Rangers @ Red Sox Preview

I don't know about you, but I am still pissed off from last night's game. I thought that umpire was fucking terrible, and yea I am a biased asshole fan, but that call on Gonzalez at the end of the game was bullshit. If I feel that way, you know the Sox have to be angry.



Tonight we get Andrew Miller vs. The Dutch Oven (Aka Derek Holland). Holland has 12 wins on the season, but also gets and average of 7.29 in run-support, which is tops in the majors. Over his last three starts he's gone 2-1 with a 4.34 ERA, and basically that's what we have come to expect from him as he is 12-5 with a 4.30 ERA.



Miller actually shut down these Rangers just last week when he held Texas to three hits over 6 1/3 innings, which was probably his most impressive outing as a Red Sox. Since coming off the DL Miller has gone 11 2/3 innings allowing 6 hits, 1 run, with 9 Ks. The Red Sox really need him to keep pitching like that. We all know he has the tools to do so, but the key is for him to keep his walk rate down (only has 4 over those 11 2/3 innings).



I don't like this matchup, since the Sox usually have a little trouble against lefties, but we are getting to the part of the season when young guys like Holland can fizzle out. Plus, I think the Sox are going to come out pissed about last night and that should be enough to get them the win.



Red Sox win 6-4

Player of the Game: Pedroia

Game starts at 7:10pm





Red Sox lineup:



Ellsbury, CF

Pedroia, 2B

Gonzalez, 1B

Youkilis, 3B

Ortiz, DH

Lowrie, SS

Crawford, LF

Varitek, C

McDonald, RF

6 Red Sox, 0 Rangers

(This is a DC original, big ups to Pat)



All Adrian and the Nation of Domination needed was a trip to Texas to get going. For a team that was unbeatable, the Sox came away from Texas winning 3 of 4. Adrian hit 2 homeruns early and then Ortiz and Salty tacked on one each later in the game.



Andrew Miller pitched real well last night going 6.1 innings with 3 hits, 2 walks and 6 ks. Maybe there is a 3 man race for the 3rd starting spot.



Alexi Ogando had a rough outing for himself only lasted four innings, giving up six runs on six hits and a walk.



The Sox now head home to take on Oakland, unless a Hurricane wipes out Mass.

Red Sox @ Rangers Preview

The Red Sox are back where they belong #1 in the AL East. A large part of that is that they are finally getting healthy again. Ortiz and Ellsbury have made their comebacks and it has paid immediate dividends. On top of that Gonzalez is back hitting bombs, and when he is doing that this team is unstoppable.



Boston has 24 runs and 30 hits in the last two games after being blanked on four hits in the series opener. A lot of this is because Ortiz crushes the ball in Texas (.301 with eight homers and 17 RBIs in his last 18 at Rangers Ballpark), Gonzalez is hitting .370 over the last 7 days with 3 HRs and 7 RBIs, and even Carl Crawford is getting it going hitting safely in all seven games on the Red Sox's road trip.



Tonight could be tough though, as Andrew Miller takes on Alexi Ogando. Alexi Ogando has come out of nowhere to have a very good year for himself (12-5 with a 3.30 ERA). He is also 2-0 in August, but his ERA for the month is 5.64 ERA. Plus he has struggled against the AL East going 1-3 with a 5.94 ERA (though he hasn't started against the Sox yet). Nolan Ryan has come out and said his pitchers look tired, and that could be the case with all the young guys they have in their rotation.



Miller has given up just four runs in 17 innings over his last four road games (including three starts). I really like the way he pitched last time out, and although Texas is a really good lineup (and they will score some runs off him) I think he can win this game.



Red Sox win 6-5

Player of the Game: Ortiz

Game starts at 8:05pm

Jim Thome Returning To White Sox? (UPDATED - NOPE)

"The White Sox were one of several teams putting a claim in for Thome, reports Daryl Van Schouwen of the Sun Times. The White Sox could be trying to block a claim by the Indians or seeking another lefty bat in place of the unproductive Adam Dunn (ESPN)."



Wow, how far has Adam Dunn fallen that a 40 year old Jim Thome is a better option. Guillen always said he regretted letting Thome go, and why wouldn't he? His piece of shit DH (Dunn) is hitting .167 with 11 HRs and 40 RBIs. Thome has better stats (.253 12 HRs 40 RBI) and he has had 162 less at bats.



The White Sox aren't the only teams that are interested in Thome. The Red Sox, Rangers, Angels, Tigers, Indians and Yankees are alll rumored to be interested. I would love for the Sox to be able to make a deal for them, but they are so far down the waiver list I doubt they will even get a chance.



***UPDATE***



The Cleveland Indians have been awarded a waiver claim for Twins designated hitter Jim Thome, CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler has learned.

DON'T WEEP ABOUT THE SWEEP

All the anticipation for Opening Day and then the Rangers outscore the Sox 26-11 in three games. Don't panic yet, though. The Sox can still win those magical 100 games, if that's what you care about. They'd just have to go 100-59 in the remaining 159 games. And that's certainly possible.

Had the Sox done well this weekend, I would have been my wet blanket self, and pleaded for everyone to settle down, as it's only April. Well it is only April, and so therefore I'm not too worried about what we saw in Texas.

Jon Lester is a perennial slow starter. From 2008 to 2010, he went 3-5 in April, with a 4.58 ERA. So we shouldn't worry about his struggles on Friday.

Carl Crawford is going to improve. He broke out a bit on Sunday, after going hitless in the first two games, and being demoted in the lineup.

Clay Buchholz allowed 4 runs off 4 homers. Apart from those occasional mistakes he was spot on. It's not as if he was allowing 4 or 5 hits in an inning, and being ripped apart by the Rangers' batters. He made some big mistakes, but not many, and give Texas some credit for capitalizing.

And there were some positives this weekend. Adrian Gonzalez has settled right in. 5 for 9 over the weekend with a double and 3 RBI. I feel a burst of homeruns coming from him.

And there doesn't seem to be the annual Ortiz slump in April. Two homeruns already. And when he pulled the ball, he hit it hard enough to get it through the shifted infield. That's a very good sign.

Now to the bad news. John Lackey looked awful the second time through the lineup. Everyone's hoping he improves on his 2010 performance, but none of us (my pessimistic self included) considered that he might get worse.

And the bullpen needs to be "sorted out," to put it mildly. I don't put much stock in Papelbon's struggles on Sunday, as it was a non-save situation after he'd been sitting all weekend. I don't think he even warmed up once. The other pieces to the bullpen puzzle will take some time and some headaches to fall in place.

One thing I hope you all learned this weekend is how important pitching is. The starting pitcher is literally the ONLY player who can singlehandedly lose a game for his team. They're also capable of doing the most to help his team win. Lackey lost Saturday's game, pretty much on his own. And on Sunday, Matt Harrison's 7 innings did more to help Texas win than any of their homerun hitters.

So buck up, there are 159 games left. I mean, Baltimore's in first place. It's not yet time to take things so seriously.

Red Sox at Cleveland for three, starting on Tuesday.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo