Stealing Is A Good Thing, Really!

Jacoby on the run like the mayor, because he pretty much is.
(soxblog.mlblogs.com)

If for some reason you have been living in a cave for about the past 2 weeks, the Sox just had the BEST HOMESTAND EVER! How good? Winning all 9 games is good for starters. But it wasn't just the 1.000 winning percentage that made this version of home-cooking memorable. What made this group of games significant is that we obtained victories that seemed impossible 12 days ago. This all started with the 1st game of the Baltimore series when Brad Penny did his best to make me break the most expensive items in my room by allowing 7 runs in the 2nd inning. But an 8 ER performance from Penny couldn't halt the Sox, as they tallied 8 runs of their own off of Oriole 'ace' Jeremy Guthrie, thanks to performances by J. Bay, Drew, and Mikey Lowell, who could arguably be the MVP of not only the homestand, but the Sox so far in this young season. The 10-8 comeback was a statement to the rest of the league (and admittedly to myself) that the Sox offense can still be productive, sans ManRam and virtually without Ortiz. I'll put the Miguel Cabrera trade on hold. After pulling off a couple of close ones (6-4, and 2-1), the Crimson Hose then went on to pummel the O's in the 11 AM Patriots' Day special by a score of 12-1. This also put the Orioles series ERA to a number that closely resembles the price of buying 1 Fenway beer (7.59). A 30-14 tally in a 4 game series against a divisional foe wasn't too shabby, but it was only the beginning as the Sox were just breaking .500 for the season, ready to become the world-beaters they're predicted to become.

I'm really pulling for you Brad. I really am!
(CEB II)

The mini-series doubleheader against the Twins proved that even Mother Nature can't stop the Sox right now, she can only just halt them temporarily. With 3 homeruns (Nicky Green, Lowell, and Yoooukilis) and another stellar outing by Wake, the Sox coasted through the contest. Thankfully for the Twins, Mother Nature mercifully ended the 1st game in the 7th at a 10-1 deficit, possibly saving them pitching for Game 2. However, she should have kept the rain clouds for a few more hours longer. The second game brought a solid performance from SURPRIIIIIIIIIIISE, Brad Penny. Along with a 6 IP, 2 ER performance, the Sox were able to muster 7 runs on just 5 hits, showing the multi-faceted potential of the emerging Sox offense. 17 runs scored from the bats with a 1.69 ERA from the pitching staff showed that we had all cylinders going, making it a complete contrast from the 1st 8 games of the season. By sitting behind the dugout in both games, I felt like a big part of it all. It's just a phenomenal experience as a fan to be right there when a team has finally found their groove. The tough part, especially in baseball, is to keep reminding yourself that this is a looooooong season. I can pretty much stop describing this series, since I mostly summed it up in my doubleheader entry (starting.....now). All our efforts now had us in the chase against, you guessed it, the Blue Jays for the throne of the AL East. All in all, it was perfect timing for the arrival of the Evil Empire to Beantown. Could the Nation sustain this white-hot play? Stay tuned ladies and gents!

Can you find $82.5 million in this picture?
(CEB II)

Round 1 provided us with young pitchers Jon Lester and Joba Chamberlain not quite thriving, but surviving despite allowing 2 ER apiece. After an Okajima hiccup, the Red Sox were down 4-2 facing the great Rivera. With 1 out left to go in the 9th inning, Jason "Manny who?" Bay cranked a two-run dinger to send Fenway into a frenzy and to extra innings. I would like to think it had something to do with Dave Roberts throwing the first pitch the game before. Either way, that was the 12th blown save for Mariano against the Sox. As we know, the Yanks bullpen has been as automatic as the Nationals or the Cincinnati Bengals winning a game. If Rivera is less than a certainty, you know that Girardi's blood pressure starts rising exponentially with each out. Not good for a guy who is considered on the hot seat pretty much every minute in New York. Fast forward to the 11th when another candidate for Sox April MVP Kevin Youkilis blasted one over the Monstah to topple the Yanks. It proved that we could beat the Yanks in a close, late inning game, as well as me adding a proposal to call our alternate home jerseys "the Comeback Unis", even though I despise the "Hanging Sox" caps. I attended Round 2, expecting a pitchers duel between two former Marlin aces Beckett and Burnett. However by looking at the scoreboard, it ended up becoming somewhat of a rematch of Super Bowl XLII (I won't go further than that). Being down 6-0 early in the game didn't bother the Sox, as they clawed back with the help of a Jason Varitek grand slam, from the LEFT SIDE of all things. The Sox would score in every inning from the 4th on, but that didn't stop Robbie Cano and the Yanks from battling back. But in the end, it was Mikey Lowell and his 6 RBIs that won this great football.....errr baseball slugfest that produced the biggest comeback the Sox have had against the Yankees since 1968. Who would have known that Beckett-Burnett matchup would produce 10 IP, 18 H, 16 ER, 7 BB, 4 homers allowed and only 6 K's between the two of them? Then again, a Sox-Yanks matchup wouldn't be one if it wasn't 7 hours long (actually 4 hours, 21 minutes, the 6th longest 9 inning game in history). Round 3 had Yankee veteran stopper Andy Pettitte against young hurler Justin Masterson. The game was basically decided in the 5th inning in a 2-1 game, when the flashy Ellsbury stole home, exciting the Fenway faithful. Like, HE STOLE HOME! You could just see the shock and embarrassment on the Yanks' faces. You could even see Pettitte trying to mutter words of damage control to Posada, but it was too late. A couple of pitches later, JD Drew, who was completely flustered by Pettitte in the first two at-bats, pulled a ground rule double to make the game 4-1. The sudden impact of those two events just put the game away, the series away, and possibly solidified Ellsbury's candidacy for mayor (for now). What does this sweep mean? One, that the Red Sox are more ready and have more depth than the Yanks, even in a war of attrition like in Game 2. Another thing is that the Red Sox can produce runs in more creative ways, which alleviates some of the worries concerning the offense. Lastly, we saw that the sky is the limit in terms of the Sox farm system. Not only did we see that in the Ellsbury steal, but the 2 scoreless innings from Michael Bowden, in which he struck out Jeter and hot Robbie Cano in a pressure packed Sox-Yanks contest. Hey, it's only April, but this homestand has injected in me, an excitement for this 2009 Red Sox team that I hadn't received yet, and Smoltz hasn't even pitched. Who says stealing isn't good?

This pic should replace the 'Hanging Sox' logo.
(cache.boston.com)

Another reason to dislike the Jonas Bros. (Hint, it's not Miley)
(cdn.buzznet.com)

Bonus: Papelbon Intro 4/25

Bonus: Sox - Yankees Montage 4/25

"Tessie" - Dropkick Murphys - Tessie EP, 2004

Mochaman's Fantasy Baseball Report
- Bubba Gump Shrimpz - 26-14-2 (1st, Steroid Freaks' Anonymous, 1.5 UP)
Good pitching + my offense is starting to get out of its collective slump. On the verge of a hot streak. Hoping for Josh Hamilton to step up this week.

- Mocha Sox - 10-18-2 (11th, Yahoo Public 38095, 7.5 GB)
Solid team with a few weak links including the closers (Lidge, Corpas, Valverde) all with ERA's over 5.50 and just running into hotter teams. With an offense that has Youk, Sizermore, and Loney, I still see good things.

- Firehawks - 12-18-0 (10th, Yahoo Public 162279, 8 GB)
Slow starts on both offense and pitching. Hamels, Beckett, and B.J Upton not playing to expectations so far. Could fall out of contention fast if all of these players keep slumping.