Old Friends.

Pedro Martinez will be taking up residence in Philadelphia after signing a one-year deal earlier today. I may have mentioned my complete, unadulterated love of Pedro Martinez--he's the only pitcher I have ever called my favorite player--so I'm happy for him. Says Pedey:

"I'm not here for talking. I'm here to do it."

As long as "it" isn't beating the Red Sox, then I'm with you buddy.

I Went to Philadelphia and All I Got Was This Stupid Hat.

I know that sounds bitter. I know that being bitter is part of the negative image of Boston fans. But I'm not bitter. I really was rooting for Philadelphia and not rooting against Tampa. I may not like some of the players on the Phillies but I wanted this for the Phillies fans. I suppose, though, that I've learned the attraction of bandwagoning-all of the joy, none of the angst.

Most sincere congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies on the World Series Championship. See you on June 12.

Masterson v. Kendrick (Game 75)

Masterson struggled against the overly lefty Phillie line up. He ended up walking only two batters but he repeatedly fell behind in the count and had to throw a considerable number of pitches to get through the fifth inning (ninety-two in all, fifty-three for strikes.) The offense did give him a hefty early-lead to work with and he did only allow two runs on four hits. The defense also got him out of a situation in the second inning-the Phillies had two on and one out, with the game tying run at the plate; after repeatedly bunting the ball foul, Kendrick bunted one into the air-Casey caught it and threw to second to turn a nifty little double play.

Javier Lopez took over in the sixth inning. He had a 1-2-3 inning that consisted of three groundouts-one to short, one to second, and one to first.

Craig Hansen took over when the Phillies pinch hit in the seventh inning. He did not have an easy time of it. He gave up a single to the first batter (a more accurate throw by Lugo might have resulted in an out) and allowed the runner to steal second. He walked the second batter of the inning. Then they each moved up a base on a wild pitch. Then, having not yet gotten a batter out, Hansen gave up a single that allowed the two base runners to score.

At that point, he got the hook in favor of Manny Del. Delcarmen did an excellent job. He came into a tough situation. The lead had been cut to seven-four, there was a runner on first, and there were still no outs. The first thing Manny Del did was to make the situation even tougher. He walked the first batter-which brought the tying run to the plate and pushed him right into the meatiest part of the Phillies lineup. He got the first batter to pop out to second. Then he got Utley to fly out to left and Howard to strike out swinging-no damage done. Delcarmen came back out for the eighth inning. He had a 1-2-3 inning, consisting of two fly outs and a strike out.

Papelbon finished the game off in style . He got his twenty-first save of the season with a questionable strike out, a spectacular catch on a pop up by Varitek, and a fly out to left.

The offense got out to a hot start for Masterson. Ellsbury started off the first inning by getting a single to right. Pedroia followed him with another single to right. JD Drew followed him with a three-run home run to right. Lowell followed him a home run to left.

They scored again in the third inning. With one out, JD Drew got a double. Lowell was hit by a pitch. Casey lined out but Varitek walked to load the bases. Then Brandon Moss came out (as a replacement for Coco who did something to his hand) and got a single to center and brought in two more runs. They reloaded the bases when Lugo drew a walk but I'll forgive the men-left-on-base as Masterson was the next batter and, bless him, the boy looks completely lost at the plate even with the hearty swings he was taking.

The last run the Sox put on the board occurred in the fourth inning. With one out, Pedroia doubled to left and then JD Drew got a single to bring him home.

Lester v. Moyer (Game 74)

Coco home runs, Sean Casey stealing bases, Jon Lester (almost) not walking anyone, interleague play turns the world upside-down.

Jon Lester pitched beautifully tonight. He threw seven shut-out innings and silenced the Phillies' biggest bats. He threw ninety-nine pitches, sixty-eight of them for strikes. He gave up six hits but none of them were for extra bases. He walked only one batter and made it all the way to the sixth inning before he did that. Not to get too far ahead of myself but the Jon Lester who pitched tonight seems so different from the Jon Lester who started the year. That Jon Lester worked at a glacial pace, fell behind batters (he was the original man John Farrell sent in search of first-pitch strikes) and ended up walking too many, to be effective without anything but the best offense. Not this Jon Lester, though. I'm really starting to like this Jon Lester. And what's more-he's not half bad with a bat.

After Lester came out, the bullpen worked the way it was supposed to work. Okajima came out to pitch the eighth inning and was sufficient. He struck out the first batter he faced. He gave up a double to deep left (and a groan went up around New England) but it turned out to be harmless. The next batter flied out to right. He struck out Utley to end the inning.

Papelbon finished off the game in the ninth. He picked up his twentieth save of the season by striking out the side with fourteen pitches.

Coco proved to be all the offense the Sox would need tonight. Varitek had drawn a walk to start the second inning but was forced out at second when Casey grounded into a fielder's choice. With Casey standing at first, Coco took the first pitch he saw in the game and planted it in the seats beyond left field to put the Sox on the board.

They didn't score again until the sixth inning. With one out, Coco blooped one into left. He stole second. He stole third. He came around to score when Lugo doubled to deep left center.

Not to belabor a point too much (especially after a win) but they've returned to their earlier in the season road-woe: leaving men on base. They left ten men on base during the game and only monopolized on two out of nine scoring opportunities. They did play pretty good small ball, though. Lugo, Pedroia, Ellsbury, Casey and Coco (2) had stolen bases. They also played some pretty defense turning two double plays: one Lowell to Pedroia to Casey and the other Lowell to Casey.

Next Up: the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Phillies are looking really good this year so it should be an interesting series of games.

The pitcher scheduled for tomorrow is Cole Hamels. Hamels throws a lively low-nineties fastball, a fabulous change-up, and a good curveball. He's a strike out pitcher, so he is susceptible to giving up home runs but he has done a pretty decent job of keeping them in the park this year. He gets a lot of strike outs (a season high of thirteen in his last start) and he doesn't walk many batters. Although injuries have been an issue for him in the past, he's a sturdy guy who will go deep into a game (he's thrown two complete games so far this year.) He's good but if he has a weakness it's right-handed batters. Lefties and righties hit him about evenly (which is not particularly well) but most of his walks have been to righties, most of the hits he's given up have been to righties, most of the home runs he's given up have been to righties, but most of his strikeouts have also come off righties.

Going on Tuesday is Jamie Moyer. Moyer is a crafty old guy, a Curt Schilling type. He gets people out with pinpoint location, late-breaking movement, and just having been around so long that he knows how to completely fool batters. He's not a big strike out guy and he's not a big walk guy. He does give up a fair number of hits. Righties do have an easier time against him.

Wednesday afternoon's pitcher is Kyle Kendrick. Kendrick can be wild at times but he has a lot of confidence and it shows on the mound. He throws a low-nineties sinking fastball, a change-up, and a slider. He doesn't strike many people out, he doesn't give up too many home runs, but he does get a lot of ground ball outs. He gives up a lot of hits and teams score runs against him. He struggles against lefties but righties hit him pretty well, as well. He was also the victim of the being traded to Japan prank that was all over the internet earlier this year.

It may be a function of playing most of their games at Philadelphia but the Phillies lineup is nothing to sneeze at-with the likes of Chase Utley and Pat Burrell out there how could it be? Jimmy Rollins, Pedro Feliz, and Ryan Howard aren't easy batters either. Even their backup catcher (Coste) has good numbers. They do strike out quite a bit, though.

Their major threat for stealing a base is Shane Victorino (he's got fourteen this season having been caught three times.) They're also somewhat of an error prone team. Their starting first, second, and third baseman each have six errors so far this season.