6 Ks), even though Royals... [continue]

It's been a month and a half since any of our local teams even competed for, let alone won, a championship. And while the Revolution will soon have to get back to work to finally get over the hump and claim their first MLS Cup, they can at least bask in the glow of the SuperLiga title. The tournament, featuring a few MLS teams and a few Mexican teams, came down to the Revs vs.... [continue]

Was this team really in turmoil four days ago? (Yes.) Were we convinced that the swagger was gone for good? (Yeah, pretty much.) Did we think that losing a Hall of Fame slugger would come back to bite the Red Sox in the butt (We still kind of do, to be honest.) Whatever the future holds, let it be known that the Red Sox righted the ship in record time after the Angel sweep and... [continue]