Jarrod Saltalamacchia is no Russell Martin

Over the winter, the Boston Red Sox had the chance to pick up former Dodgers All-Star catcher Russell Martin.

Coming off injury-plagued seasons, he could have been had for cheap money but the New York Yankees snatched him up and gave him the starting job as Jorge Posada was shifted to DH.

The Red Sox chose to go with Jarrod Saltalamacchia (don't ask me why) and Jason Varitek as the backup.

Only eight games into the 2011 season and that seemingly minor decision has already completely blown up in Boston's face.

Martin had two home runs yesterday and four RBIs as New York (5-3) beat Boston (1-7) 9-4 yesterday afternoon at Fenway Park.

Saltalamacchia doesn't call a good game as far as I can tell and he can't hit a lick. So yeah, don't ask me what Theo Epstein and Co. were thinking there.

Clay Buchholz (0-2) faced Ivan Nova and surprisingly, Buchholz was worse. He only went 3.2 innings, giving up eight hits, five runs (four earned), three walks and two strikeouts.

Nova wasn't much better: 4.1 innings, seven hits, four earned runs, three walks, three strikeouts.

The Yankees jumped ahead 2-0 in the second inning on a groundout by Nick Swisher and an RBI double by Eric Chavez (3 hits).

Kevin Youkilis' groundout cut it to 2-1 in the third but Martin's three-run homer made it 5-1 in the fourth.

Boston had one last comeback attempt with three runs in the fourth. Jacoby Ellsbury had an RBI groundout and Dustin Pedroia (3 hits, 2 RBIs) added a two-run double. Once again, Pedroia is the only Red Sox hitter that was able to come through with a big hit in a big spot. Hopefully his clutchness becomes contagious soon.

Three more homers from the Yankees ended it. Curtis Granderson had a two-run bomb in the fifth while Robinson Cano (3 hits, 2 runs) and Martin had solo shots in the sixth and seventh respectively.

Josh Beckett takes on CC Sabathia tonight in a Sunday night game that is basically must-win for the Red Sox. That's not good news either since the pitching matchup is really shaky for Boston.

Extra, Extra: Red Sox Win!

It only took a week and seven tries but the Boston Red Sox finally won a game yesterday afternoon.

They beat the Yankees 9-6 at Fenway Park at their home opener despite John Lackey's best efforts to sabotage the game.

As is the custom on Opening Day at Fenway, nobody got booed on the Red Sox (1-6) even the players that deserved it like Lackey, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Marco Scutaro, J.D. Drew, etc.

Nope, the day is all about the C-list celebs and Boston's elite rubbing elbows with each other while enjoying Fenway's newest garbage food (sushi).

Lackey (1-0) went five innings, giving up six earned runs on seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Sadly, that pathetic display earned him a win on this strange day.

How bad was Yankees (4-3) starter Phil Hughes? Well in just two innings, he allowed six earned runs on seven hits with two walks. New York's prized young pitcher is clearly hurt or something since he has no velocity right now and he made Lackey look like a quality MLB pitcher (a nearly impossible task).

As expected, it was a slugfest. The Red Sox had 12 hits and the Yankees had eight.

Dustin Pedroia led Boston with three hits and three RBIs, J.D. Drew had two hits and two RBIs while Adrian Gonzalez, David Ortiz and Saltalamacchia each added two hits.

The Red Sox bullpen stepped up with four scoreless innings. Alfredo Aceves was followed by Bobby Jenks, Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon (they all threw scoreless innings). Papelbon was the most impressive in his first save opportunity of the season. He struck out two, didn't allow a hit or walk in an economical 11 pitches.

Brett Gardner led New York with two hits, two runs and two walks while Robinson Cano had two hits and two RBIs.

Cano gave the Yankees a 2-0 lead in the first with a two-run double.

Pedroia answered with a solo homer just over the Monster in the bottom of the first (second straight year he's homered on Opening Day).

Gardner's RBI double in the second made it 3-1 New York.

The Red Sox offense finally exploded for a big inning, five in the second inning. Marco Scutaro's fielder's choice cut it to 3-2. Pedroia put Boston up 4-3 with a two-run single, Gonzalez and Ortiz followed with RBI singles.

Lackey is nothing if not giving and he gave up a run in the third (Nick Swisher groundout), fourth (Derek Jeter RBI single) and fifth (A-Rod homer) to tie it up. Thanks you Muppet-faced bum.

Two of Boston's biggest liabilities came through with the two biggest hits. Saltalamacchia had an RBI double in the fifth and Drew delivered a two-run single in the seventh.

Clay Buchholz opposes Ivan Nova this afternoon in a matchup that obviously favors the Red Sox. Hopefully they can take advantage and rack up another win.

Red Sox salvage split in the Bronx

Baseball is the only sport that allows you to play the next day, giving you the quickest time to recover from epic defeats the previous day or night.

The symmetry of last night's Red Sox-Yankees game at Yankee Stadium was unmistakable since Boston (20-20) once again recovered from a 5-0 deficit but looked poised to blow it in the ninth with closer Jonathan Papelbon on the mound.

Somehow though, he got out of a jam (1st and 3rd with 1 out) as the Sox held on 7-6 over the Yankees (25-16).

The game couldn't have started off worse since a nearly 1-hour rain delay and Josh Beckett's early ineffectiveness and supposed back injury put New York up 5-0 in the fifth.

Jose Miranda (RBI single) and Randy Winn (groundout) drove in runs in the second inning, Miranda hit a solo homer in the fourth and Robinson Cano's two-run double in the fifth spelled the end for Beckett, possibly for a long time.

J.D. Drew spurred the comeback with a solo shot in the sixth off C.C. Sabathia (7 innings, 1 earned run, 4 hits, 3 walks, 5 strikeouts) and then the Sox tied it with four in the eighth off bobo Joba Chamberlain. Drew had an RBI double, Youk drove in two with a single and David Ortiz (who's been hot for the last week) nearly missed a home run but settled for a tying single.

Jeremy Hermida, Mr. Clutch this season for Boston, came through once again with two outs against some guy named Mariano Rivera (0-1). He drove in Darnell McDonald and Marco Scutaro with a double to left field over Randy Winn's head in left field. Marcus Thames-the hero the night before-dropped an easy popup from Scutaro when he tried to make a basket catch.

Papelbon allowed an RBI double to Cano but he was able to escape New York with his tenth save of the season. Josh Bard (1-1) got the win after facing just one hitter.

The Sox come back to Fenway for two games against the Minnesota Twins beginning tonight (weather permitting) with Clay Buchholz facing Scott Baker.