Hit-tucine Alfredo

On one of the nicest nights at Fenway all year (read: more than 45 degrees and no precipitation), the Red Sox slipped back into their April doldrums, losing their 3rd straight, 10-7.

Alfredo Aceves was simply miserable. He gave up eight runs (6 earned) on 8 hits. He also walked 3 and hit a batter–all in a tidy 5 innings.

Pretty much the only highlight of the night was Jason Varitek's eye-popping 3-4—including his 2nd HR. Papi also went yard for his 12th (10th in the month of May). Oh, and J.D. Drew made a catch in right reminiscent of The Miracle Brunansky Catch (amazingly also against the White Sox—and even more amazingly hit by current manager Ozzie Guillen).

All in all, a crappy night in Beantown.

Dalton Jones Average Jumps 11.3

FenwayNation's Dalton Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) experienced a sharp increase in May—rising 11.3 points to 100.6. The big jump in the Index was fueled by a 21.2 point rise in confidence with the team's offense. Confidence in relief pitching dropped 1.2 points—the second straight monthly decline in that department. Starting pitching confidence rose a full 8.6 points, while confidence with the Sox defense increased 6.5 points.

The DJIA composite index is made up of confidence readings for four key metrics: starting pitching, relief pitching, overall offense and overall defense. You can see the scores for each of the metrics HERE.

ESPN Caves, Game On Tonight

After outrage expressed from every corner of Red Sox Nation, ESPN caved and bent its rules to allow tonight's game to be televised on NESN.

Commissioner ESPN

I am extremely tired of hearing what a great Commissioner Bud Selig is. Isn't this the same guy who presided over the Great Steroid Chase of 1998? You know, the one that 'saved' the sport by allowing freaks like McGwire and Sosa (and later Bonds) to make a mockery of the home run record.

And, while MLB has certainly prospered under his regime, we have also seen the enslavement of the sport to the big networks—most notably FOX and ESPN. Saturday afternoons are now generally bereft of baseball thanks to FOX (even if you've paid for the Extra Innings package), and now we are robbed of witnessing tonight's make-up game between Josh Beckett and Justin Verlander because Bud has ceded ESPN exclusive rights to Sunday night. [EDITOR'S NOTE: ESPN HAS BENT ITS RULES AND ALLOWED TONIGHT'S BROADCAST ON NESN] On top of everything, he gave us the stupidity of inter-league play.

So Selig has given us a sport controlled by his little coterie of preferred owners and powerful network executives. And his only true legacy will be the a lost era of steroid cheating. Let's stop praising him, shall we?

Bathin' Detroit

No matter what the Pinstripe Posers do in the Great Northwest tonight, the Red Sox will still reside in first place in the morning. Boston was rained out in Detroit on Saturday. The game will be made up as part of a double-header on Sunday.

By the way, for the first time in memory no one outside of Detroit will see the second half of the doubleheader tomorrow. You can thank Bud Selig and his indentured servitude to the big networks. Because of ESPN's "exclusive" Sunday night slot, no other game can be televised to compete with The Worldwide Leader. Who suffers? Only the most dedicated fans in baseball. Thanks, Bud!

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Apologies for the really lame "Guys N' Dolls" reference in the headline)

Red Sox On Top At Last

It took 51 games, but your Boston Red Sox now sit atop the AL East after a 6-3 win over the Tigers. Tim Wakefield was again superb, going seven solid innings. The HR barrage continued apace, with Jacoby and CC going yard.

With the Yankees loss in Seattle, Boston assumed first place with a record of 29-22. That means that since the 0-6 start, the Carmine Hose have gone 29-16—a .644 clip. They have won 12 of their last 14. They are on-fire offensively, and weathering the loss of Lackey and Dice-K very well, thank you.

As if Memorial Day weekend couldn't get any better, the Bruins are now in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1990, winning Game 7 last night (1-0) in a contest that saw no penalties—for the first time in an NHL playoff game in 22 years. They look to capture their first Cup since George McGovern carried Massachusetts. Epic stuff here in Beantown.

No Panic In Detroit

Not even the rains could put a damper on this Red Sox offense. After knocking out 20 hits yesterday, they smacked 16 today. The end result was a rain-shortened 14-1 clubbing of the Tigers.

Carl 'What Slump?' Crawford collected four more hits today—including two triples—to add to his four hits from Wednesday. Jacoby Ellsbury clouted his fifth home run (a three-run shot) and newcomers Josh Reddick and Drew Sutton combined for 5 hits and 5 RBIs. Papi went 2-3 and scored 3 runs. Needless to say, it was the second straight offensive onslaught.

Alfredo Aceves improved to 2-0 (and 16-1 lifetime as a starter) with 6 workmanlike innings. He frequently seemed to be in trouble, but worked out of every jam—giving up only 5 hits and 1 run while striking out 6.

Best of all, the Sox are now in a statistical dead heat with the Empire for a share of first place in the American League East. It took 50 games to get there. But we are there.

Still In The Reyes Hunt?

According to a report in the New York Times, the Red Sox are still among the teams mentioned in the hunt for hot-hitting Mets shortstop Jose Reyes. While Jed Lowrie has performed brilliantly (at least offensively) in the absence of Marco Scutaro, the Sox may be looking to upgrade to super-star status at SS—at least for the balance of this year. Reyes becomes a free agent at the end of 2011—and Jose Iglesias may be ready for 2012.

No Mistake By The Lake

Yeah, those Indians sure are for real! Well, maybe if they release Mitch Talbot. The Red Sox jumped on the second-year hurler for 8 runs in just three innings on the way to a 14-2 whooping of the Tribe.

The Sox hit four HRs—Salty, Crawford, Pedroia, Ortiz—and pounded out 20 hits in all. Carl Crawford went 4-4, with two doubles to go with this long ball.

Jon Lester improved to 7-1—going 6 shutout innings, striking out 7 and giving up only 3 hits. So, temporarily at least, the Sox sit atop the AL East—until the Jays lose again in the Bronx (Editor's Note: The Jays lost 7-3).

Progressing At Progressive

Inexorably, it seems, the Red Sox are making their way to the top of the AL East. It seems like just a matter of time. If the Blue Jays had not blown a 3-run lead in the Bronx, the Carmine Hose would already be sitting atop the division.

Last night, Josh Becket turned in another gem—6 2/3, one earned run—to propel the Sox to their first win over the suddenly simmering Tribe, 4-2. Jason Varitek's first HR of 2011 was the difference, with Adrian Gonzalez chipping in his MLB-leading 42nd RBI. Jed Lowrie, workmanlike as always, delivered a booming sac fly that would have gone out with a more favorable wind.

You just get the feeling that once Pedroia and Crawford start to click, this will be an unstoppable offense.

FN Poll: Interleague Play?

Please vote in our latest FenwayNation Poll, which asks whether—all things considered—you favor or oppose interleague play. VOTE HERE.

Anonymous Sox

Hey! Hey! Hey! It's Matt Albers!

Heretofore ironclad reliever Matt Albers imploded in the 8th inning at Fenway Saturday night leading to an 8-run inning that prevented the Red Sox (in their fittingly anonymous 1918 unis) from entering first place. The final was 9-3.

Terry Francona inexplicably sat by and watched this debacle unfold—refusing to warm anyone up behind Albers until the proverbial horse had left the barn.

David Ortiz's 300th franchise HR (which had propelled the Sox to a 2-1 lead) and Aceves' workmanlike five-inning stint were wiped out in the process.

Disgraceful. Humiliating. Unacceptable.

Cubbie Hole

Hey, forget this once every 93 years thing! Let's re-align the Cubbies into the AL East!

The Red Sox hit on all cylinders Friday (with the exception of starting pitching) and smoked the tiny bears, 15-5 at Fenway. Adrian Gonzalez was 4-6 with 4 RBI, while Youk collected 2 doubles and a two-run HR. Jon Lester was the one forgettable element in the tilt, giving up 11 hits and 5 runs—and not having one single clean inning. This was not a blowout until late, as Chicago took advantage of Lester's inconsistency to storm back to within 3 (8-5).

Bottom line? The Sox, who started 2-10 have now gone 22-10 and sit just a half-game out of first place.

Buckner Attends BoSox Luncheon

Red Sox great Bill Buckner appeared at today's BoSox Club luncheon at the Westin Hotel in Waltham. Hundreds of Red Sox fans enjoyed listening to 'Billy Buck' recount stories of his playing days with the Dodgers, Cubs and Red Sox.

Also on hand were Red Sox outfielder Darnell McDonald, Judd Sirott of the Cubs broadcast team, and WEEI personality Jon Rish. You can enjoy great events like this by joining the BoSox Club at their website, www.bosoxclub.com

Milwwod Agrees To AAA Pact

According to the Globe's Nick Cafardo (referencing a report on Yahoo!), Kevin Milwwod has agreed to a AAA contract with the Red Sox. The Sox also signed LH reliever Franklin Morales and designated Hideki Okajima for assignment.

Red Sox Contact Millwood

NESN's Peter Gammons is reporting that the Red Sox have contacted Kevin Millwood to see if he's willing to accept a stint at AAA with an eventual possible bump up to Boston.

Millwood has an ERA of 4.11 in 406 career starts in the big leagues.

Dice-K Out A Month

Sean McAdam of CSNNE.com is reporting that Daisuke Matsuzaka will be out at least a month with "a sprained ulnar collateral ligament, and strain to his common flexor mass".

This type of injury often leads to Tommy John surgery on the affected elbow. This could have a very serious impact on the 2011 Red Sox and, more importantly, on Dice-K's career.

The Dice-K Conundrum

As he heads to the 15-day disabled list, it's a good time to try to dispassionately evaluate Daisuke Matsuzaka. The conventional wisdom holds that Dice-K is a study in contrasts. On the one hand, he can deliver back-to-back 1-hit gems (as he did earlier this year) and, on the other hand, he can implode with a 7-walk, 5-run, 106-pitch, 4 2/3 inning disaster (as he did in his last start).

But, taking a step back, it's interesting to note how consistent he actually is. In fact, it lends some credence to those who shrug their shoulders and say, "Hey, he's a fifth starter. He is what he is".

One thing is true about Dice-K: he gives up relatively few hits. Even this year, in 37 1/3 innings, he's yielded only 32 hits. Over his career, he's given up 54 fewer hits than innings pitched. Usually the sign of a very good hurler.

Of course, he's walked 23 this year (against only 26 strikeouts), making his WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched) a mediocre 1.47. But is that an aberration? Not really, his career WHIP is 1.40. Yet another astounding consistency is 'batting average against'—this year it stands at only .224, for his career it's .242. Both pretty darned good. Want more evidence of consistency? In Japan, he was 108-60. That's a .642 winning percentage. With the Sox? How about 49-30, a .620 winning percentage?

So, what does this all suggest? It seems pretty clear that the Red Sox have to convince Dice-K to throw the ball over and allow hitters to make outs. Obviously, the team has tried to make this case before, but have they shown him the hard evidence? If batters put it in play, they're hitting just .242 off him! Why nibble? Assuming he's healthy (NOTE: An MRI late today showed Dice-K has a sprained ulnar collateral ligament, and strain to his common flexor mass and will likely miss at least a month), he's got the stuff. Use it! Sometimes baseball can be pretty simple.

Cloudy, No Chance Of Fastballs

As Boston is ensnared by one of those lingering back-door weather systems, the games at Fenway this week are in serious jeopardy. The Tigers and old friend Victor Martinez are in town tonight for another bizarre two-game series and then the long-awaited re-match with the Cubs starts Friday. Maybe.

The clarion calls of Ted Sarandis for a new Fenway with a retractable-roof suddenly seem pretty rational. But that would take away from the 'charm' of freezing your butt off in 30-degree mist in mid-May. I forgot.

Gonzo-Palooza!

Your humble scribe was privileged to sit through the chilly comeback at Fenway last night. Despite the Olde Towne Team falling behind 6-0 in the sixth inning, most fans who had managed to get there stayed. And it was well worth it!

After smacking the O's bullpen for 5 runs in the bottom of the sixth, Alfredo Aceves gave one right back on a monstrous HR by Mark 'So What If I Strike Out Over 200 Times' Reynolds. Undaunted, Jason Varitek got that run back (his second RBI on the night), and the Sox faced a one-run deficit in the 9th. The O's 'closer' Kevin Gregg then walked both Ellsbury and Pedroia with one out, and A-Gon swiped his first pitch slider high off the Monster. Both runners scored and, with the resulting 8-7 win, the Sox moved over .500 for the first time this year.

Cubs And Red Sox Back At Fenway

We are mystically linked in so many ways. The two oldest ballparks. The two weirdest curses (ours thankfully with a stake driven through its heart). The most loyal fan bases. Heck, even Bill Buckner. Deep down, I'm sure many of us in the Nation are also secretly Cubs fans. We know the angst all too well.

When the Chicago Cubs take the field at Fenway Park on Friday evening, it will be the first time Cubbie laundry has been on that particular piece of turf since September 11, 1918. Forget the 9/11 angle. Can you believe that the World Series used to end just after Labor Day? Of course there were more pressing issues facing the American people that day. The Boston Evening Globe (yes, newspapers in this town actually had two daily editions as late as 1979) told of torpedoed troopships and the scramble to get young men registered for a military draft that funneled 4.3 million Americans into World War One. But it was the Game 6 clinching victory for the Red Sox that got the big banner headline, "Sox Win Championship". New revelations of possible scandal aside, it was our last shining moment on the hill for 86 years.

When the Cubs arrive in Boston this time around, there will also be bigger issues out there that should preoccupy our minds. But, as our predecessors did 93 years ago, we can forget it all, and let the joy of baseball just wash over us for a few days.

Supporting The Lackey Family

John Lackey's struggles on the mound have been well-documented—here and elsewhere. But his challenges off the mound have not been as well known. John Lackey's wife has been battling breast cancer. Peter Abraham of the Globe has passed on a suggestion from one of his readers that fans wear pink in John's next start to show support for him and his family.

When situations like this arise, it becomes crystal clear that baseball games are not the important struggles we sometimes make them out to be—not in the bigger picture. We wholeheartedly endorse the wearing of pink on Tuesday to show John our support.

20-20 Perfect Vision

The Red Sox swept the Empire into the Bronx night with a 7-5 victory. Jon Lester was underwhelming, but Boston fought back from two deficits to surge to the lead on the power of three home runs (Salty, Papi, Youk) and A-Fraud's 5-hole. Your Carmine Hose have come all the way back from the 2-10 start to get even. Bring on the Orioles.

Yankee Poodle Dandy

They are aging, addled and toothless. And now the Yankees have a DH controversy. Jorge Posada pulled himself out of the lineup one hour before game-time, after learning he was batting 9th. The cover story that emerged later was that he had a bad back. Right.

Anyway, the Red Sox took Game 2 of the series 6-0, with Josh Beckett hurling 6 shutout innings and fanning 9. Adrian Gonzalez hit his sixth HR in 6 games, launching a 3-run shot to RF off a lefty (some fat guy who really stunk tonight). That made it 6-0 and the Bronx faithful headed for the subway. Lester has a chance to bring the team to .500 for the first time tomorrow night.

Big Papi Love In NYC

FN Poll: What To Do With Lackey?

After a relatively harsh diatribe on John Lackey, your humble scribe was labelled by some in the Nation as an 'idiot' (which is a good thing, thank goodness for the passion of our readers). I guess it's completely unacceptable to criticize the performance of a guy making $82.5 million. Unless, of course, it's an oil company executive. Oops, sorry, no politics! Anyway, we decided to let the full Nation weigh in on Lackey.

Please vote in our latest poll, which asks what should be done with John Lackey: ride him out or drop him from the rotation after a few more gems. We report, you decide (sorry, again).

VOTE HERE.

Shell-Lackey Is Back Again

On pace to amass 74 whole wins, your Boston Red Sox were swept away in the Great White North, falling tonight to the Jays, 9-3. John Lackey, whose ERA is approaching 1 run per inning (8.01), was again an abysmal embarrassment, coughing up 9 earned runs in 6 2/3 innings. What a horse, huh? Well, at least one part of the equine anatomy.

At what point do we acknowledge what a monumental mistake Lackey was? After the Empire signed Teixeira, Theo panic-signed the Best Available Mediocre Pitcher (BAMC) and way overpaid him. Remember the great "pitching and defense" scam of 2010?

Adrian Gonzalez continued to cement his Team MVP status with 2 more hits—including his seventh HR. He must be starting to wonder if staying in San Diego might have been a better career choice. Papi also went yard—his sixth.

Seventy-Four Wins, Baby! Yeesh!

Iron And Steal

First of all, despite what he said in his post-game interview, Jon Lester was not good last night. After going 0-2 on the first hitter, he proceeded to walk three, give up one hit and allow three runs in the first inning. Despite two home runs by the sizzling hot Adrian Gonzalez (and another by the semi-hot David Ortiz), the Red Sox could not dig themselves out of the multiple holes dug for them by Lester. He coughed up two solo HRs after the first on meatball hanging curve balls. Five earned runs in five innings is not an acceptable start for the ace of the staff.

Beyond all of this, the inability of Jason Varitek to throw out Rajai Davis in the 10th inning—once on a pitchout and once just falling asleep—compounded the angst in the 7-6 loss. A sac fly cemented the loss as Davis trotted home from third.

So, once again, this team cannot get to .500. Buckle up, Nation, this funk might not be an aberration after all.

11 CC

This is the kind of win that can turn around a season—for a team and for a player. Carl Crawford laced a double off the Monster in the 11th inning to plate rookie Jose Iglesias with the game-winning run in the Sox 2-1 win over Minnesota. The win gave the Red Sox a winning (barely) home stand (6-5). Had they lost this one and gone 5-6 it would have been known as the 2011 Home-STRAND. This team is still basically unable to hit with runners in scoring position—although the two new guys (Gonzo and Crawford) did it tonight.

Josh Beckett again pitched a gem and got nothing to show for it—thanks to Papelbon's first blown save of the year in the 8th. All in all, a good way to head north for a 2-game stint in Toronto and 3 in Baghdad on the Hudson. They start the road trip just 3.5 back of the Rays and Empire.

Balk To The Future

Maybe Terry Francona's eruption and ejection will spur the Red Sox to a 10-game win streak. It had better. After a strange balk call on Tim Wakefield (which scored a run to make it 4-0), Tito stormed at the plate umpire and bumped crew chief Joe West several times. Can you say suspension?

In the forgettable game itself, the Sox were blown away again, 9-2. The only highlights were HRs by J.D. Drew (deep to right) and Adrian Gonzalez (oppo over the Monster).

Happy 80th, Say Hey!

If you're a baseball fan of a certain age (you know who you are), Willie Mays was one of the mythic figures of your youth. Before SportsCenter, you could only catch the occasional glimpse of him in grainy black and white "highlights" or the rare national broadcast with the Giants. Once in a while you could catch him on Home Run Derby, sending moon shots clanking into empty minor league seats. You'd read about him in SPORT magazine and scan the daily box scores in the Globe or the Record American. He was larger than life. His catch in the 1954 World Series against the Indians (photo above) is probably the greatest catch ever. Ever.

Let's wish the 'Say Hey Kid' all the best on this, his 80th birthday.

FN Poll: Trade For Reyes?

Please vote in our latest FenwayNation Poll, which asks whether the Red Sox should trade for Mets SS Jose Reyes. You can cast your vote HERE.

Lackey Reverts To Form

After three decent starts, John Lackey reverted to form on Thursday afternoon yielding 8 earned runs in 4 plus innings. The Red Sox were shellacked by the Angels, 11-0 and ended up splitting the four-game set at Fenway. Lackey seemed to have multiple base-runners in every inning, as he coughed up 10 hits and 3 walks. His ERA has skyrocketed back to 7.16. $16 million? I don't think so.

Jenks & Wheeler To DL

Just days after assuring The Nation that the bullpen would straighten itself out, Theo Epstein jettisoned his two highest profile acquisitions—Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler—to the faux DL. For all the brilliance Epstein has shown on trade and free agent signings over the years, he has never really figured out how to compile a 'first-to-last' bullpen corps. There have been successes, to be sure, but almost all of his most dismal failures have been of the reliever variety.

Once again, we may be witnessing the meltdown of his best intentions. Rich Hill and Scott Atchison will come up to fill in for the Fenway Flu victims.

(April 4, 2011 - Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images North America)

Cinco De CRY-O

It was nearly 3AM on Cinco de Mayo morning that it finally ended. More than seven hours of earth time and five plus hours of baseball time had passed since the little kid shouted "Play ball!".

Almost five good innings from Beckett. Wasted. A clutch comeback in the 9th inning. Wasted. The chance that Dice-K could win his first ever relief appearance. Wasted. The chance to climb back to .500 for the first time in 2011. Wasted. Playing again at 1:30 PM today. Priceless.

Rizzo On The Rise

Far be it from us to second-guess the Gonzo trade with San Diego. We were carping for it for over two years. For the record, we are thrilled that he'll be a mainstay in our lineup for years to come. But, of course, to get a quality player like Adrian Gonzaelz, Theo Epstein had to give up quality in return. Some of that quality is starting to show. Big time.

Anthony Rizzo, the 1B prospect in the deal, is hitting almost .400 at AAA—with 8 home runs in 25 games. Meantime, on the big club, Brad Hawpe is looking like he completely forgot how to hit. Look for Rizzo to be patrolling first base at PETCO very soon. Not that there's anything wrong with that!

Nation Says 'No' To Boggsy

In case you had any doubts about the memories of Red Sox fans, all you need do is check out the voting in our latest FenwayNation Poll. We asked our readers if the Red Sox should retire the number 26 in honor of Hall Of Famer Wade Boggs. Boggs has expressed an interest in joining fellow Hall inductee and teammate Jim Rice. But, of course, like Johnny Damon, Boggs donned the satanic pinstripes and won a ring. Look up unforgiving in the dictionary—you'll see a picture of a Red Sox fan.

So far, a majority of voters (about 56%) oppose the number being retired. There are votes from North Vancouver, BC, Canada. There are votes from Caracas, Venezuela (hopefully not by Hugo Chavez). There's even a vote from Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China. There's also a bunch from the good 'ol USA. But add it all up, and the number 26 seems safe to don for any Red Sox player in the foreseeable future.

Scutaro To Philly?

Chase Utley's uncertain injury status has sparked interest in the bowels of Citizens Bank Park for Sox shortstop Marco Scutaro. The current replacements have been underwhelming, and Scutaro's past offensive prowess (and ability to play second base) may be tempting enough to pull the trigger on a deal. It's not clear what the Sox would want in return or how much of Marco's $5.5 million price tag the Phils would eat.

FN Poll: Retire Boggs' Number 26?

Vote in the latest FenwayNation Poll, which asks whether the Red Sox should retire number 26 in honor of Hall of Famer Wade Boggs. VOTE HERE.

May Day Miracle

It could have been a gut-wrenching loss. After Tim Wakefield delivered a heroic 5 2/3 scoreless innings, the bullpen (more specifically, Bobby Jenks) coughed up the lead by walking in the tying runs in the 6th. And, after Papi's wall-ball double had given Boston a 2-run edge on The Best Pitcher In The American League (AKA King Felix).

But, a sun-aided triple by Jed Lowrie (inexplicably bounding off a blinded Ichiro) gave Carl Crawford the chance to exorcise a lot of early season demons. He did. A line shot up the middle plated Lowrie with the winning run and the new guy was mobbed by teammates in a thrilling 3-2 win.

Dalton Jones Drops 10.7 Points

FenwayNation's Dalton Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) experienced a sharp decline in April—falling 10.7 points to 89.3. The big drop in the Index was fueled by an 18.6 point plunge in confidence with the team's offense. Confidence in relief pitching dropped a full 9 points. Starting pitching confidence dropped only 3.2 points, similar to the small drop on defense (2.3 points).

The DJIA composite index is made up of confidence readings for four key metrics: starting pitching, relief pitching, overall offense and overall defense. You can see the scores for each of the metrics HERE.