Wakefield Acheives History With Magnificent Start (35-25)

Last night the Red Sox beat the Indians 3-2 and Tim Wakefield (right) got the Red Sox record in innings pitched (2776.1) with 7.1 innings of 2 run ball. He is now 2-4/5.48/35 as he has not been too sharp this year other than a few good starts. In the 4th inning, there were 2 outs and no one on base when Victor Martinez lifted a deep fly ball to center field that came to the warning track where Trevor Crowe was waiting... and he botched it! That inning should have been a 1-2-3 inning, but the Sox rallied after the error and scored 3 times. Tonight, Clay Buchholz (8-3/2.39/49) and former Red Sock Justin Masterson (1-5/5.46/55) take the hill in Cleveland tonight. The Sox have at least a series tie, but we want a sweep!

Red Sox Draft Vitek in First Round

Yesterday was the MLB draft, the Red Sox had the 20th pick and they selected second baseman Kolbrin Vitek (right). Dustin Pedroia is a great second baseman so the Red Sox will not be looking to replace Pedroia, but they will move Vitek to third base. Adrian Beltre (.330/7/40) has been great but he is only signed for this year so Vitek will be their future third baseman. Vitek has been described to have "near perfect fundamentals and a great natural swing." In his 3 years at Ball State, Vitek has batted .359 with 35 home runs whihc is quite good, but he is still using the metal bats. In the sandwich pick (36th) they picked outfielder Bryce Brentz who has hit .348 with a .636 slugging percentage this year. In the 39th pick, they got former top-ranked pitcher, Anthony Renaudo. He had a major injury but if regains his former form he will be an incredible steal for the Sox. Overall this has been a good draft, I think, we may see these guys in a few years.

Martinez' Return to Progressive Field a Success (34-25)

Last night, the Red Sox beat the Indians 4-1, on a great performance by Daisuke Matsuzaka (right). He allowed 0 runs and struck out 5 over 8 innings and is now 5-2/4.59/37 as he has been alright so far this year. Marco Scutaro had a great game, going 3-4 and recording a career high 3 doubles in a game, he is now .285/4/16 as he has raised his batting average 25 points in the last 9 games. This was Victor Martinez's first time in Progressive Field since July 31 of last year when he was traded to the Red Sox and he went 2-4 and is now .298/8/30. Tonight, Tim Wakefield (1-4/6.02/29) and David Huff (2-6/6.08/22) will start for their respective teams. I hope the Sox can win again, they are solo in 3rd place!

Weekly News

Today, the Red Sox lost 3-4 in 11 innings to the Orioles, thus finishing their week at 4-2. They are now 33-25, tied for 3rd place with the Blue Jays, and 4.5 games behind the Rays. Kevin Youkilis (right) is our Player of the Week as he had 2 homers and 9 RBIs this week, he is now .320/12/38 as he improved a little bit this week. Victor Martinez (.294/8/29) had a nice week with 1 homer and 5 RBIs including a 5-5 game on Monday as over this week he upped his batting average 37 points. Jon Lester (7-2/2.73/81) and Clay Buchholz (8-3/2.39/49) continued their dominance, winning all 3 of their starts this week. Next week, the Red Sox play the Indians in a 4-game series and the Phillies in a 3-game series. My prediction for the Sox next week is 5-2, 3-1 against the Indians and 2-1 against the Phillies... but that's just me!

Key 9th Keys Win (33-24)

Yesterday the Red Sox beat the Orioles 8-2, plating 6 runs in the top of the 9th inning. Kevin Youkilis (right) led the charge, going 3-5 with 3 RBIs and a homer, as he is now .320/12/38 as he has been ery good this year. Jon Lester threw 6.1 shutout innings, improving his record to 11-0 against the Orioles. He is doing quite well this year as he is now 7-2/2.73/81, but Clay Buchholz has been even better. Darnell McDonald (.276/3/16) and Bill Hall (.253/5/14) each had 2 RBIs and Marco Scutaro (.279/4/16) had 1 RBI. Today at 1:35, John Lackey (6-3/4.95/39) and Brian Matusz (2-6/5.28/50) as the Sox will look for a sweep. The Red Sox are approaching the Rays as they are only 3.5 games back at 33-24.

Red Sox Pound Orioles (32-24)

Last night, the Red Sox just flat out creamed the Orioles, by a score of 11-0. Clay Buchholz (right) was amazing, tossing his 5th straight win and his second career shutout. He is now a very good 8-3/2.39/49, those are Cy Young numbers. He already has more wins than he had all of last year. The Red Sox hit 3 homers, a 3-run shot by Kevin Youkilis (.312/11/35) and solo shots by Adrian Beltre (.333/7/40) and Marco Scutaro (.276/4/15). J.D. Drew had 2 RBIs on a first inning double, and Victor Martinez had one. Tonight, Jon Lester (6-2/2.97/77) and Jeremy Guthrie (3-5/3.84/37) as it looks to be a better pitching matchup. I hope the Sox can play like they did last night, only 4.5 games behind the Rays!

Great Hitting Not Enough For Red Sox (31-24)

The Red Sox definitely were able to hit today but they couldn't do the finer aspects of baseball in an 8-9 loss to the A's. Tim Wakefield (right) allowed 6 runs in 6 innings as he is now 1-4/6.02/29 as he has not been sharp this year. Bill Hall had a great game, going 4-5 with a home run, as he is now .253/5/12 as he has been extrememly versatile and (in my humble opinion) a great acquisition. Another new acquisition, Jeremy Hermida, went 3-5 and is now .218/5/27 as he has also been a good acquisition with the injuries of Mike Cameron and Jacoby Ellsbury. Marco Scutaro hit his 3rd home run of the year in a 1-5 day for him. Tomorrow night, the Sox travel the Camden Yards and Clay Buchholz (7-3/2.73/47) toes the rubber against Chris Tillman (0-0/3.18/3). I hope the Sox can come off a series win vs the A's well!

Plenty of Options For a Lowell Trade

The Red Sox may be thinking of trading third baseman Mike Lowell, and they certainly have plenty of options to do that. The best of those options would be outfielder David DeJesus (right) who is having a good season at .300/4/22 so far for the Royals. The Pirates would trade the Red Sox Ryan Church (.202/2/9), the Indians would trade Austin Kearns (.282/3/22). The Cubs have some very nice players who we may see in a Red Sox uniform, such as Alfonso Soriano (.299/9/27), Xavier Nady (.263/3/13), or Kosuke Fukudome (.293/6/23). Of those 3 players, I would most want to have Fukudome because he has a smaller contract than Soriano. I'm open to trading Lowell, as long as they get someone good in return.

Dice-K Bounces Back in Good Start (31-23)

Last night, the Red Sox beat the A's 6-4 on a good start by Daisuke Matsuzaka (right). Matsuzaka allowed 3 runs in 6.2 innings and is now 4-2/5.49/32 as he has gotten better without a doubt. David Ortiz had a go-ahead home run as he is now .275/12/33 as he is getting off on the right foot in June. By the way, David Ortiz won the Player of the Month in May and Jon Lester won the Pitcher of the Month. Kevin Youkilis also had 2 RBIs in a 1-4 night as he is a good .302/10/32 as he also has improved from a tough April. Dustin Pedroia got his first RBI in a long time as he is now .252/8/26 as he hasn't been too good after April. Today at 1:35, Tim Wakefield (1-3/5.68/25) starts against Brett Anderson (2-1/1.88/21). I hope the Sox can sweep 'em in a day game today!

Martinez, Beltre Lead Charge in Comeback (30-23)

Last night, the Red Sox came back from a 0-4 deficit to beat the Oakland A's by a score of 9-4. John Lackey struggled through 6 innings, allowing 4 runs, but still earned the win because of offense, he is now 6-3/4.95/39 as he hasn't been too great. Victor Martinez (right, left) had a remarkable game, going 5-5 with 2 RBIs and a run. Adrian Beltre (right, middle) had a great 3-run blast that sparked the comeback in the 5th inning, pushing the score to 3-4. Kevin Youkilis (right, right) went 2-4 with an RBI single. Bill Hall got a triple in last night's game, but he also walked 3 times! In tonight's matchup, Daisuke Matsuzaka (3-2/5.77/25) and Ben Sheets (2-3/4.91/51) square off in Fenway Park. I hope the Sox can come together like they did last night, although it would be better if they weren't behind in the first place!