Up and Down

I’m not a huge fan of NASCAR by any stretch, but you have to admit this car with the Red Sox logo being used in the Nextel race in New Hampshire this weekend is pretty damn cool.

Boston came in to the month losing, and from what it looks like, they’ll go out on the same note. Even if they manage to win tonight and take the first two games from the Texas Rangers (the team with the worst record in the American League) they’ll finish the month of June with a 14-13 record. It’s a far cry from what the team was displaying in April (16-8) and May (20-8). At the pace the Sox were going at they would have finished 114-48. That is obviously a little unrealistic. Despite the fact that they will finish no less that .500 for the month, it’s more about Boston losing games that they should have won. I think they stranded about 472 runners this month. Also, losing a series to the Rockies? At home? Getting swept by Seattle? Thank God it was an interleague kind of month.

I was under the impression that June would have been another good month for the Sox. I’m not going to complain too much with the Yankees falling behind the Blue Jays by a half game. Boston still has a 10 and a half game lead in the East and looks like they’ll keep it that way until the All-Star Break. The Sox will finish out the weekend against the Rangers, play a series next week against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and finish the first half on the road against the Detroit Tigers.

Shuffling the batting order has been hit and miss. I’m a big subscriber to the idea of “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.” On the other hand, I do know that keeping things fresh keeps teams guessing. And a team that’s focused on preparing for you means they have less time to focus on themselves. I've always noticed over the years that teams that are winners are teams that have this belief. Of course, most desperate teams apply the same philosophy, so draw your own conclusions on that one.

Manny is on his way back to being over .300, Ortiz is consistent at .319 and 48 RBI’s, and Lowell and Youkillis are welcome surprises this season with their numbers. The pitching saw a lot of ups and downs this month, but that’s to be expected. Schilling was on his way to the DL at the end of May I thought, and I was right. Dice-K is still adjusting. I know he’s not a rookie, but he’s a rookie in the respect he’s never seen any hitter in the league, with the exception of last summer in the World Baseball Classic. Julian Tavarez is doing better than I expected this month and it looks like the early notion that Jon Lester was on his way back to claim the spot is on hold for the time being. Tavarez looks like he may hold it down until he takes a dive. Jonathan Papelbon picked up his 19^th save last night, and still looks pretty sharp.

Speaking of, the bullpen looked as hot as ever last night with Hideki Okajima pitching another perfect 8^th, and Papelbon facing down Michael Young striking him out to get the save. If they can keep it up, all Boston needs to do is get into the 7^th and 8^th innings with a lead, and the pen will take care of the rest.

Sammy Sosa went 0-4 for the Rangers last night, striking out three times and leaving four on base. If Sammy doesn’t get one hit the rest of the series, I’ll be a very happy camper this weekend. Fuck Sammy.