Projo Sox Blog

He's right. Do they have enough offense? With Josh Beckett being the picture of inconsistency (more below), is the starting pitching strong enough? And that bullpen! Can any of these questions -- still on the table after 4 1/2 months, which isn't a good sign -- be answered between now and September 28?

But in a season of uncertainty, there's one thing of which we're very certain.

Jon Lester.

He proved it again last night, working 7 1/3 strong innings -- his overall line slightly dented by the failures of "that bullpen!" once again -- as he stopped a two-game losing streak in pitching the Red Sox past the Orioles, 6-3. Joe McDonald notes Lester is 5-0 with a 1.01 ERA in the last six games he's started after a Boston loss and states there's "no doubt Lester has become an ace." Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe agrees, saying Lester "seems to be getting stronger" as the year progresses.

The Sox certainly need it, considering they're only 12-11 in games started by Beckett. The talk remains positive; pitching coach John Farrell told Massarotti that Beckett is "still our ace, no doubt about it . . . [we] still look at Josh as the leader of our pitching staff." A combination of little factors, says Farrell, have caused Beckett's problems, and he's confident they can be straightened out in time for the stretch and the postseason.

Confident? Yes. Certain? Well . . . it's been 4 1/2 months like this. How certain can they be?

Certainty is reserved for Jon Lester.

BAY WATCH: The offense last night was paced by Jason Bay, who hit two home runs (no surprise there), and Jason Varitek, who added a solo shot (what??). (projo.com) The Herald's Jeff Horrigan talked to Bay, who said he's back hitting the ball up the middle after getting a little "pull-happy" when he succumbed to that all-too-familiar siren song of the left-field wall.

UNDER CONTROL: Baseball Musings' David Pinto notes that while Jonathan Papelbon -- who picked up his 33rd save last night despite allowing two inherited runners to score (projostats) -- has nearly matched his innings total from 2007 already this year, he's issued less than half the number of walks than he did in '07.

MEDICAL REPORT: McDonald tells us about J.D. Drew's sore back and has injury updates on Mike Lowell, Julio Lugo and Tim Wakefield.

LOOKING FOR HELP The Red Sox are one of two teams -- the Phillies are the other -- interested in backup catcher David Ross, released recently by the Reds. (foxsports.com)

'CAUSE FOR CONCERN': The blog YFSF takes a detailed look at how the Red Sox offense functions against the league's top pitchers and concludes "they are performing worse than comparable lineups against the cream of the crop in the American League . . . and it seems that's another cause for concern as we head into the stretch." Pinto thinks the Sox "are a bit walk-dependent, and [since] the good starters average just two walks per start against Boston, they're taking away a key part of the team's offense."

THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS: Todd Jones -- who writes one of the best player blogs around -- says he's not condoning how Manny Ramirez maneuvered his way out of Boston, but understands why he did it. "[Teams] don't like players to have leverage," Jones writes, and says Ramirez forced the issue before the Red Sox began "a discreet campaign to turn the city against him. Don't believe me? Ask Nomar Garciaparra" (shown above with Ramirez during their Red Sox days). "With free agency looming, Nomar was offered a four-year deal by Boston -- but wanted more. Next thing you knew, Nomar was panned and then dealt to the Cubs."

UH . . . THANKS, BUT NO THANKS: Our friend Repoz can hold onto his copy of The Viscount V's "Cherry Red Vette"; Dugout Central's proposed trade of Albert Pujols and Russ Springer for Kevin Youkilis, Josh Beckett and Jonathan Papelbon is -- how shall we say -- stupid, idiotic, moronic, not likely to happen. (baseballthinkfactory.org)

WINNING WAYS: The Rays opened what ESPN -- were this college basketball season -- might refer to as "Challenge Week" with a 6-4 victory over the Angels (Tampa Tribune) in the first of six straight games against first-place teams. But talk reverberated yesterday of Joe Maddon's decision Sunday night to issue the sixth bases-loaded intentional walk in baseball history (St. Petersburg Times), and that talk was skewed toward it being proof of Maddon's brilliance. (St. Petersburg Times) And that, my friends, is a sign of the high regard with which he's now held within the game: When a controversial, against-the-book move is praised rather than panned, you know the manager in question has arrived. Maddon (above) discussed the reasons behind the walk with Yahoo! Sports' Gordon Edes.

SIGN OF STRENGTH: But Maddon's managerial skills go beyond his willingness to make a bold move now and then. (If that's all it took, Don Zimmer's occasional sending of the runners with the bases loaded would have him in Cooperstown.) He took his season-long battle with the immensely talented but frustratingly laissez-faire B.J. Upton (left, file photo) to another level last night when he basically challenged the rest of the Tampa Bay players to start leaning on Upton to play the game right (Tampa Tribune); it came after yet another Upton baserunning gaffe (St. Petersburg Times) -- though this was more showmanship than lack of hustle -- resulted in him being thrown out yet again on the bases. Cliff Floyd picked up the gauntlet, and it was one more example of Maddon's talents. A manager, any manager, needs the players to buy into his program. He's benched Upton, he's embarrassed him, all to no avail, and he surely realized that continuing down that path would create the impression he's picking on Upton and might even create a backlash of sympathy among Upton's friends in the clubhouse. So he turned it onto the players: I've done all I can with this guy. Now it's up to you. You can either accept his lah-dee-dah cruising at three-quarters speed, which may cost you the division title or even a postseason berth, or you can do something about it. If Floyd's comments are any indication, at least some of them have chosen to do something about it.

In the end, that's truly a manager's job: To create an atmosphere in which he gets the most out of everyone. Using the players as a disciplinary tool a) isolates Upton and makes it clear that such behavior isn't condoned, and b) empowers them and gives them a sense of ownership toward the team's success. It's a great move, and far more telling about how good a manager Joe Maddon is than his intentional walk of Josh Hamilton Sunday night,

THE STRONG, SILENT TYPE: One of the potential big dogs in that clubhouse is Carlos Pena, but his teammates say he leads by example, not words. (Tampa Tribune)

IT'S ON: Both the Tampa Tribune and the St. Petersburg Times say the Rays think they'll be able to play tonight despite Tropical Storm Fay. (weatherunderground.com)

WHAT??!? All of a sudden, and seemingly simultaneously, the realization has struck nationwide that the Yankees might not make the playoffs this year. Bill Chuck of Dugout Central, writing on Foxsports.com, and Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Passan have both pronounced the Yankees dead, and SI.com's John Rolfe revisits the last year in which the postseason was Yankeeless. Even Andy Pettitte admits he looks around sometimes and wonders how it seemed so easy from 1996 to 2003, when the Yanks seemed to go the World Series every year. (New York Daily News)

IS IT THE CAVALRY, OR F TROOP? Reinforcements are arriving for the Yanks in the persons of Hideki Matsui (New York Daily News) and -- wait for it -- Carl Pavano. (New York Post)

RIGHT ON, PETE: I invariably find myself agreeing with almost everything Peter Abraham writes. Today was yet another example, when he suggests the Yankees leave YMCA, Cotton Eye Joe and the everyday, seventh-inning playing of God Bless America behind when they move to the new stadium. (LoHud Yankees Blog) All were one-time novelties and delights -- and, in the case of God Bless America, a moving show of support to a grieving city -- that have lost their meaning over the years and become mindless and rote.

Red Sox, take heed. Sweet Caroline, Dirty Water and Tessie aren't far behind.

BACK TO L.A.: The Dodgers have reacquired Greg Maddux for the stretch run. (Los Angeles Times) ShysterBall's Craig Calcaterra remembers the last time the Dodgers picked up Maddux.

SCOREBOARD WATCHING: If the Phillies are doing it (Philadelphia Daily News), I guess it's time for us to begin daily links to games of importance:

In the National League, CC Sabathia improved to 8-0 as the Brewers beat the Astros (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) . . . The Mets missed a chance to have a perfect road trip as they lost at Pittsburgh (New York Post) . . . In the American League, the Twins lost to the A's (Minneapolis Star-Tribune) . . . and the White Sox beat the Mariners. (Chicago Sun-Times)

WHO ARE THESE GUYS? SI.com's John Donovan takes a look at the surprising White Sox, who moved into first place in the A.L. Central last night.

MOTIVATING FACTOR: FoxSports.com's Kevin Hench says fear -- fear that a championship may be decided on an unmistakably incorrect call -- is the reason MLB has gone against its grain and adapted instant replay with lightning-like quickness.

READY TO CASH IN: SI.com's Jon Heyman lists the seven players most likely to hit it big on the free-agent market this winter. No surprises anywhere; Ramirez, in case you're wondering, ranks third.

Q AND A WITH . . . The Mets' John Maine (SI.com) . . . who didn't pitch too well yesterday in Pittsburgh (New York Daily News)

HERE AND THERE: Ian Kinsler may be out for the rest of the season; the injury the Rangers thought was a sore left groin may actually be a sports hernia (Dallas Morning News) . . .The Rays have released their former closer, Al Reyes (St. Petersburg Times) . . . The Cardinals think it's possible for Chris Carpenter to be back in action next week at this time (St. Louis Post-Dispatch) . . . Joe Crede will resume his rehab assignment tonight (Chicago Tribune) . . . The Royals are reportedly about to sign Kip Wells (Kansas City Star) . . . The Braves want to keep Mark Kotsay. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

OLD FRIENDS: The Pirates have placed Doug Mientkiewicz on the bereavement list because his wife has undergone emergency heart surgery (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) . . . Justin Duchscherer had to leave last night's start against the Twins in the third inning because of hip pain (San Francisco Chronicle) . . . Brandon Moss is off crutches and the Pirates hope he'll be recovered from his ankle injury in time for the weekend. (Beaver County Times)

-- ART MARTONE