It's about time: J.D. Drew hits his first walk-off hit for the Red Sox (in the 14th inning)

It's only fitting that a game that goes 14 innings (the longest Boston Red Sox game of the season), complete with a four-run lead blown in the ninth and having two players ejected, that J.D. Drew delivered the first walk-off hit of his Red Sox career.

Things were going well for Boston (32-26) as they went into the bottom of the ninth up 7-3 yesterday afternoon at Fenway Park on the Oakland A's (27-32).

Then closer Jonathan Papelbon started giving up hits in a non-save situation like he always does and before you knew it, he was tossed along with catcher Jason Varitek for arguing balls and strikes.

Oakland tied it up at 7 in the ninth and both teams scored a run in the 11th before Drew (2 hits, 2 RBIs) drove in Carl Crawford (4 hits, 3 RBIs, 2 runs) in the 14th for the winning run.

Alfredo Aceves (3-1) was the unsung hero and turned out to be the winner as he went the last four innings for the Red Sox. He allowed one earned run on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

It's hard to remember since this game went five hours and 17 minutes but this started out as a tasty pitching matchup between A's stud Trevor Cahill and Red Sox ace Josh Beckett. As usual, that's not how the game unfolded.

Cahill went seven innings but he allowed five earned runs on eight hits with a walk and eight strikeouts.

Beckett went six innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits with three walks and four strikeouts.

Things got off to a good start for Boston as Adrian Gonzalez hit a solo homer (his 11th of the season) in the first. Drew added an RBI single, driving in Crawford in the fifth, for a 2-0 lead.

Josh Willingham tied it up in the sixth with a two-run single in the sixth. The Red Sox responded with three runs. Dustin Pedroia had an RBI single, Kevin Youkilis had an RBI double and Crawford had an RBI single in the frame.

Cliff Pennington drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh but Crawford's two-run double in the eighth made it 7-3 good guys.

You knew something was up in the ninth when Pedroia let a routine grounder go through his legs, scoring a run. Pennington had an RBI double and Conor Jackson tied it with an RBI single as Papelbon melted down literally and figuratively (the first ejection of his career).

Ryan Sweeney put Oakland ahead with a sacrifice fly in the 11th but Jacoby Ellsbury (4 hits, 2 steals) tied it with an RBI double which knocked in Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

Boston goes for the sweep today but I wouldn't bet on them since John Lackey returns from the DL and his rehab stint in the minors. He faces Oakland lefty Brett Anderson, who is good and typically gives the Red Sox trouble.

Call me a jerk but I honestly hope Dice-K and Lackey never return

When did the 2011 Boston Red Sox become such a wagon?

Holy shit, they've won 12 out of their last 14 games after a tidy 6-3 win over the Detroit Tigers last night at Comerica Park.

As I said yesterday about Alfredo Aceves, spot starter Tim Wakefield (2-1) is doing an excellent job and at this point, I hope John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka never return. It's much more satisfying to watch two guys with low expectations succeed as opposed to overpaid bums that were never good fits here anyways.

The Red Sox (29-22) are also alone in the American League East after the Yankees lost last night in Seattle. The Tigers (25-25) haven't shown much of a pulse yet against Boston this season, falling to 0-4.

Wakefield went seven innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

Detroit's Rick Porcello (4-3) only lasted three innings as he allowed six earned runs on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, stolen base) gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead in the first as he scored on wild pitch by Porcello.

Miguel Cabrera tied it up in the first with an RBI single which scored Austin Jackson. The Tigers took their only lead of the game in the second when Jhonny Peralta hit a bomb (solo) off Wakefield.

Any thoughts of a win for the miserable people in Detroit was quickly extinguished as the Red Sox hung five runs on Porcello in the third. Ellsbury hit a solo homer (his sixth), Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run double and Carl Crawford hit a two-run homer (his fourth of the season).

Daniel Bard threw a scoreless 1-2-3 eighth on six pitches but Peralta hit an RBI double off Jonathan Papelbon (non-save situation) in the ninth but who cares?

Clay Buchholz takes the mound tonight for Boston against Detroit rookie lefthander Andy Oliver (who was called up when Phil Coke rolled his ankle the other night). Good luck to you guy, Red Sox are mashing right now.

Alfredo Aceves is better than John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka, true story my friends

Baseball is a funny game. When you're a big market team like the Boston Red Sox you can afford terrible hiccups in free agency like John Lackey and Daisuke Matsuzaka and then you luck out with a scrap heap pickup like Alfredo Aceves.

I'm not exactly sure about his medical history, I assume the New York Yankees let him go because he had an arm issue or something but whatever the reason, I'm psyched that he's crossed over to their bitter rivals.

Yesterday afternoon, he submitted his second good start in a row after being added to the rotation (for the injured Lackey and Dice-K). The Red Sox (28-22) won their 11th game out of their last 13 and it was another laugher, 14-1 in the series opener at Detroit's (25-24) Comerica Park.

Aceves (2-0) went six innings, allowing five hits, one earned run with two walks and six strikeouts in a game that was called off after 7.5 innings because of rain.

Max Scherzer (6-2) entered as one of the AL's top pitchers so far this season but he left with a bruised ego as the Red Sox put up 14+ runs in the second straight game for the first time since 1998. Scherzer lasted only two innings, allowing seven hits, seven earned runs with two walks and a strikeout.

Jacoby Ellsbury (2 runs, 2 walks) had the most memorable hit, a three-run homer (his fifth bomb of the season). Moved up to the No. 6 spot, Carl Crawford continued to erase his terrible start. He went 4 for 5 with two triples, three RBIs and two runs.

Recent callups Josh Reddick (3 hits, 3 RBIs, 2 runs) and Drew Sutton (2 hits, 2 RBIs, 2 runs) also had big days that no doubt they'll be telling their grandkids or bums at the homeless shelter about in a few years.

Tim Wakefield (Boston's other substitute in the rotation) starts tonight against Tigers youngster Rick Porcello.

Red Sox take a dump on the Cleveland Indians, leave town with a series win

I was all set to watch the series finale yesterday afternoon between the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field. However, when I flipped the game on the radio (while I was on the computer), I listened in amazement as they hung seven on Indians (30-16) starter Mitch Talbot in the first inning, en route to a 14-2 ass kicking.

Thanks to the blowout, I felt comfortable going to the gym and catching bits and pieces of the game when I could. The Red Sox (27-22) won the series and their 10th game out of their last 12 thanks to a season-high 20 hit attack including four homers and six doubles.

Jon Lester (7-1) was the lucky recipient of the ridiculous output from his offense. Lester threw six scoreless innings, allowing three hits with a walk and seven strikeouts. After a couple subpar outings in a row, it was nice to see him be lights out once again.

Talbot (1-1) deserves some sympathy since he was making his first start off the DL, against a red-hot team, but thems the breaks sometimes. In three innings, he allowed 12 hits, eight earned runs with two walks and a strikeout.

Carl Crawford led the Red Sox, going 4 for 4 in his best game so far in an underwhelming season in Boston. He had a homer, two doubles, three runs and two RBIs. Jacoby Ellsbury (2 walks) and Drew Sutton (2 runs) had three hits while Dustin Pedroia (3 RBIs), Adrian Gonzalez, David Ortiz, Jarrod Saltalamacchia (3 RBIs) and Mike Cameron all had two hits.

Pedroia, Ortiz and Saltalamacchia had the other homers in this joke of a game.

Boston travels to Detroit for a four-game series beginning with an afternoon game today. Alfredo Aceves takes on Max Scherzer.

Cleveland rocks (or so I've been told)

Sooner or later in 2011, the Cleveland Indians will come back to Earth. Right? Maybe not for MLB's surprise top team.

For the fourth time this season in four games at Cleveland's Progressive Field, the Indians (30-15) beat the Red Sox (25-22). Last night, the Tribe rallied for a 3-2 win as Daniel Bard (1-4) once again failed to get the job done.

Bard deserves blame since he you know, threw the pitches. However, Red Sox manager Terry Francona should get some heat too since he had Bard face Asdrubal Cabrera (who was 5 for 5 on Sunday and had hit a solo homer earlier last night) with first base open and a struggling Shin-Soo Choo up next.

Cabrera hit an RBI double off Bard which scored Michael Brantley (who had tied it with an RBI single) with the winning run in the eighth.

Indians closer Chris Perez worked around two hits in the ninth to get his 13th save of the season. Carl Crawford ended the game by grounding into a double play.

Clay Buchholz started for Boston and yet again, he shut down the opposition enough to earn a win. He went 7.1 innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs and two walks with four strikeouts. He was pulled after 94 pitches since he threw an obscene 127 in his last start.

Former Red Sox pitcher Justin Masteron (who went to Cleveland in the Victor Martinez trade on July 31, 2009) continued to baffle his old team. He also got a no decision but he pitched well. He went 7.2 innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs with two walks and three strikeouts.

Dustin Pedroia gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead in the third with an RBI single that scored Crawford.

Cabrera tied it up with his 10th homer of the season in the fourth inning.

Crawford answered with just his second homer of the season-solo of course-in the fifth.

Tonight figures to be another pitcher's duel as Josh Beckett opposes Fausto Carmona.

Sorry Justin Verlander, even you cannot stop the Boston Red Sox right now

Another game, another win for the Boston Red Sox. Carl Crawford continues to toil at the bottom of the lineup but he still delivered his third walkoff hit in May as Boston beat Detroit 4-3 last night at Fenway Park.

The Red Sox (23-20) have won a season-high six in a row thanks to contributions from everybody: great starting pitching, timely hitting, excellent relief and plain old luck.

The Tigers (22-21) came into Boston hot but left after a two-game sweep with interleague play starting for everybody this weekend.

A pitcher's duel between Detroit ace Justin Verlander and Red Sox stud Josh Beckett was overshadowed by Crawford's heroics. With the bases loaded and one out in the ninth, Crawford (2 hits) crushed a single over the head of Tigers center fielder Austin Jackson which plated pinch runner Darnell McDonald. Detroit porn star and reliever Al Alburquerque (0-1) was charged with the loss.

Neither starter got a decision as Verlander went eight innings, allowing six hits, three earned runs with nine strikeouts. Beckett departed after six innings (with a stiff neck, man baseball players are warriors), five hits, one earned run, two walks and three strikeouts.

Andy Dirks (what is with these names?) gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead with an RBI single in the second.

J.D. Drew tied it up in the bottom of the second with a sacrifice fly which scored Kevin Youkilis.

Things looked to be turning in Boston's favor as Drew hit a solo homer in the fourth and David Ortiz (3 hits, quietly having a very solid season) followed with a solo shot of his own in the seventh.

Matt Albers got a scoreless seventh (1 hit, 2 strikeouts) but Detroit hit a pair of solo homers off Daniel Bard in the eighth. Brennan Boesch and Miguel Cabrera did the honors.

No worries though, the Red Sox are finding every possible way to win right now and this time, it didn't even take extra innings. Just another ho hum walkoff.

The Chicago Cubs come to Fenway for a three-game series which kicks off tonight. It's the first time since the 1918 World Series (remember that classic?) that the Cubbies have been to Boston. I can feel the collective boners from all the baseball nerds across the world. It promises to be a memorable weekend in Boston.

Carl Crawford, for the win!

I think it's time for Carl Crawford to move up in the Red Sox' lineup. He is finally ready to get out of the eighth spot hitter's purgatory. Haha although don't ask me where to put him, maybe fifth?

For the second time on the homestand, he had a walk-off hit to help Boston win. Last night it was an RBI double in the 11th that took care of the Minnesota Twins (12-21) at Fenway Park.

It let the Red Sox (17-18) end the season-high 11 game stay at home 6-5 with their third straight win over the Twins while inching them one game away from .500. Baby steps right?

Josh Beckett was outstanding, throwing seven scoreless innings but he wound up with the no-decision after Jonathan Papelbon blew the save opportunity in the eighth (his first of the season). Beckett allowed six hits with one walk and five strikeouts.

Hideki Okajima (1-0) was the unsung hero as he threw a career-high 42 pitches and managed to submit a scoreless 10th and 11th despite allowing two hits and walking two. He also struck out three.

Nick Blackburn was similarly good for Minnesota but he departed with a no-decision as well. He went 6.1 innings, allowing seven hits, one earned run with three walks and five strikeouts.

Adrian Gonzalez (2 hits) continued his excellent play with an RBI single in the fifth that scored Jason Varitek (2 hits) and gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead.

Jason Kubel broke his bat but was able to get an RBI single off Papelbon in the eighth which plated Denard Span.

Crawford's RBI double in the 11th was off the Monster and rookie Jose Iglesias (pinch running for Jed Lowrie who walked) raced around and just beat the relay for the exciting win.

Jacoby Ellsbury extended his hit streak to 18 games with a single.

Boston hits the road for two in Toronto then their first visit to Yankee Stadium this season takes place this weekend.

Jon Lester goes up against on Kyle Drabek tonight at the Rogers Centre.

Three aces down, Red Sox are on a roll

It took a full month for the Boston Red Sox to get on track in 2011 but thankfully baseball seasons are way too long anyways.

For the third straight night they faced an ace last night in Dan Haren. Like Felix Hernandez and Jered Weaver before him, he was decent but he couldn't completely quiet Boston's offense in a 7-3 Red Sox (14-15) win at Fenway Park.

Jon Lester (4-1) showed that his early season struggles seem to be a thing of the past. The ace in Boston's rotation went seven innings, allowing six hits, one earned run with a walk and 11 strikeouts.

Haren (4-2) suffered his second loss to the Red Sox in less than two weeks. He went seven innings, allowing nine hits, four earned runs with eight strikeouts.

Boston's lineup produced double digit hits (12) for the second straight game. Adrian Gonzalez (2 RBIs), David Ortiz, Jed Lowrie, Marco Scutaro (2 RBIs) and Carl Crawford all had two hits in the win.

Mark Trumbo gave the Angels (16-14) their only lead of the game, with a solo homer in the top of the first.

Gonzalez knocked in Jacoby Ellsbury with an RBI single in the sixth and Lowrie put Boston ahead 2-1 with an RBI single later in the frame that scored Gonzalez.

Haren started to falter in the seventh as Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit an RBI double that drove in Crawford.

There's a reason the Red Sox are 15-1 (6-0 this season) in their last 16 games against the Angels since they find every conceivable way to beat them.

Gonzalez's solo homer in the eighth knocked Haren out of the game. Ortiz and Scutaro (two-run) broke it open with homers in the inning as Boston went ahead 7-1.

Jonathan Papelbon came on in a non-save situation and did what every closer has to do in such an event: shit the bed. Erick Aybar had an RBI double and Trumbo had a sacrifice fly.

On the plus side, Daniel Bard had a scoreless eighth on nine pitches.

It's raining now and supposed to rain tonight so we'll see if Josh Beckett vs. Ervin Santana takes place as scheduled.

Carl Crawford plays for the Red Sox?

Don't ask me what happened in the month of April, his first with the Boston Red Sox, but Carl Crawford hopefully turned the page yesterday on May 1 as he delivered a 3-2 walkoff win over the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park.

Crawford's (2 hits) RBI single in the bottom of the ninth ensured that the Red Sox (12-15) wouldn't be swept by the Mariners (13-16). Bigger picture, maybe it'll spark some life in the former All-Star and stud with the Rays who is currently hitting .168 and batting eighth for Boston.

On a personal level, it was my first Red Sox game of the 2011 season and I'd like to note that makes two games in a row that I've seen a walkoff win (last July 31 as well) for the home team after not seeing one previously in my life. Baseball!

It was truly bizarro day as for almost six innings, Tim Wakefield was slightly better than 2010 Cy Young winner Felix Hernandez. Thankfully, Bobby Jenks came on for Wakefield in the sixth and cost him a win by coughing up a 2-0 lead by giving up a hit and three walks.

Hernandez went seven innings, allowing six hits, two earned runs, one walk and 10 strikeouts. He didn't factor into the decision despite throwing 111 pitches and getting into a groove late in his outing. More so than almost anyone in baseball, you have to feel bad for Hernandez (to a certain extent) since he's temporarily stuck on a team with a pathetic offense and just an awful 25-man roster.

Called into duty when Clay Buchholz contracted a virus, Wakefield made his first spot start of the season and it was a real good one. He went 5.2 innings, allowing three hits, one earned run, one walk and three strikeouts.

David Ortiz gave Boston a 2-0 lead with an RBI double off the Monster in the bottom of the third. Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia (2 hits) scored on the play.

Seattle tied it up in the top of the sixth as Jenks walked Jack Cust and then Luis Rodriguez with the bases loaded.

With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Jed Lowrie hit a routine fly ball to right that Ichiro Suzuki lost in the sun. The baseball hit him and Lowrie was able to advance to third on that gift. Marco Scutaro grounded out on the next pitch for the second out but Crawford finally came through with the big hit (which I called, pats self on back).

The unsung heroes for the Red Sox yesterday were Matt Albers and Jonathan Papelbon. Albers pitched a scoreless seventh and eighth with one strikeout. Papelbon (1-0) pitched a scoreless ninth with a strikeout in only seven pitches.

The Los Angeles Angels come to Fenway with four games this week, starting tonight as Buchholz pitches against Jered Weaver (who has an ERA of 0.99 but also had his start moved back due to illness). Who's medicine worked better? The world will found out tonight.

Geez, the Red Sox straight up own the Angels

If the Boston Red Sox played in the American League West, they might set a record for divisional wins in a season. Not that anybody didn't know it already but that division is an absolute cake walk compared to the AL East.

The Red Sox (10-11) continued their victory tour of the West Coast with a 7-0 shutout of the Angels (12-10) yesterday afternoon. The four-game sweep of Los Angeles enabled Boston to continue its hot streak (five straight wins, eight of its last nine) while also posting back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 2007.

John Lackey and Carl Crawford were the heroes in yesterday's lopsided triumph. Lackey (2-2) went eight scoreless innings, allowing six hits with a walk and six strikeouts. Crawford is still a puddle at the plate (he hit eighth on Saturday night) but he did crush his first home run of the season in the sixth, a two-run shot. He also had a single and scored another run so hopefully he can get going sometime soon.

Adrian Gonzalez is heating up too, he had three hits, two RBIs and a run. Even Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, run) and Marco Scutaro (2 hits, 2 runs) had multiple hits in this laugher.

It started early as Boston got three runs in the first off Angels star Matt Palmer (1-1). Gonzalez's RBI double scored Ellsbury, David Ortiz knocked in Gonzalez with an RBI single and Kevin Youkilis scored on Mike Cameron's fielder's choice.

Dustin Pedroia's sacrifice fly in the fifth plated Scutaro. Lastly, Gonzalez's RBI single in the seventh scored Scutaro and made it 7-0 Red Sox.

The abysmal start is all but forgotten since Boston is only one game under .500 and 3.5 games out of first place. They have today off before beginning a three-game series in Baltimore who is currently struggling big time.

Dice-K wishes you a Happy Easter

I didn't get to see much of the Boston Red Sox game last night against the Los Angeles Angels but I had a good excuse since the Bruins beat the Canadiens in double overtime.

From what I gathered, Daisuke Matsuzaka tossed his second gem in a row as the Red Sox (9-11) won 5-0. It was Boston's fourth win in a row and their seventh in their last eight games.

Anaheim (12-9) was limited to two hits, both infield singles, as they meekly went down to the Red Sox for the third straight night.

Matsuzaka (2-2) went eight innings, allowing one hit, three walks and nine strikeouts in 115 pitches. The long outing was especially important since both Bobby Jenks and Jonathan Papelbon were unavailable due to a ton of work lately.

Daniel Bard threw a scoreless ninth, allowing one hit and striking out two.

Once upon a time Ervin Santana (0-3) was compared to a young Pedro Martinez. Haha, must have been one of his relatives or baby mamas that came up with that ludicrous comparison. He's a good MLB pitcher but nothing close to special, ever. He went seven innings last night, allowing nine hits, five earned runs, one walk and nine strikeouts.

Boston got on the board in the second inning as Carl Crawford's (2 hits) infield single scored Jed Lowrie (2 hits).

Adrian Gonzalez had an RBI single in the third which drove in Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, 2 runs, 2 stolen bases), who looked good in the leadoff spot.

Kevin Youkilis returned after missing most of the last two games (he fouled a ball off his shin) and hit a two-run opposite field bomb for a 4-0 lead in the fifth.

Jason Varitek notched an RBI double in the sixth which scored Crawford for the final Red Sox run.

John Lackey gets the start tonight against his former team as Boston goes for the sweep against Matt Palmer and the Angels.

Red Sox decide to finally win a road game in 2011

It doesn't get any uglier than the 0-6 and then 2-10 starts for the 2011 Boston Red Sox.

However, going 0-7 in their first seven road games was similarly unforgivable. Boston (6-11) finally notched a road win yesterday afternoon, 5-3 against the A's (9-9) at Oakland Coliseum.

Clay Buchholz (1-2) picked up his first win of the season too after his first two starts were nothing short of disasters. He wasn't great yesterday but he got the job done. He went 5.1 innings, allowing six hits, one earned run, four walks and two strikeouts.

Oakland starter Gio Gonzalez (2-1) came in on the opposite end of the spectrum after being basically unhittable in his first two starts. The Red Sox got to him though somehow as he went six innings, allowing eight hits, four earned runs, one walk and nine strikeouts.

Boston's offense righted itself with three home runs: by Kevin Youkilis, Jed Lowrie and J.D. Drew.

The real star of the game was reliever Daniel Bard who inherited a bases loaded situation in the sixth with one out and the Red Sox clinging to a 4-1 lead. He got out of that unscathed and also pitched a scoreless seventh. That made up for Bobby Jenks and Jonathan Papelbon who each allowed an earned run. Papelbon settled down and recorded the last two outs in the ninth with runners on first and third.

Coco Crisp gave Oakland an early (and I mean early 1-0 lead) as he homered on Buchholz's first pitch of the game.

Carl Crawford answered with an RBI single in the top of the second which tied it at 1. Youkilis' solo shot in the fourth, Lowrie's two-run bomb in the sixth and Drew's solo homer in the seventh gave Boston some breathing room.

They were able to withstand Crisp's RBI single in the eighth and Landon Powell's RBI single in the ninth.

From here, Boston travels to Anaheim with four games scheduled against the Angels. Josh Beckett faces rookie Tyler Chatwood tonight in the series opener.

Will the Boston Red Sox ever win in 2011?

At this point, the Boston Red Sox in 2011 are the car crash of Major League Baseball. You can't help yourself but look at the carnage as this superstar-laden team is still winless going into the second week of the regular season.

If all goes right, in the dog days of summer, we'll all sit back over our Fenway Franks and Sam Adams beers and laugh about this nightmare start. However, at the moment, there's nothing funny about a team that's now 0-5 (only three winless teams left in MLB-Tampa Bay and Houston) after an 8-4 loss last night at Progressive Field.

Like Josh Beckett the night before him, Red Sox fans were forced to abandon all rational thought (not a tough concept for us) and pretend that Daisuke Matsuzaka would spin a gem against a bad Cleveland (3-2) team.

Instead, Dice-K was exactly as maddening as you remember. He lasted only five innings (like Beckett) and departed after giving up six hits, three earned runs, three walks and two strikeouts. Congratulations to him since he only needed 96 pitches and about four hours to get that far.

Indians starter Mitch Talbot wasn't any better (4.1 innings, 5 hits, 2 earned runs, 3 walks, 7 strikeouts) since he left after 102 pitches.

It turned into a battle of bullpen's and Boston's JV trio of Dennys Reyes (3 earned runs), Dan Wheeler (earned run) and Tim Wakefield (earned run) predictably couldn't get the job done.

Another loss overshadowed nice games from Carl Crawford (2 hits, 2 steals) and Adrian Gonzalez (double, two-run homer).

Shin-Soo Choo gave Cleveland a 2-0 lead in the first with a two-run bomb.

Boston tied it up with a pair of runs in the second: Marco Scutaro's chopper scored David Ortiz and Jacoby's Ellsbury groundout drove in J.D. Drew.

Asdrubal Cabrera put the Indians back on top with an RBI single in the second.

Michael Brantley's fielder's choice in the sixth scored Travis Buck but it was all Jason Varitek's fault as he made a Little League type brain cramp. Kevin Youkilis got the force at third base and tossed it to Varitek covering home. He forgot he had to tag Buck so he just harmlessly stepped on the plate.

That run looked big at the time but it didn't matter as Wheeler allowed a three-run homer to Cabrera in the next at bat.

Gonzalez cut it to 7-4 with his first homer for Boston. A two-run shot to right that scored Crawford. Should be the first of 35+ this season for Adrian.

Matt LaPorta tacked on an insurance run with a solo homer off Wakefield in the eighth.

The Red Sox are off to their worst start in 15 years. They'll look to avoid a disastrous 0-6 start this afternoon as Jon Lester gets the ball for his second start of the season. Fausto Carmona opposes him and ironically both got shelled on Opening Day.

Needless to say, Boston needs a win to salvage some pride. Otherwise, Opening Day tomorrow afternoon at Fenway against the New York Yankees could be rough.

Might as well end the season now

A good test of someone's sanity and how much of a prisoner of the moment they are is to gauge their viewpoint after a baseball team has been swept in April.

If you freak out and start talking like the season is over, like the Boston Globe's over-the-hill Dan Saughnessy, you have completely lost touch with reality and it's best for everyone if you retire this second.

The Boston Red Sox started their 2011 season in about the worst possible fashion: getting swept in Texas by the Rangers.

Last season's AL champs, the Rangers (3-0) wrapped up the laughable beating with a 5-1 win yesterday afternoon at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Red Sox (0-3) starter Clay Buchholz (6.1 innings, 5 hits, 4 earned runs, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts) was no match for a Texas lineup that churned out 11 home runs in the three lopsided victories.

Ian Kinsler and Nelson Cruz became the first teammates to start a season with homers in three consecutive games.

The reason I'm not panicking one iota is that the baseball season is so ridiculously long. Sorry Dan, a three-game sample in April tells us nothing about how this team will play in the summer or fall. You also have to give Texas credit, this wasn't the Kansas City Royals that were looking like world-beaters.

Rangers starter Matt Harrison pitched what I would venture to guess was probably his best game in the majors: 7 innings, 5 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks and eight strikeouts.

Carl Crawford was about the only bright spot for Boston. He was temporarily dropped from third to seventh in the lineup (ahhhh!) but responded with the first two hits of his Red Sox career, including an RBI single in the seventh.

Texas got solo homers in the second, third, fifth and seventh inning from David Murphy, Kinsler, Mike Napoli and Cruz respectively.

Michael Young added an RBI double in the eighth off Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon. Pap hadn't gotten a chance to pitch all weekend so he was thrown into a 4-1 deficit and promptly gave up two hits and a walk before striking out the side with the bases loaded. Makes sense. Get used to a lot of white-knuckle work by Papelbon, who no longer has great stuff.

Boston mercifully gets today off before beginning a three-game series in Cleveland tomorrow. Josh Beckett takes the mound tomorrow night and will try to get the Red Sox in the win column for 2011. If the terrible Indians roll over the Red Sox, then we'll really have something to talk about.

Red Sox bullpen blows Opening Day and it wasn't even Papelbon's fault

Opening Day is one of baseball's special moments. The season begins anew and even the hopeless franchises have something to celebrate for a day.

Seeing your newest players in action is always a highlight and yesterday, Adrian Gonzalez and Carl Crawford couldn't have scripted much different debuts for the Boston Red Sox.

Gonzalez had two hits and three RBIs while Crawford was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts as the Sox lost 9-5 to the Texas Rangers at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Neither starting pitcher did much as Jon Lester (5.1 innings, 6 hits, 5 earned runs, 1 walk, 0 strikeouts, 3 home runs) and C.J. Wilson (5.2 innings, 6 hits, 4 runs (2 earned), 2 walks, 6 strikeouts) looked better suited for some extended Spring Training.

The most surprising aspect was that Boston's bullpen imploded and yet Jonathan Papelbon didn't even get a shot to screw it up.

David Ortiz tied it up at five with a solo shot off Darren Oliver in the eighth inning but Texas scored four times in the home half of the inning.

Josh Bard was charged with four earned runs as David Murphy started it off with a two-run double down the left field line that hit the chalk. Elvis Andrus and Josh Hamilton followed with RBI doubles of their own and it was game over.

Boston was not going to score one run let alone four off All-Star closer Neftali Feliz.

The Red Sox got off to a nice start with two unearned runs in their first at bats of the season. Rangers center fielder Julio Borbon dropped a routine fly ball and Kevin Youkilis took advantage by knocking in Jacoby Ellsbury (2 hits, 2 runs, walk, steal) with an RBI double. Gonzalez kept the line moving with an RBI single in his first plate appearance for the Red Sox.

The defending AL champions got to work immediately and Ian Kinsler hit a lead-off homer against Lester in the bottom of the first, cutting it to 2-1.

Nelson Cruz (2 hits, 2 runs) tied it in the second with another solo homer.

Gonzalez came through once again with a timely hit, a two-run single in the fourth gave Boston a 4-2 lead.

Mike Napoli (2 hits, 2 runs) wrestled the lead back for the Rangers with a three-run bomb in the fourth inning (5-4 Rangers). Lester only allowed 14 home runs last season but he gave up three yesterday.

Boston's 1-6 in the lineup is lethal but it's clear that 7-9 is likely to be a black hole. Yesterday against the lefty Wilson, Mike Cameron, Jarrod Saltlamacchia and Marco Scutaro combined to go 0-for-11 with three strikeouts.

John Lackey goes for the Red Sox tonight and he'll be opposed by Colby Lewis. Needless to say, expect a high-scoring game.

Welcome to Boner City, USA

For me, the choice to finally jump on the Twitter bandwagon (I might have been the last person on Earth) has paid off handsomely in the last few months.

Tonight was its finest hour as far as I'm concerned as I saw the Boston Red Sox make one of their biggest free agent moves ever almost in real time: signing Carl Crawford to a seven-year, $142 million dollar deal.

I mean wow Theo, just wow. You finalized Adrian Gonzalez two days ago and now you've doubled your haul with the best outfielder that was on the market (sorry Jayson Werth, enjoy last place with the Washington Nationals).

I will admit that I was hoping the Red Sox would get Werth until I took a closer look at his numbers. Plus, he was in a hitter's park (Citizen's Bank) in the weak National League so he just seemed more ripe to be a bust once he got paid and complacent.

With Crawford, we know what to expect since we've seen him grow up before our eyes. From a standout on bad Devil Rays teams, to an All-Star MVP and the leader of a serious contender in the AL East that appeared in the 2008 World Series.

All along we've heard that the Los Angeles Angels coveted Crawford and he seemed like a good fit for the small ball garbage that's good enough to win the sisters of the poor AL West.

Another left-handed bat, Crawford is a four-time All-Star who won his first Gold Glove this year. He hit .307 this season with Tampa Bay, setting career-highs with 19 home runs and 90 RBIs. He has led the American League in stolen bases four times (47 this past season) and also was tops in the AL with 13 triples.

He apparently will play left field with Jacoby Ellsbury or Mike Cameron in center field and J.D. Drew in right. More than anything, this coupled with Gonzalez more than makes up for Victor Martinez and Adrian Beltre's departure. Yes, I was not happy with either leaving and clearly V-Mart is the one that stings more since our catching possibilities are nothing short of a nightmare.

However, a lineup of 1) Crawford, 2) Dustin Pedroia, 3) Adrian Gonzalez, 4) Kevin Youkilis, 5) David Ortiz, 6) J.D. Drew, 7) Marco Scutaro, 8) Jared Saltalamacchia/Jason Varitek and 9) Ellsbury/Cameron is straight up filthy.

2011 Red Sox tickets go on sale Saturday. Last week, I thought there was absolutely no reason to buy any but now I can't wait. How lucky are New England sports fans at this moment? Next season just got a whole lot more interesting.

Now all we need is a couple bullpen upgrades which are typically a dime a dozen and we should be locked into quite a battle with the New York Yankees for AL East and American League supremacy.

Ride it 'til the wheels fall off

If you've been paying attention to the Red Sox lately, you had to see this coming. With an unfathomable amount of injuries to key players piling up each day, the Sox were getting by with backups and scrubs but right now, it seems like the wheels are beginning to fall off.

For the second night in a row, Boston (49-35) lost to Tampa (50-33) at Tropicana Field, this time it was 3-2. After losing their way a bit, the Rays seem to have regained their step, no surprise with all the talent they possess and the Yankees continue to chug along at the top of the AL East.

Rookie Felix Doubront (1-1) did enough in his second MLB start to garner a win or at least no decision for the Red Sox but instead he was saddled with the loss. He went 5.2 innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits with four walks and three strikeouts.

Rays starter Jeff Niemann improved to 7-2 with six innings of fine work: one run (unearned), four hits, three walks and five strikeouts.

Jason Bartlett gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead in the third with a sacrifice fly that scored John Jaso.

Boston tied it up in the fourth with an RBI infield single by Daniel Nava (2 hits).

A run scored on Jaso's groundout in the fifth and then Carl Crawford had the game's biggest hit: a solo homer off Hideki Okajima in the eighth.

Boston scratched out a run in the ninth with an RBI triple by Eric Patterson which scored Bill Hall. However, with Kevin Youkilis pulled in the fourth inning with an ankle injury and David Ortiz getting intentionally walked, Niuman Romero ended the game with a harmless groundout.

Rafael Soriano converted his 23rd save despite allowing two walks.

Marco Scutaro had two hits, a walk and a stolen base in the loss.

Tim Wakefield takes on David Price tonight as the Red Sox try to avoid the sweep and tread water in the AL East.

Same old Dice-K

Stop me if you've heard this one before: Dice K's pitch count gets way too high early, he can't hold a lead and the Sox end up losing a game they had firmly in their grasp.

I've said before that Matsuzaka is the most unpredictable player in MLB but you have to admit that he's good at racking up insane pitch counts and blowing leads.

Last night in Tampa was an especially ugly one as the Sox (49-34) led 5-1 going into the bottom of the fifth but eventually lost 6-5 to the Rays (49-33).

Dice-K went five innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits with four walks and four strikeouts.

One of the most frustrating parts of the loss was the fact that Boston had gotten Rays starter Matt Garza (4 earned runs, 7 hits) out after just three innings. No surprise though, Tampa's bullpen is better than Dice-K and our god-awful middle relievers (Ramon Ramirez).

The Red Sox also wasted a career night by utilityman Eric Patterson who is filling in for Dustin Pedroia. Corey Patterson's little bro had two solo homers and a double.

Carl Crawford (3 hits) put the Rays up 1-0 in the first with an RBI double.

Boston answered with four two-out runs in the top of the third. Patterson hit his first homer, Kevin Youkilis had an RBI triple, Adrian Beltre had an RBI single and Bill Hall (2 hits) had an RBI single.

After Patterson's second blast in the fourth, Boston's offense was completely silenced.

Tampa Bay scored two in the fifth on Evan Longoria's sacrifice fly and Crawford scored on Kevin Cash's passed ball.

John Jaso tied it up with a two-run single in the sixth and Jason Bartlett produced the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the seventh.

Rafael Soriano (who somehow didn't make the All-Star team even though he's 22 of 23 on save chances) worked the ninth for the save.

Felix Doubrant gets his second start for Boston tonight against Jeff Niemmann. Coupled with a Yankees win last night in Oakland, the Red Sox are 2.5 games behind New York and half a game behind Tampa Bay. They can't afford a slide going into the All-Star break even though they're completely decimated by injuries.

What is going on with Josh Beckett?

As sweet as the win Tuesday night was, last night left a bitter taste in Red Sox fans' mouths since Josh Beckett continued to scuffle (at the most important time of the season).

Tampa Bay won 8-5 last night at the Trop, evening the score in this vital series that the Rays (72-60) have to win.

Beckett was down 5-1 after three innings but he struck around long enough to go six respectable innings. He gave up five runs (four earned) on seven hits with nine strikeouts.

Rays starter Matt Garza has had a forgettable season but he always seems to pick it up a notch vs. the Red Sox. He lasted 6.2 innings, allowing four earned runs on six hits with three walks and three strikeouts.

One of the trademarks of Beckett not pitching well is the abundance of homers he gives up.

Carl Crawford hit a solo shot in the first. Jason Bay tied it with an RBI triple in the second. The Rays scored three times in the third: Pat Burrell (2 hits, 2 RBIs) hit a solo homer, Akinori Iwamura had an RBI single and Gregg Zaun (3 hits) scored on B.J. Upton's sacrifice.

Zaun's RBI double in the third made it 5-1 but the Red Sox slowly started to comeback. Two in the fourth on a David Ortiz groundout and a J.D. Drew RBI single cut it to 5-3.

Victor Martinez hit an RBI single in the seventh and pinch runner Joey Gathright (former Rays great) tied it in the eighth after J.P. Howell threw a wild pitch.

Ramon Ramirez and Manny Delcarmen blew it in the eighth as Burrell touched up Ramirez with a run scoring single and Evan Longoria blasted a two-run bomb on the first pitch from Delcarmen.

The rubber match tonight is between both team's promising young pitchers: Clay Buchholz vs. David Price. It's a meaningful one since a Boston win is up 2.5 games on the Rangers in the wild card and 5 on the Rays.

Are we looking at 2006 all over again?

As the Red Sox lost 6-4 to the Rays last night at Tropicana Field, moving their record there to 2-13 since the start of last season, you had to wonder, is Boston (62-44) about to have an epic collapse?

That might seem like a stretch for a team that is in control of the AL wild card and 18 games over .500 but anyone that has watched closely realizes that this is a very flawed squad.

Nobody outside of Josh Beckett and Jon Lester has stepped up; Tim Wakefield might return at the end of next week and Dice-K possibly in September (not holding my breath on that). Clay Buchholz, Brad Penny and John Smoltz are each almost automatic losses.

Penny (7-6) went six innings last night but gave up five runs on six hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

Tampa Bay (60-48) starter David Price (5-4) looked like the stud from last fall's playoffs. He went six innings, allowing two runs on six hits with five strikeouts and no walks.

Victor Martinez was a great addition but he can only do so much for a lineup that just doesn't have the juice it had in the first half of the season. Martinez was the only player from either team to have two hits, a double and a homer.

Jason Bay crushed a homer to left in the second to give the Red Sox an early 1-0 lead.

The Rays answered with Carlos Pena's two-run homer in the third and birthday boy Carl Crawford's (28) two-run blast in the third.

Martinez's solo shot in the sixth cut it to 4-2 but Penny gave up his third long ball of the night as bum Pat Burrell went deep for a 5-2 Tampa Bay advantage.

Every time the Sox scored, Tampa quickly responded. Jed Lowrie's groundout in the seventh made it 5-3 in the seventh but Jason Bartlett hit a solo homer off Manny Delcarmen.

Kevin Youkilis produced the last run with an RBI groundout in the eighth but Rays closer J.P. Howell struck out two in the ninth for his 12th save of the season.

The Sox travel to Yankee Stadium, the four-game series starts tonight and it should be a great barometer for where this team is going. New York has been the best team in baseball for months now, a far cry from their 0-8 early-season record against Boston.

New York is 2.5 games up on Boston and the Red Sox are just three games ahead of Tampa Bay. The Yankees are obviously going to win at least one game this series but the Red Sox need at least a split to show they're doing more than treading water.

John Smoltz pitches against Joba tonight, a complete mismatch if I've ever seen one. I think Boston's relievers are warming up as we speak.