Sox Win 8-5

One thing is for certain David Ortiz did not use Performance Enhancing Drugs I don't care what anyone says. This was a great win for the Red Sox they fought back today down 5-3 in the 7th and end up winning. The clutch play of the day goes to Jack Cust for not being able to see the ball in right field and letting it drop giving the Red Sox hope. Jason Bay then walked setting the stage for Big Papi. He hit the ball deep into the triangle in center field and the ball went out. Daniel Bard mowed down the A's in the top of the 8th than Jonathan Papelbon came in gave up one hit but came out of it unscaved. Papelbon has been getting a lot of two strike counts on hitters but can't seem to strike them out. 

Jon Lester looked good early on in the game but really struggled going 5 and two thirds giving up seven hits four earned runs three walks and only two strikeouts. Not a good performance from Lester who the Red Sox need to come up big in these last two months of this season. The bullpen really struggled in this series which isn't good because of how dominating they were in the first half. The Red Sox have to be able to rely on pitchers like Ramon Ramirez, Manny Delcarmen, Takashi Saito and Jonathan Papelbon. 

David Ortiz's home run in the 7th inning had a lot of rice and beans in it and no PED's. That was like Ortiz slapping the people who leaked that he used PED's in the face and saying I don't need PED's I can hit them just as long and as far as I used to. That must have been such a relief for Ortiz hitting that home run in the first game since that was leaked. At least Yankee fans can't heckle the Red Sox because they have a star of their own who was listed in that report. I would just like to say this whole list should be released. They shouldn't just be singling out some of the superstars. I think this is a joke and Bud Selig should be offended by what is happening right now. 

Tomorrow the Red Sox play the last place Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. Pitching for the Sox is John Smoltz who is 1-4 with a 7.04 era he really needs to show something in this next start. He is facing Jeremy Guthrie who is 7-9 with a 5.21 era. The Red Sox need to beat up on the Orioles this weekend.   

  

Sox lose 8-6

Brad Penny has been consistently decent this season but last night he was awful. He gave up five runs in the first inning to one of the worst hitting teams in baseball and also threw 37 pitches in the inning. Penny went 5 innings giving up seven runs on seven hits and he also walked four in the loss. He gave up two home runs including a home run to the first batter of the game Adam Kennedy.

Mike Lowell looked good last night hitting a home run in the first and hitting in five runs. Kevin Youkilis needs a couple of days off he went 0-4 with four strikeouts and has really been struggling lately. Francona should give him today off because it's a day game and then give him tomorrow off also.

Don't blame David Ortiz for not getting a hit in the bottom of the 8th with two runners on. Ortiz this season is awful against lefties and he also has not been a very good pinch hitter in his career. If you want to blame the loss on anyone besides Brad Penny you can blame it that the Red Sox had two on with nobody out in the 9th inning they only squeezed out one run and ended up losing 8-6.

The Red Sox should trade for Victor Martinez. I am convinced that the Red Sox need a bat. They should trade Clay Bucholz and Lars Anderson for Victor Marinez. I am not convinced that Bucholz is a superstar in the making he hasn't pitched well in the major leagues for a long period of time. Lars Anderson I also don't believe is that great of a player he is batting .271 and only has 8 home runs and 48 rbi's. Prospects are meant to be traded away Theo Epstein should stop cherishing all of his prospects and trade them for either Roy Halladay or Victor Martinez.

Why Jonathan Paplebon is no longer dominant

I am sure Jonathan Papelbon is a very nice man but this year he stinks. I am not just saying this because of the blown save last night but all of this year he has been letting runners on base and getting out of the jams based on pure luck. Last night was a different story. He got crushed giving up three hits. You can blame the loss on Nick Green's two errors but Papelbon put them in that situation. He seemed to be throwing harder last night on the NESN gun (which is probably a couple of mph fast) he hit 99 MPH but that's not the point- you can't walk the leadoff batter! That is the biggest error a closer can make. Also, please pay attention to the runners on base. He let Jack Cust who has stolen two bases all season take second base last night. He has me pulling my hair out and finally he blew one. It was just a matter of time after putting all these runners on base. This season he has already walked more batters than he has in his career and his strikeouts are also drastically down. Well so much for bad news. I think Daniel Bard is great. He is dominating. He has been overwhelming major league hitters for the last two months with his 100 MPH fastball. The Red Sox need to put him in some pressure situations before I am completely sold but from what I have seen he is a star in the making.

Here is my proposal if we can't get Roy Halladay we trade Papelbon, Jed Lowrie, and Clay Bucholz for Hanley Ramirez the star shortstop for the Marlins who we traded away to get Josh Beckett. Bard is moved to the closers' role and Ramirez is your starting shortstop. The Marlins' are also in desperate need of a closer so this deal works out for everyone.

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