No More Mike Cameron (Silent Cheer)

Today the Red Sox designated 4th outfielder Mike Cameron for assignment. Before the 2010 season, they signed Cameron for 2 years and $15.5 million, but the deal never worked out. He was injured for most of last season, and wound up going .259/4/15 in 48 games. Despite being healthy this year, he has been even worse, going .149/3/9. I will not attack Theo Epstein because this was a good move at the time, as he had batted .250/24/70 the previous season along with great defense. The Red Sox called Yamaico Navarro up from Pawtucket to take his roster spot in his first MLB stint of the year after going .143/0/5 in 20 games last year. This was a brave move for Theo, but I think he did the right thing, Cameron just wasn't producing.

Red Sox Eaten By The Wolf (42-28)

After some early offense from both teams, neither the Red Sox nor the Brewers scored after the 3rd inning in an eventual 4-2 loss for the Red Sox. When Rickie Weeks and Corey Hart homered consecutively to lead off the ballgame, it was looking like a rout. However, with runners at first and second in the bottom of the 2nd, a Jarrod Saltalamacchia single and a Mike Cameron single made it 2-2. However, in the top of the 3rd, former Red Sox catcher George Kottaras homered off his old teammate to give the Brew Crew a 3-2 lead. Later in the inning, Ryan Braun came home on a single by Casey McGehee to make it 4-2. The Red Sox hot offense was held in check by Randy Wolf for 7 innings (hence the title).

Much like John Lackey the previous night, after a rough start, Lester went on to allow 4 runs, 3 earned in 8 innings of work. Unlike Lackey, however, he did not have the run support, and lost, becoming 9-3/3.70/95. Dan Wheeler, Tommy Hottovy, and Michael Bowden each threw a scoreless 1/3 of an inning in relief. Kevin Youkilis had a pretty good day, going 2-4 and scoring a run. David Ortiz went 1-3 with a walk and a run scored. Marco Scutaro went 2-4, as he has been very good since coming off the DL. The two RBIs came from Jarrod Saltalamacchia (1-4) and Mike Cameron (1-3). Today, Tim Wakefield (3-2/4.39/25) will face a tough challenge in Yovani Gallardo (8-3/3.76/84).

Bright Spots:

Jon Lester- he settled down for 3 earned runs in 8 innings

Kevin Youkilis- 2-4 with a double and a run scored

David Ortiz- 1-3 with a walk and a run scored

Marco Scutaro- 2-4

Jarrod Saltalamacchia- 1-4 with an RBI

Mike Cameron- 1-3 with an RBI

Dull Spots:

Adrian Gonzalez- 0-4 with 2 runners left on base

Darnell McDonald- 0-3 with a strikeout and 4 runners left on base

This was a disappointing loss, but we're still 1 1/2 games ahead of the Yankees and playing .600 baseball.

Red Sox Beat The Weather, Extend Division Lead (36-26)

Last night, the Red Sox concluded a 3-game sweep of the Yankees with an 8-3 win over their arch-rivals. The Yankees got off to an early lead after Curtis Granderson homered, scoring Derek Jeter. It stayed as a duel until the 7th inning, when after a David Ortiz single to lead the inning, a Jed Lowrie triple plated him. Mike Cameron proceeded to tie the game, scoring Lowrie with an RBI double. Mike Cameron soon came in on a Jacoby Ellsbury single to make it 3-2. Jason Varitek came in to score on an RBI single by Adrian Gonzalez, making it 4-2 Red Sox. Jacoby Ellsbury then came in on a single by Kevin Youkilis to advance the lead to 5-2. Finally, a David Ortiz 2-run double capped the rally, making it 7-2. In the top of the 9th, Marco Scutaro came in to score on an RBI single by Adrian Gonzalez, making it 8-2. In the bottom of the 9th, Brett Gardner came around on a groundout by Derek Jeter, making it 8-3.

Josh Beckett was very good, allowing just that 2-run homer through 7 strong innings. He earned the win, and is now 5-2/2.06/73, as he has been so good this year. Matt Albers pitching a scoreless inningbehind him and Dan Wheeler allowed a run in an inning after Albers. Jacoby Ellsbury had a good game, going 2-4 with a run and an RBI. Adrian Gonzalez went 2-5, scoring a run, and having 2 RBIs. Kevin Youkilis went 1-4 with a run scored and an RBI. David Ortiz capped the rally, going 2-4 with a run scored and 2 RBIs, as he is now .326/15/36. Jed Lowrie went 1-4 with a run scored and an RBI triple. Mike Cameron went 1-4 with a run and an RBI, as everyone had a hit. Tonight, the Sox will head up to Toronto and send Clay Buchholz (4-3/3.82/49) up against Jo-Jo Reyes (2-4/4.16/44).

Bright Spots:

Josh Beckett- only 2 runs on the homer through 7 innings, earning the win

Matt Albers- a scoreless inning of relief

Jacoby Ellsbury- 2-4 with a run and an RBI

Adrian Gonzalez- 2-5 with a run and 2 RBIs

David Ortiz- 2-4 with a run and 2 RBIs

Jed Lowrie- 1-4 with a run and an RBI triple

Mike Cameron- 1-4 with a run and an RBI double

Dull Spots:

Nobody!

What a game, and a series, it's about time we're living up to expectations!

Red Sox Edge Tigers On Late Homer By Ortiz (30-22)

Today, the Red Sox beat the Tigers 4-3, in a close game decided by lots of home runs. The Red Sox put runners at first and third to start the game in the 1st inning, and took first blood on a sacrifice fly by Adrian Gonzalez. In the 2nd inning, Mike Cameron lined a ball deep to left field for a solo home run to make it 2-0 Red Sox. Then, in the 3rd inning, Dustin Pedroia crushed a home run way back to left field, also solo, to make it 3-0 Red Sox. In the 4th, the Tigers got one back as Andy Dirks crushed a home run to deep right to make it 3-1 Red Sox. Then in the 6th, Brennan Boesch killed a ball a long way to right field to cut the lead to 3-2. Later in the inning, when Miguel Cabrera was on third with 2 outs, Jhonny Peralta singled him in to make it 3-3. In the 9th, the Red Sox pinch-hit David Ortiz for Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Ortiz promptly lined a home run to right-center field to give the Sox a 4-3 lead.

Clay Buchholz was pretty good for much of the game, but things got out of hand in the 6th, and he left with 3 earned runs in 6 innings. He got a no-decision, and is now 4-3/3.41/44, as he has been very good this year. The win went to Matt Albers, who pitched 2 scoreless innings before a scoreless one by Jonathan Papelbon, who earned his 10th save of the year. Dustin Pedroia went 1-4 with a home run, as he is now .247/4/16, after a very rough start. Jed Lowrie went 2-4, but had nothing to show for it, as he pushed the batting average to .306 this year. Mike Cameron actually had a very good game, going 2-2 with that solo home run, as he is now .200/3/7 this year. David Ortiz, of course, had the key hit coming off the bench with a go-ahead home run, his 11th of the year. Later, in Game 2 of the double header, Josh Beckett (4-1/1.69/58) and Justin Verlander (4-3/3.42/73) will square off.

Bright Spots:

Matt Albers- 2 scoreless innings and the win

Jonathan Papelbon- his 10th save of the year with a scoreless inning

Dustin Pedroia- 1-4 with a solo home run

Jed Lowrie- 2-4

Mike Cameron- 2-2 with a solo home run

David Ortiz- What else!

Dull Spots:

Kevin Youkilis- 0-3 with a strikeout

Carl Crawford- 0-4 with 2 strikeouts

Drew Sutton- 0-4

Jarrod Saltalamacchia- 0-3 with 2 runners left on base

I'm glad the Sox won, don't get me wrong, but this was kind of a sloppy game in my opinion.

Red Sox Explode On Indians, Talbot (27-22)

Today, well, the Red Sox edged the Indians in a very close game of 14-2 baseball. The scoring all started in the 1st inning, when Dustin Pedroia went deep, scoring Jacoby Ellsbury and making it 2-0. An RBI single by Carl Crawford and another by Jarrod Saltalamacchia to follow made it 4-0 Red Sox. Carl Crawford came in on a Mike Cameron sacrifice fly before RBI singles by Drew Sutton and Dustin Pedroia put it at 7-0, in the 1st inning. Drew Sutton came in on an Adrian Gonzalez single to make it 8-0 Red Sox. In the 4th inning, Carl Crawford homered, making it 9-0 Red Sox in the 4th inning. In the top of the 6th, David Ortiz hit a solo home run to make it 10-0 before a 3-run shot by Jarrod Saltalamacchia made it 13-0. A Jacoby Ellsbury double scoring Mike Cameron made it 14-0 and concluded the Red Sox' scoring. In the 8th inning, Adam Everett and Travis Buck came in to score on a single Shelley Duncan single to conclude the Red Sox outing at 14-2.

Even though he didn't really need to, Jon Lester (top right) dazzled, allowing 3 hits and no runs through 6 strong innings. Lester earned the win, pushing him to 7-1/3.36/70, as he has been great this year. Dan Wheeler and Scott Atchison sandwiched two runs in an inning by Franklin Morales with scoreless innings each. Jacoby Ellsbury had a very good day, going 3-4 with a run and an RBI. Dustin Pedroia went 2-6 with a homer and 3 RBI, as he is now .249/3/14 after a slow start. Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz each went 2-6 with a run and RBI, except Ortiz's came on a solo home run, as he is now .303/10/23. Carl Crawford (top left) went 4-4 with 3 runs scored and 2 RBI as well as a home run, as he is now .229/3/16, after a very slow start. Jarrod Saltalamacchia went 2-4 with a 3-run homer, as he is now .240/4/15. Mike Cameron had a rare good day, going 2-4 with a run scored. Drew Sutton went 3-5 with 2 runs and an RBI, as he is now .333/0/1 after coming up from the minors. Tomorrow, the Red Sox will head to Detroit, and will send Alfredo Aceves (1-0/2.42/11) against Max Scherzer (6-1/2.98/60).

Bright Spots:

Jon Lester- 3 hits and no runs in 6 scoreless innings, earning the win

Dan Wheeler- a scoreless inning of relief

Scott Atchison- a scoreless inning of relief

Jacoby Ellsbury- 3-4 with a run and an RBI

Dustin Pedroia- 2-6 with a homer and 3 RBIs

Adrian Gonzalez- 2-6 with a run and an RBI

David Ortiz- 2-6 with a solo home run

Carl Crawford- 4-4 with 3 runs, 2 RBIs, and a home run

Jarrod Saltalamacchia- 2-4 with 2 runs and a 3-run homer

Mike Cameron- 2-4 with a run and RBI

Drew Sutton- 3-5 with 2 runs and an RBI

Dull Spots:

Franklin Morales- 2 runs in an inning could have been costly on any other occasion

Well, this was a satisfying win, I'll leave it at that for the sake of Indians fans.