Boston Red Sox

Caption: Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon doesn’t look on as NYY 3B Alex Rodriguez rounds the bases after touching him for a game-tying two-run home run in the ninth inning. Things only got worse, as RF Marcus Thames would hit a game-winning two-run home run off Pappy moments later.

Tonight’s game in New York is a perfect example of why a closer needs to have a second pitch—and possess the intestinal fortitude to use it frequently enough to interrupt the timing of opposing hitters.

Baseball is a 162-game season, but not 40 games in David Ortiz appeared to be a lost cause. Despite hitting near the Mendoza Line, Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona remained confident in his aging slugger, not ready to bench the player that had carried the team for so many years.

When you have a team with this much talent, you have to wonder why they are struggling to stay above the .500 mark (the Red Sox currently have a record of 18-17) and, frankly, the only thing I have been able to come up with is that there is a pervasive sense of entitlement and unhappiness within the Red Sox clubhouse.

Championships are not won or lost in May, but if the Minnesota Twins plan on making a serious playoff run and contend for the World Series this year, the next seven games could tell us plenty.

The Twins embark on a three-city road trip with three games against the Yankees and two each at Toronto and Boston.

While there are Boston Red Sox fans who still appreciate David Ortiz for his greatness from 2003-2007, Red Sox Nation is beginning to get fed up with Ortiz's lack of production at the plate in recent years. Ortiz had a slow start last year, but he eventually got it going in the later half of the season and wound up with 28 HR and 99 RBI despite hitting a meager .238 throughout the year. 

Has Daisuke Matsuzaka finally turned the page?

Let’s be honest, when the Red Sox posted a $50+ million ransom in order to secure the rights just to negotiate with this guy, and then signed him to a six-year, $52 million contract, this was the type of outing we thought would be the rule, not the exception. We were told he had six or seven pitches he would throw for strikes, and that his control was impeccable. Yet, we have seldom seen that pitcher in a Red Sox uniform.

There is no rivalry in sports more storied than the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox—or so ESPN tells me, constantly—and with that type of long-term, history-laden rivalry comes some serious battle lines, right?

Literally hundreds of books have been written on the subject.

Alright, I'm finally ready to talk some baseball.

Not that I haven't been paying attention, quite the opposite actually. Because of my line of work, I find myself watching more baseball than ever before—on Mondays and Thursdays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, not to mention the nationally televised games on Saturday and Sunday.

I see more of Buster Olney and John Kruk then I do of my own family. I even hear Tim McCarver and Joe Morgan's voices in my dreams, which as you might guess, very quickly become nightmares.

Pedro Martinez was a better pitcher than Roger Clemens. The basic premise is that the pitcher's job is to prevent the opposition from scoring. Pedro did that better than Roger.

After being outscored 24-6 in the first two games against New York, the Boston offense took out their frustrations on A.J. Burnett in a 9-3 win Sunday night at Fenway Park. The Red Sox scored at least nine runs for the third time in seven games. The loss ended the Yankees five-game winning streak.