yeszir

OH! There's the Tampa Bay we know and love!

STOP SWINGING AT BALLS

Saw this one coming New strategy for Tek: Close your eyes and swing

Varitek is just missing. Maybe it was those unspecific threats the team received. Apparently the FBI is traveling around with them now.

How can you be 3 for your last 44. HOW! That's miserable.

At least it wasn't 2 right there

It's good to still hear some Yoooouuuuk chants going on down there. It still is Fenway Park 2 down there.

Luckily Kazmir doesn't look sharp at all. Just issued a 4 pitch walk.

Tampa Bay

Nothing is clicking

That's the idea. Don't get embarrassed in Tampa.

Well that's just the opposite of what you'd expect I've been proven very wrong. I guess I'm just blinded by the sexiness of a stolen base.

7:10 Matsuzaka vs (gulp) Kazmir Not getting swept by Tampa Bay mojo!

I disagree. Speed in the leadoff spot is crucial. Yes, its moot if the batter can't reach base or if the people behind him suck, but with a decent lineup and a decent bat, speed DRAMATICALLY improves a player's value. The old, beaten to death cliche says that baseball is a game of inches. And it is. The extra infield dribblers that Ellsbury beats out, or a 2 out steal of second that puts him in scoring position (and you know he'll score on pretty much anything) are extremely valuable. Especially looking at the spat of close games the sox have lost recently. With Ellsbury producing and (I'm trying to avoid saying this but I can't) manufacturing runs, or at least some chances at runs, we win a lot of those games. So yes, I agree that his speed is useless unless he performs well in other areas. But if he's hitting on all cylinders, look out. This just got me thinking. Is there any possible way to see overall opponent pitchers ERA or WHIP or BAA with a guy like Ellsbury on first? You need to take the distraction factor into account too. I gaurantee you Ellsbury on first helps the batter more than Varitek on first does. (Stats might be skewed because of who follows Ellsbury in the lineup though..would there be some way to account for this?)

And now he'll promptly go 0 for his next 35. Such is the nature of JD Drew.

He definitely deserved it. We'd be in a much worse place were it not for Drew. He earned his salary for once.

Uh oh, here comes the "The Red Sox are a classless organization" comment.

The sky is falling! Air your grievances. The sox just look flat. There are some hope-inspiring statistics, but it seems like we just rolled over for Houston and are now doing the same thing for Tampa. I doubt the Rays can truly keep this up for the rest of the season, but the Sox need some kind of spark.

Haha, I don't get it either

RELEASE JD DREW!

Yea, I agree. There's a way to go about arguing with someone, and just calling them a f*** head isn't the best way to do it. The point isn't to run someone out of town on a rail.

Overrated movie

If anyone other than Wake was pitching, I'd say the Red Sox would most likely lose this game. As it stands, I say they're sitting at 50/50.