Big Papi goes yard twice

Last night the Sox took the final game in Texas as Big Papi hit his first 2 home runs of the year. Schilling rebounded and had a much better outing than his 1st start. Jonathan Papelbon came in during the 8th after Joel Pineiro almost blew the game, and effectively shut down the Rangers. Getting 5 outs without letting anyone on base Papelbon earned the save and the Sox returned to Boston on a winning note. Tomorrow is the Sox home opener vs. Seattle.

I'm going to stop my long summaries of the games as the season wears on and focus more on the headlines of the games. The long write ups can be found anywhere so I'm going to focus more on the big news.

Sox bats go silent

The Sox opened up a 3 game weekend series in Texas this afternoon with a 2-0 loss. Tim Wakefield made the start for the Sox and actually pitched a good game. In the 1st inning, Sammy Sosa took a check swing and accidentally made contact. The ball fell in behind 1st base and a run scored. In the 2nd, a Dustin Pedroia error led to an unearned run. Wakefield lasted 6 innings giving up only the 2 fluke runs.

Unfortunately the Sox wasted the good start from Wakefield, as they were shutout and only managed 3 hits. Robinson Tejeda (not Tejada as NESN showed in all their graphics and Don and Jerry called him the entire game) shut down the Sox, giving up only 2 hits in 7 innings. Akinori Otsuka converted the save after giving up a lead off single to Manny in the 9th.

There's not much to say about this one. You can't win if you don't score. Tomorrow we begin the countdown of days until Jon Lester joins the team as Julian Tavarez gets the start vs. Kevin Millwood.

Dice-K makes MLB debut

For the 3rd straight game the Red Sox started out with a run in the 1st inning. After a Lugo fly out, Youkilis got on base with what other than a walk. Ramirez then dug in with 2 outs and delivered an RBI double to give the Sox a 1-0 advantage. J.D. Drew struck out to end the inning and a new face emerged from the dugout.

Daisuke Matsuzaka, the man the Red Sox spent $50 million on just to talk to, took the mound for the first time. At 2:23 PM Dice-K delivered his first pitch, a strike, to begin his MLB career. After giving up a hit and a walk, Dice-K induced a double play to get out of the inning. After the first hiccup, Dice-K settled in and didn't allow another base runner until the 5th (and struck out the side in the 4th). The 6th was a little interesting. David DeJesus led off the inning with a solo shot and Esteban German followed up with a single. After a strike-em-out throw-em-out double play Emil Brown doubled to left, but was stranded when Matsuzaka struck out Alex Gordon. Terry decided to let him go back out for the 7th and face the bottom of the order. After another quick 1-2-3 inning Daisuke's day was done. He finished the day with 7 IP while giving up 1 run on 6 hits. He struck out 10 and walked 1.

We have a stud on our hands here folks. The thing that amazed me while watching the game was the control Matsuzaka displayed. He painted the black all day long and had total command. Matsuzaka doesn't need a 100 MPH fastball if he can mix 7 pitches with the same location he had today.

I'll put it out there now. I'm a fantasy baseball addict and what comes along with that is being a big believer in stats and numbers. One of the most important numbers for pitchers is the K/BB ratio. That is why I was a little down on Beckett after his start, and that is why I am ecstatic about Dice-K's performance today. 1 walk over 7 innings is great and adding 10 strikeouts on top of it is even better. A 10 K/BB ratio isn't a realistic number to expect over the season, but if Dice-K keeps a good ratio he will undoubtedly have great success this year.

Jonathan Papelbon also made his season debut today, picking up a save after a perfect 9th. Even though I still think he should be in the rotation, it's good to be confident when you go to the 9th. J.C. Romero has looked like he could be a good set up man this year too, and he might have to be if Timlin struggles like he did last year.

That's more like it

With a day to think about the Opening Day embarrassment, the Sox came out swinging tonight. With 3 runs in the 1st, thanks to a J.D. Drew double to knock in Ortiz, and a Mike Lowell double to knock in Manny and Drew, the Sox took a 3-0 lead that they would not relinquish. It was good to see Drew and Lowell get it done, as the 5-6 spot of the Sox lineup is going to be key this year. We all know Ortiz and Manny can get it done, but the problem last year was what happened after them. If Drew stays healthy he could easily wind up with 110+ RBI. Him staying healthy is far from a sure thing however.

Josh Beckett also looked solid in his 1st start of the season. I can't complain about 5 IP with 1 ER, however I can complain about 4 BB. When you walk batters, you get into jams. When you get into jams, you give up runs. Luckily Beckett was able to get out of jams for the most part, but in the long run giving guys free passes will always bite you. Not only do walks lead to runs, but they lead to higher pitch counts. Beckett reached 94 pitches after just 5 IP. Being able to go deep into games over the course of the year is very important in keeping the bullpen fresh. Obviously one 5 inning start is nothing to get worried about, but it just goes to show how much walks really hurt. As for something positive, Beckett didn't give up any HR for a change. If he can keep the HR rate down and the K/BB ratio up Beckett could very easily wind up being the true ace of the staff this year, no matter what number he is in the rotation.

Tomorrow Daisuke Matsuzaka will make his MLB debut vs. Zach Grienke in the rubber game of the series.

Not to say I told you so...

Let me just say, that was painful to watch. The worst part is I'm not surprised at what happened today.

Curt Schilling continued to suck at Kauffman Stadium, raising his career ERA there to over 7. The most surprising thing about Schilling's outing came in the bottom of the 1st inning. With the bases loaded Mr. Control walked in a run, tying the game at 1-1. Schilling rarely walks anyone to begin with so to see him do it with the bases loaded was shocking. Granted the 1st few starts are sometimes extended Spring Training for these guys, but at the end of the year a sloppy game in April counts just as much as a blown save in September.

Josh Beckett will make his '07 debut Wednesday night, taking on Odalis Perez.

Opening Day

Tomorrow begins the 6 month roller coaster ride known as the Boston Red Sox regular season. Lucky for the Red Sox, they get to start the season in Kansas City. That should mean a quick 3-0 start, right? Not so fast...

Over the last 2 years, the Red Sox have made 2 trips out to Kauffman Stadium. They have gone 1-5 in those games (I was lucky enough to be present at 2 of those losses). That 1-5 record against the Royals is why the Red Sox never win the AL East, and never will unless they stop playing down to the bottom dwellers of the AL.

Not only have the Red Sox as a whole struggled in KC, but tomorrow's opening day starter, Curt Schilling, has had his share of problems there too. In 4 games (3 starts) against KC, Schilling has a 6.20 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP. That isn't going to get it done, not even against the Royals.

Hopefully tomorrow will be the start of a new tradition of beating the teams you're "supposed" to beat.

Fire Francona

Hello and welcome to my blog. Throughout the season I will be posting about anything and everything happening in Red Sox Nation, as well as major stories throughout the rest of the majors. From what Terry did wrong in last night's game, to occasional reports on how Sox prospects are doing I will be here discussing what's going on, and I hope you will join me.