The slumbering Boston Red Sox are now wide awake.
Either that or they're faking it really well.
The Red Sox pounded out three straight wins over the Toronto Blue Jays behind excellent starting pitching, a barrage of hot hitting and a bullpen that has suddenly remembered how to not suck.
About time!
After a 7-6 loss highlighted by Bobby Jenks' disastrous four-run seventh inning the Red Sox stood at 2-10. Things were bad going on apocalyptic for this heavily hyped Boston bunch.
Well things sure turned around fast, didn't they? After Friday's debacle, the Red Sox outscored the Blue Jays 21-3 over the remaining three games of the series.
Boom, boom, boom. Three straight wins. It's the first winning streak of any kind for the 2011 Boston Red Sox. It's a good way to head out of town for a nine-game road trip, the first six of which are on the west coast (two in Oakland, four in Anaheim).
Lest the giddy Sox fans let all of this winning stuff get to their heads, let me recall a classic Earl Weaver quote:
"Momentum? Momentum is the next day's starting pitcher."
Well, momentum should probably just throw in the towel right now: today's starting pitcher is John Lackey.
"Big Game" John is looking to not be terrible tonight versus the A's. 2011 has started off downright hideously for Lackey. Thus far on the young season he's allowed 15 earned run in only 8.2 innings of work.
Lackey's scheduled start last Wednesday at home versus the Rays was rained out. Terry Francona then mercifully skipped Lackey turn in the rotation, so he hasn't pitched since his loss to the Yankees on April 8.
Tonight's a big spot for a supposedly big-time pitcher. After their ghastly beginnings, the Red Sox may finally have found their groove. Lackey thrived in these kind of situations during his time with the Angels. His Red Sox career thus far, however, has been less than inspiring.
His up-and-down 2010 was truly mediocre. Not the kind of stuff expected out of an ace. Not the kind of stuff expected out of a guy who signs a five-year $82.5 million deal.
But maybe it IS the kind of stuff you SHOULD expect out of a guy who was THIRTY-ONE when he signed his contract, Theo!
(Sorry, that was my obligatory anti-Lackey rant. I can't write a column about Lackey without at least one sentence ridiculing a signing by Epstein that may very well trump both J.D. Drew and Daisuke Matsuzaka for sheer stupidity.)
So, can John Lackey really be trusted to keep Boston's winning ways going out at Oakland?
Or will the Red Sox relapse and snap back to the losing ways they've displayed so finely for most of this month?
Going against everything my gut is telling me, I'm predicting a big game out of Lackey tonight. He's got motivation if he ever needs it, and, for what it's worth, he still has a reputation as a big-game pitcher. With Oakland, Lackey's back in familiar AL West territory. He's owned the A's over the years, going 17-5 in 31 starts with a 2.90 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP.
After Lackey's lackluster first season Boston, it's really hard not to expect the worst after his pair of poor starts to begin 2011. In his defense though, the two teams he had the pleasure of facing were the Rangers and the Yankees. He's getting an easier lineup this time around with the Athletics.
So John Lackey's going to keep Boston's momentum rolling tonight with a quality start and a win?
I can't help feeling I'm wrong. But I sure hope I'm right.
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