Pedroia's plunking could be just the spark

By Jorge Bannister
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Unknot those panties about at least one thing, Red Sox Nation. Dustin Pedroia getting hit on the shoulder in the eighth inning by Mark Melancon was not intentional. Trust me.

The New York Yankees were already up, 13-4. It doesn’t matter that Pedroia had hit a home run earlier in the game. The Yankees were up, 13-4. It doesn’t matter that Melancon threw a pitch over Pedroia’s head. The Yankees were up, 13-4. Note that Melancon struggled after Pedroia, too, throwing a 57 foot fastball to Victor Martinez. And, please, don’t forget, the Yankees were up, 13-4.

I can understand Pedroia’s reaction to the whole situation. He hit a homer earlier in the game and a pitch earlier in the at-bat flew high over his head. He then got plunked high on his left bicep.

I give major credit to Jorge Posada for walking Pedroia down the first-base line to keep him in check. The view inside the Red Sox dugout didn’t look too friendly when NESN scanned — especially the sour look on Kevin Youkilis’ face. (Or, maybe he was just upset he was pulled for a defensive replacement late in the game. He was, after all, playing left field.)

Let’s remember one thing, though. Say it with me, now, “The Yankees were up, 13-4.”

I was surrounded by Red Sox fans when the incident happened, and someone said, “It’ll be interesting to see who the Sox hit.”

Really? Because, home-plate umpire Derryl Cousins had warned both dugouts immediately after the hit by pitch.

No way was anyone going to get tossed in a 13-4 game and risk Terry Francona getting tossed and, subsequently, fined by Major League Baseball.

Obviously, Josh Beckett is going to handle things tonight. The only question is, who is he going to hit?

Derek Jeter seems logical. He’s the same spark-plug for that team that Pedroia is for the Red Sox. However, even with warnings handed out, A.J. Burnett would certainly hit someone in return. No way would he let someone hit the captain without retaliating, right?

This is when things will get interesting.

The Red Sox need a spark — badly.

Question is, can Chad Fairchild — tonight's home-plate umpire — justify throwing out Beckett after the inevitable hit by pitch? If so, Tito would certainly get tossed, too.

That would certainly be just the spark the Red Sox need.

Bats...and Buchholz...go boom in Baltimore

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

It was both an encouraging and disturbing day for the Boston Red Sox at Camden Yards yesterday. Where to begin? Well, let's start with the positive.

The Red Sox scored 18 runs. Yep. The offense that was simply dreadful coming out of the All-Star break appears to have awakened. 23 hits, seven walks and only three strikeouts. What's more, they did it with the starting corner outfielders sitting on the bench. Jason Bay had the day off and J.D. Drew appeared to aggravate his groin injury legging out a triple in the first inning. The Red Sox are now 7-3 since snapping their five-game losing streak, averaging seven runs per game over that span.

Victor Martinez looks like he's settled right in with the Red Sox lineup. The Sox' big trade deadline splash went 5-for-6 yesterday with a double four RBI. Since coming to Boston two days ago, he's had as many RBI as Jason Bay had the entire month of July. In the first two games, Terry Francona has batted him third, where he primarily hit in Cleveland with a .304/.380/.490 line.

Josh Reddick continues to fill in admirably. Since coming up from AAA Pawtuckett, where he had a .277/.352/.520 line, Reddick has been asked to start twice, once in the place of J.D. Drew and once in the place of Jason Bay. In those two days, the 22-year-old has accomplished a plethora of firsts. Saturday, he recorded his first major-league hit and first major league double. The double was one of two he had, making it also his first multi-hit game. Sunday, he belted his first major-league homer, netted his first major-league RBI and scored his first major-league run. It's a very small sample size, but in three games (two starts, one pinch-hit), Reddick has a .364/.417/818 line with two doubles, a homer, two RBI and two runs scored. This probably won't keep, as scouts on every level have said he needs to polish his approach at the plate, but it's nice to see.

And now the negative. There's only really one big one.

Clay Buchholz showed his appreciation to the Red Sox brass for holding onto him by allowing seven runs in four innings to the AL East's worst team. And it was even worse than it sounds. Buchholz gave up nine hits and four walks. It seems odd, given that he threw 46 of his 76 pitches (61 percent) for strikes, but that just means he had no command. When he missed, he missed bad and when he hit the zone, he put it right in the O's hitters' wheelhouse. The Orioles' problems have never revolved around the offense, which is fourth in the majors in batting average, but that more illustrates the point than acts as an excuse. When you're against a team that can hit, you need to be more conscious of where you're putting the ball. Buchholz didn't do that and as a result, saw his ERA rise from 3.52 to 6.05. He hasn't made it out of the sixth inning in any of his five starts, giving up 28 hits - including 9 in each of his last two starts - in 19.1 innings and has a putrid 14/11 K/BB ratio.

How much longer can the Smoltz experiment go on?

By Chris Maza
Fan Fanatic Sports Staff

Time to reach for the panic button? It's just one of those things that Red Sox fans are always going to do.

And after five starts and a 6.31 ERA, fans have to be wondering if John Smoltz has anything left in the tank. After all, this was the guy who was supposed to provide stability to the rotation, especially with the abysmal start to the season by Daisuke Matsuzaka. He's been the exact opposite of that. Everytime you think he's figured it out, he falters again.

His first start against Washington was predictably shaky as he allowed five runs in five innings, but he seemed to rebound against a pretty decent hitting Baltimore club. He only pitched four innings, thanks to a rain delay, but allowed just one run on three hits.

Then the hapless A's got to him for five runs on 10 hits in six innings. He followed that up with his first win in a Sox jersey, giving up just one run in five innings to the Royals and the see-saw continued.

Last night's loss was possibly the most disheartening. Smoltz had allowed just one run on four hits through the first five innings, then totally blew up in the sixth. Three homers and an RBI single did him in as all of a sudden, the veteran lost control of the strike zone and didn't make it out of the inning. What's worse, this was a game in which they needed a good start from Smoltz. With the loss, the Red Sox dropped into a tie with the New York Yankees for first in the AL East.

So what to do with Smoltz? This question may be easier to answer if Brad Penny was throwing well. But how long can the Red Sox go with two pitchers struggling at the back end of the rotation as a pennant race is heating up? Does Terry Francona keep throwing him out there every fifth day and hope Smoltz finds his way?

The answer for the time being is yes.

I know that fans are clammoring to see more of Clay Buchholz after his "strong" start against the Blue Jays. But the fact of the matter is this: Buchholz did not seem to be any better at commanding the strike zone than he was in 2008 when he imploded. That's the difference between AAA and the Majors. Sure, he was ok. But he threw over 100 pitches and still didn't get through the sixth inning.

There are two things that have to make you think that Smoltz will come around. First, he is making hitters miss. In 25.2 innings, Smoltz has struck out 22 batters, a ratio that is just about on par with his career numbers. And let's not forget those are pretty good. Second, he's not walking anybody. He's around the strike zone. In five starts, he's only issued four free passes and for the first five innings of last night's game, he commanded the strike zone. Then he lost it.

But let's not forget that before June 25, this guy hadn't thrown off a Major League mound since June 2, 2008. Were you expecting miracles right off the bat? Why not give him a chance to get his legs back?

It's hard to remain patient when the Yankees have closed the gap, but it is still July. There's still 2 1/2 months of baseball left to be played and the Red Sox are still in a pretty good position.