Ted's Army: The Voice of Red Sox fans

How we see it goin' down: Sox - Sox series

First Pitch: Monday 8:10, Tuesday 8:10, Wednesday 8:10

Arms: Monday: Jon Lester, LHP (6-0, 2.72 ERA)  vs. Dylan Axelrod, RHP (1-3, 4.27 ERA)

Tuesday: Felix Doubront, LHP (3-1, 6.03 ERA) vs. Jose Quintana, LHP (2-1, 3.97 ERA)  

Wednesday: Clay Buchholz, RHP (6-0, 1.78 ERA) vs. Chris Sale, LHP (5-2, 2.53 ERA)

                              Yard: U.S. Cellular Field   Watch it: NESN   Hear it:  WEEI

The Matchup

Record: 27-17 (2nd AL East)	Record: 19-23 (4th AL Central)
On road: 14-7	At home: 8-9
Streak: W5	Streak: L2
Leaders at the plate	Leaders at the plate
Average: Ortiz (.364)	Average: Rios (.301)
Homers: Middlebrooks (8)	Homers: Rios (10)
RBI: Napoli (35)	RBI: Rios (25)
Leaders on the mound	Leaders on the mound
Wins: Buchholz/Lester (6)	Wins: Peavy/Sale(5)
ERA: Buchholz (1.78) | Wilson (1.26)	ERA: Sale (2.53) | Crain (0.93)
K's: Buchholz (69)	K's: Sale (61)

Last time

In one of the few positive series from 2012, the Red Sox took 3-of-4 from the White Sox at home in mid-July. The Red Sox played two 4-game sets with the other Sox and won them both in 2012. Surprising, right? Even more surprising, the Red Sox out-scored the White Sox in the season series 45-20. I wish I could remember those GOOD moments from 2012.

This time

Laser Show: David Ortiz

Big Papi has thrown up some decent numbers against the White Sox in his career. His 26 homers are second most against any non-AL East club. In addition, Ortiz has 74 career ribbies and a .952 OPS against Chicago. Coming off of an 8-for-13 series against the Twins will provide pretty good momentum going into Chicago.

Pitch Around: Alex Rios

The team's Triple Crown leader and biggest threat by far. There is Adam Dunn, but he is having another all-or-nothing season. Alex Rios is the one guy on the White Sox that should be of concern to Sox pitching.

Don't Fall Behind: Chris Sale

Sale is a big strikeout guy and is coming off of two very good great starts. Chris Sale pitched a complete game, 1-hitter against the Angels last Sunday. Then, followed that up with another strong start against the Angels, going 7 2/3, giving up only 3 hits and strike out a dozen. Game 3 will be some pitching duel. 

How we see it goin' down

Our Sox are hot, the others are just okay. If the Sox can continue to swing the bats well, they will have a good shot at winning the series. They will need to scored a few more runs against Chicago, as Minnesota's pitching is inferior compared to the White Sox. Boston has the offensive advantage, and have a slight advantage in the pitching column. The Red Sox will come away with another series, though, I doubt a sweep will be likely.   

Your Morning Dump...where Lackey continues down the comeback trail

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

Lackey earned the win, his first since April 28, improving to 2-4, lowering his ERA from 4.05 to 3.31. 

“The record doesn’t indicate or reflect how well he’s pitched,” manager John Farrell said. “Now, some of that was self-induced two starts ago. But I think he’s shown better power, better quality of repertoire, than maybe the win-loss and ERA might otherwise indicate. I think most importantly, though, he continues to come out of every start feeling great, physically. His work in between has been consistent, and there’s no reason that type of performance today or in recent starts shouldn’t continue.”

Lackey went six innings, giving up one unearned run on one hit with no walks and five strikeouts, as he threw 50 of his 84 pitches for strikes. When rain delayed the game for three hours in the middle of the seventh inning, Lackey’s day was done. 

CSNNE | Lackey gives up one hit in win vs. Twins

Many have been surprised by Lackey's strong 2013, but faithful Ted's Army readers know most of our staff was bullish on him headed into the year. The more good starts Lackey strings together, the more it looks like his Red Sox career has progressed thusly:

In 2010 he was pressing at the beginning of the season, whether due to pressure from his contract, being out of shape, acclimating to a new team for the first time in eight years, bad luck, or some combination thereof. He settled down and had a really solid second half -- a 3.97 ERA and 1.22 WHIP over 102 innings, but only a 5-6 record over those games, allowing those of us who were disgusted by his first half to cling to our hatred of him.

In 2011, years of being a workhorse caught up with him, and he pitched hurt without admitting it (or without the Red Sox medical staff properly diagnosing it). He was awful all year, somehow pitching 160 innings of 6.41 ERA. The arm injury was finally discovered and treated, leading to the lost 2012.

Now it's 2013, he's had a year of rest and rehab, he's in good shape, and he's looking like the old Lackey.

It's fun to hate on guys -- especially big-money busts, and even more especially guys who appear to be unlikeable off the field -- but it really looks like we might have jumped the gun on Lackey. It might not be him not caring at all, it may just be years of workload combined with pressure and maybe a dusting of bad clubhouse created the monster we saw in 2011. 

But hey, what do I know. Maybe he's a jerk and is terrible, and this batch of starts is the anomaly. I hope not, cause this team is really benefiting from this John Lackey, a half game out of first and on an MLB-best five-game winning streak.

On page 2, another good sign for the Sox.

Your Morning Dump...Where Ortiz makes Minnesota cry a little more

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

Ortiz has spent the better part of his career making the Twins pay for their repression. He entered Saturday's game with a career .323 average, 13 homers and 37 RBIs in 52 games against Minnesota, and on Saturday night, he gave the Twins another painful reminder of what they could have had at Target Field had they kept Ortiz all these years, instead of letting him go after the 2002 season.

Ortiz hit two homers -- posting his 40th multihomer game and his first since June 25, 2012 -- and drove in six runs in the Red Sox's 12-5 romp over the Twins. It was Ortiz's 38th multihomer game with the Red Sox, passing Ted Williams for most in team history. Ortiz also reached base four times in five plate appearances. And in a park that's supposed to be tough for left-handed hitters, Ortiz continued to look right at home.

He now has homered five times in 10 career games at Target Field, driving in 16 runs in those games and batting .500 in the Twins' ballpark, which opened in 2010. At this point in his career, Ortiz has done so much in a Red Sox uniform that his time with the Twins will be little more than a footnote, and he has conducted such a thorough assault on his old team that he even admitted it doesn't give him much of a thrill these days.

"It used to be [special], but not anymore," he said. "I just go about my business. You guys have seen me. I try to hit the moon every time I go to hit anywhere. It's not new."

ESPN Boston: Ortiz continues to make Twins pay

Poor Minnesota. David Ortiz just comes in and does the equivalent of kicking every single fan in the balls...well, every male fan that is.

David Ortiz has silenced everyone who thought he would not make an impact after the achilles injury, and has provided a huge boost to the offense.

Who knows, he may have 2 more seasons left in the tank after this one.

Related: Globe: Ortiz reminds the Twins what they've been missing | CSNNE: Ortiz continues to torment Twins

The rest of the links:

Globe: Game 44: Red Sox at Twins | Looking at Farrell's decision to leave Dempster in | Herald: Planned day off for Jacoby Ellsbury in series finale vs. Twins | This race retraced | Money pit | Failure to finish | Clay can't say no to Mo | Chances upcoming for Johnny Gomes | WEEI: John Farrell explains decision to leave in Ryan Dempster | CSNNE: Ellsbury battling "inconsistencies

Recap: David Ortiz is awesome

(AP Photo/Jim Mone)

With Big Papi leading the way with 2 home runs and 6 RBI's, the Red Sox beat the Twins 12-5 tonight.

It wasn't all roses for Boston this evening, but there was much to be excited about (including getting to watch David Ortiz absolutely crushing baseballs).  The most notable stat from the game was that Boston scored 12 runs on 13 hits.  That's awesome (when you factor in that they also walked 8 times, it's slightly less awesome, but I'm trying to remain upbeat here).  Plus, 6 of those runs came against Scott Diamond.  The same Scott Diamond who made the Sox look foolish just 11 days ago holding them to 3 hits over 7 innings.  He had no such luck tonight. 

Good numbers from the bats tonight.  Nava went 2-4 with a HR and 3 RBIs.  Napoli walked 3 times.  Pedroia went 2-3 with 3 runs scored and an RBI.  Middlebrooks had 2 hits.  Lavarnway even chipped in with 2 RBIs.  Granted, he was 1-4, but 2 RBI's!

On the negative side, Ciriaco went 0-5 and Ellsbury managed just 1 hit and 1 run scored in a game where Boston put up 12.  That's not good.  Oh! And Ryan Dempster happened.

If I were to tell you that Ryan Dempster threw 127 pitches tonight, you would audibly gasp.  Then you would assume/hope he at least squeezed 7 innings out of all those pitches.  You would be wrong.  He lasted just 4 2/3 of an inning.  He gave up 8 hits.  He walked 6 batters.  Only struck out 2.  It wasn't pretty.  Between this, and the 7 hits and 6 runs he just gave up to Toronto, all those Dempster fears we had are starting to come true. 

But the bullpen bailed him out.  Mortensen, Breslow and Wilson finished the game, surrendering 4 hits, 2 walks, and 0 runs between them.  Breslow picked up the win.

Good night for the Red Sox, especially for anybody named David Ortiz.  He's awesome.

BOX SCORE

Your Morning Dump... Where Ellsbury's price tag gets smaller

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

Entering last night’s series opener here against the Twins, in which he stole a base and drove in the tying run with an infield single, Ellsbury was batting .249 — including a 6-for-46 funk over his last 11 games — with a .314 on-base percentage and only one home run.

And although Ellsbury was leading the AL with 13 stolen bases and 199 plate appearances, he also had produced 141 outs, most in the majors.

With numbers like that, a $100 million contract isn’t likely to follow.

“It’s just a matter of him staying focused,” said Victorino, who admittedly was unable to do so last season before signing a three-year, $39 million deal with the Red Sox. “And he’s really not doing that bad. To be where he’s at right now, he hasn’t put himself in a hole. His power numbers aren’t there, but I’ve seen it where he can be the kind of guy who hits 10 (homers) a month.

Ellsbury never would admit to being distracted by his impending free agency, and for what it’s worth, Victorino said he hasn’t sensed Ellsbury putting too much pressure on himself. Regardless, it isn’t the start the Red Sox expected for Ellsbury.

Herald - Jacoby Ellsbury struggling

Let me preface this by saying that baseball general managers are insane, but I think it's time to stop thinking of Ellsbury as a $100 million man.

That's not to say that Ellsbury isn't a very good-to-great player.  He is.  I just think that the 2011 season was his ceiling, not his average.  Those are the numbers he can put up when everything is coming up Jacoby.  If you're investing piles of cash in his performance thinking he'll produce at that level consistently, you will be extremely disappointed.

I also don't mean to say that where he's performing now should be expected.  He's on pace to have his worst season, statistically, by far.  He has not been playing great baseball, but there's no reason to think he won't turn it around.  Unless he lets the pressure of his impending free agency get to him, he should turn it around sometime soon. 

It will be interesting to see what this does to Jacoby's trade value, or the Sox willingness to ship him out.  If he's going to put up these types of numbers this season, there's no real reason to leave him in the lineup and not call JBJ back up later in the summer.  If his price tag is perceived to have lessened around the league, interest in his services will pickup in places other than New York or Chicago.  It could get interesting.

Of course, as I mentioned at the top of this post, baseball GMs are insane.  They were never the type to let a .660 OPS get in the way of $100 million contracts.

Rest of the links:

Herald - Concussion symptoms still dogging Ross | Dustin Pedroia drives Red Sox past Twins | Globe -Red Sox outlast Twins, 3-2, in 10 innings | Miller bonked on the head but keeps chucking | WEEI - Could this be the smartest Red Sox team since '07? | CSNNE - Wilson picks up first win on just two pitches | Buchholz puts Sox in position to pick up a win

How we see it goin' down: Red Sox - Twins series

First Pitch: Friday 8:10, Saturday 7:10, Sunday 2:10

Arms: Friday: Clay Buchholz, RHP (6-0, 1.69 ERA)  vs. Vance Worley, RHP (1-4, 7.15 ERA)

Saturday: Ryan Dempster, RHP (2-4, 3.75 ERA) vs. Scott Diamond, LHP (3-3, 4.08 ERA)  

Sunday: John Lackey, RHP (1-4, 4.05 ERA) vs. Pedro Hernandez, LHP (2-0, 5.79 ERA)

                              Yard: Target Field   Watch it: NESN   Hear it:  WEEI

The Matchup

Record: 24-17 (2nd AL East)	Record: 18-19 (4th AL Central)
On road: 11-7	At home: 9-10
Streak: W2	Streak: L2
Leaders at the plate	Leaders at the plate
Average: Pedroia (.340)	Average: Mauer (.349)
Homers: Middlebrooks/Napoli (7)	Homers: Willingham (5)
RBI: Napoli (34)	RBI: Morneau (28)
Leaders on the mound	Leaders on the mound
Wins: Buchholz/Lester (6)	Wins: Correia (4)
ERA: Buchholz (1.69) | Wilson (1.50)	ERA: Correia (3.35) | Pressly (1.53)
K's: Dempster (61)	K's: Correia (22)

Last time

The Twins shocked Boston when they came in from May 6-9, and took 3-of-4 from the Sox. After pulling out a victory in the 11th inning of game 1, the Sox were out-scored 26-12 in the final 3 games of the series. Joe Mauer killed the Sox, going 8-for-18 in the series, crossing home plate 7 times in the series.

Don't forget about Allen Webster's 1 2/3 innings of work, where he gave up 8 runs on 6 hits. Actually, forget about that.

This time

Laser Show: Dustin Pedroia

Pedey is on fire and there is no sign of slowing down just yet. He is a nifty 16 for his last 32 in the last 8 games...so, we carry the one, divide by 2 multiplied by the square root of 8743, then divided by pi, and we get a batting average of .500 in that time span. There is a great chance he will keep it up against a below average pitching staff.

Pitch Around: Joe Mauer

He played very well against the Sox last time and he can very well do it again. His .349 batting average is a pretty good indicator of what could be if not contained. 

Don't Fall Behind: Pedro Hernandez

Pedro Hernandez is in no way a pitcher to be afraid of, though, since he is opposing John Lackey, the Sox cannot give him anything to work with. Lackey needs as much run support as possible, so the Sox need to score some runs early against Hernandez...and everyone else in the series.

How we see it goin' down

The Sox are coming off of a great confidence-boosting win in Tampa and they want redemption for the last series against the Twins. The Red Sox have the pitching advantage in the series, but I have said that before. The Sox may not sweep, though 2 out of 3 sounds pretty good. We'll go with that.  

Your Morning Dump...where Middlebrooks turns a corner

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

With both the Bruins winning in OT and the Red Sox come-from-behind win, it was a fantastic night for Boston sports to say the least. Will Middlebrooks played hero for the Sox last night.

Will Middlebrooks’ slump finally died last night.

It happened at about 10:30 p.m., so you probably missed it, considering the Bruins were thundering away in overtime back home. But down to his last strike, and with the Red Sox trailing by two runs with two outs in the ninth inning, Middlebrooks lined a changeup from Tampa Bay closer Fernando Rodney into left-center field for a three-run double.

The short-term consequence: A come-from-behind 4-3 victory, the Red Sox’ first when trailing after eight innings, in the finale of a three-game series against an American League East rival.

But it meant so much more.

“I think it can have a carryover,” manager John Farrell said after the Sox won their second consecutive game and for only the fourth time in 13 games. “We’ve come through a pretty tough 10-day stretch. Even though we were going up against a guy (Rodney) who’s got tremendous stuff, there was no give-up, there was no letdown.”

And it was Middlebrooks, tortured for the past six weeks, who delivered the big hit.

Herald: Red Sox rally on Will Middlebrooks’ bat

It has been a struggle for Middlebrooks this season. Expected to serve as middle-of-the-order right-handed power bat to rake in RBI, the 24-year-old has failed to deliver on multiple key situations. However last night, Middlebrooks may have turned a corner.

Down to the Sox last strike and trailing 3-1 in the ninth inning, Middlebrooks stepped to the plate to face Rays' closer Fernando Rodney with the bases loaded. Given Middlebrooks's struggles thus far, this was big for not only himself, but for Red Sox nation's confidence in this kid...and boy did he deliver.

Middlebrooks hit an absolute laser in left-center field all the way to the wall, clearing the bases and pushing the Sox to a 4-3 lead, which ended up being the final score.

In his last six games, Middlebrooks is hitting .296 with a home run, five RBI and seven doubles. His batting average has also finally passed .200 (from .192 to .211 over that span). A clutch moment like last night against a divisional rivial could be exactly what both this offense and Middlebrooks himself needs.

Let's hope this momentum carries over into Minnesota, where the Sox are looking for some redemption.

Rest of the links- Globe: Perserverance pays off for Middlebrooks | Globe: Red Sox rally past Rays, 4-3, in ninth inning | Globe: Bailey expected back on Monday, will close | Globe: Mixed results for Doubront against Rays | Herald: Shane Victorino quite the catch | Herald: Red Sox steal drama trick from Bruins | CSNNE.com: Sox beat Rays with 9th-inning rally, 4-3 | CSNNE.com: Doubront, Farrell happy with progress on mound | CSNNE.com: Victorino making impact for Sox in field

Daniel Bard...sucks

(He only wishes he could be pitching in Pawtucket right now)

Sure, that headline is a bit harsh, but it is true. Daniel Bard, who I foolishly thought would be back to his old self, cannot find the plate. His numbers in Portland mimic those of a young pitcher that was called up to AA far too soon, not one of a former dominant major league set-up man. I mean, it is awful.

CSNNE

The disintegration of Daniel Bard continued Wednesday night in Portland, as the former Red Sox reliever -- throwing only 8 strikes in 30 pitches -- walked five and threw two wild pitches in one-plus innings for the Double-A Sea Dogs.

Since being sent back to Portland after a brief stint in Boston, Bard has walked 13 batters in 3 2/3 innings, covering five appearances.

“It was never going to be a quick fix with him, because of the residue of everything that has happened through a whole year of battle,” Red Sox pitching Juan Nieves told the Boston Herald's John Tomase after the Sox' 9-2 over Tampa Bay Wednesday night. “It’s going to take some time. I think the strength is there, the arm strength is there, it’s a matter of him buying into it and creating some consistency.

It kind of reminds you of Rick Ankiel's pitching days, doesn't it? Give Bard a chance to take some BP...it may be worth a shot. Anything else is worth a shot.

Bats awaken, Lester cruises Sox past Rays 9-2

Two aces faced off tonight in Jon Lester and David Price. However, it was everything but the anticipated rubber match. Much to the relief of the Red Sox offense, the 2012 Cy Young Award winner struggled mightily tonight.

The third inning was the exact jolt this Red Sox offense lusted. Stephen Drew led things off with a walk, followed by a Jacoby Ellsbury single to center. Then, the Sox offense just continued to chip away at Price by working the count, building his pitch count, and being selective at the plate. It all paid off as Pedroia, Ortiz, Napoli, and Gomes all drove in runs, giving the Sox a 4-0 lead. Price eventually left the game due to what seemed like an injury to his pitching arm, as he continued to flex his fingers. Price may be in a bit of trouble, given his horrid season and this injury.

The third inning continued and the Sox weren't done. They batted around the line-up with Drew coming to the plate again. And what does he do? Clears the bases with a grand slam of course. He's a Drew, what did you expect? 8-0 Sox, just like that. Remarkable inning.

Even Lester had a hiccup in the third inning...just not nearly as big as Price. He allowed two earned runs in the bottom of the inning. Lester's "slip" has to be chalked up to waiting for the Sox offense to stop pounding the Rays, right? The rest of the night, Lester was stronger as the game went on. On 107 pitches, he threw seven innings, allowing eight hits, two earned runs, no walks, and struck out five Rays.

Lester is still undefeated, earning his sixth win of the young season and is tied for second place for wins in the American League. Oh by the way, Clay Buchholz has six wins too. Pretty nice having two aces (so far) atop the rotation, right?

This game could very well launch the Sox out of their slumping ways. It also never hurts your team's confidence to pound a top ace for eight runs on the road.

Felix Doubront takes the mound for the Sox and will counter Rays starter Alex Cobb tomorrow. First pitch is at 7:10pm.

BOXSCORE

Your Morning Dump...where Napoli & Pedroia blame themselves

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump

“I didn’t make the play. I saw it up and overran it. … My first read was stay back and then I started running in and overran it,” said Napoli. “I’ve played here before (at first). It’s a white roof, but I saw the ball and like I said, I overran it.”

Pedroia countered that, given his experience playing indoors at Tropicana Field, he should have made the play.

“It was up there a while. I’ve played a lot of games at this field. I ran to it and took my eye off it and tried to find it again, and I couldn’t find it. It’s probably an easier play for me than Nap because a left-handed hitter and I had a better angle. I just took my eye off it. I know better than to do that. We lose it. It just drops,” said Pedroia. “I was kind of playing deep, and I just kind of ran up. I know better than to take my eye off it when you run here because then you can’t find it. He hasn’t played that many games in the field here, and I’ve played a lot. It’s my responsibility to help him out in those situations and catch the ball.”

Napoli, however, refused to accept the reprieve.

“That’s a long way for him to run. That’s a play I should’ve made and I didn’t,” said the first baseman. “Felt bad, because John’s out there, he got the guy to pop up, and if it’s a tie ball game, he probably would’ve pitched a little longer. Just overran the ball and didn’t make the play

WEEI: Napoli, Pedroia explain what went wrong

My God. This was just brutal to watch. With the Sox in free fall mode, this couldn't have happened at a worse time. 

Last night has been a summation of what the Sox have done this season: Coming out of the gate strong and then quietly falling back into the pack while the other teams start picking up the pace. The Yankees are suddenly in first place despite having their core group of guys on the disabled list and they just got Curtis Granderson back last night.

One can only hope that the Sox can get out of this awful stretch and show something that resembles the team we saw last month. Maybe they weren't as good of a team as they were showing us in April, but they're definitely not as bad as they have been thus far in May. 

Globe: Sox fall to Rays | Offensive woes continue | Ortiz says he has an oblique injury | Sox find new way to lose | Herald: Sox headed south | Lackey fades in stretch | Ortiz has sore oblique | Loney swings away with Tampa | CSNNE: It all unravels in the fourth | Fourth inning does Sox. Lackey in | Recovering Bailey may return to Sox on Friday | Ortiz: Sore oblique affecting swing a bit | Doubront works on mechanics; Lavarnway gets start | Victorino feels good after crash into Fenway wall | WEEI: Waiting for Ells | Ortiz dealing with tightness in oblique | Lackey, Sox offense fall flat in loss to Rays | Sox all in on Tazawa after bullpen shuffle