G14: Red Sox 1, Rays 0

Red Sox - 001 000 000 - 1  8  0
Rays    - 000 000 000 - 0  4  1

Wade Miley (5.2-3-0-4-3, 88) rebounded from a disastrous outing and stifled the Rays, while Ryan Hanigan scored an unearned run, thanks to an aggressive slide into second base by Mookie Betts.

With one out in the third, Ryan Hanigan reached first when his hit glanced off pitcher Chris Archer's glove. The ball bounced out towards second base, but Ryan Brett's throw pulled first baseman Logan Forsythe off the bag. After Betts walked, Dustin Pedroia grounded back to the mound. Archer (5.2-7-1-1-9, 106) whirled and threw to Brett at second. Betts went in hard, and Brett - making his first career start - made an off-balance throw to first that sailed past the bag. So, instead of an inning-ending double play, Hanigan trotted home with what turned out to be the night's only run. (Archer actually lowered his ERA from 1.37 to 1.07.)

Betts: "Just breaking up a double play. Talking to some of the guys, the little things we talk about, ways to affect the game in some way. That was my opportunity, nothing dirty, just going in to try and break up a double play."

Miley did not allow a Tampa Bay runner past first base in the first five innings. (He picked Brett off first in the bottom of the third.) In the sixth, however, he exited the game with the bases loaded. With one out, Rays leadoff hitter Brandon Guyer lined a single to left. Stephen Souza Jr. hit a ground ball to third. Pablo Sandoval threw to Pedroia at second and the runner was called out on a very close play. Rays manager Kevin Cash challenged the call, but the original call was upheld. Miley then walked Forsythe and Evan Longoria, loading the bases. Alexi Ogando came in to face Desmond Jennings, who grounded a 1-2 pitch into a 6-4 fielder's choice.

That was Tampa Bay's only reason chance at a rally. The Rays managed only one baserunner over the last three innings. After Ogando set down the first two batters in the seventh, Robbie Ross got the third out. Junichi Tazawa needed only six pitches to retire the side in order in the eighth.

Forsythe singled off Koji Uehara to begin the ninth, but Longoria bounced into a 5-4-3 double play and Jennings grounded to third. Sandoval's throw was low, but Daniel Nava, playing first, made an excellent catch of the short-hop throw to end the game.

Brock Holt made two tremendous plays at shortstop, ranging far to his left to snare Rene Rivera's grounder to end the second and diving to his right and then throwing out Asdrubal Cabrera to end the seventh. ... Hanley Ramirez and Hanigan both singled twice, while Betts singled and walked. ... Boston is now 7-0 when they score first.

Wade Miley / Chris Archer

Betts, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, LF
Sandoval, 3B
Nava, 1B
Victorino, RF
Holt, SS
Hanigan, C

With its rain-shortened victory over Baltimore on Monday, the Red Sox upped their record to 8-5, good for first place in the AL East. The Rays - now managed by old friend Kevin Cash - are 6-7.

In three starts this season, Archer has a 1.37 ERA. He has allowed no earned runs in seven innings in each of his last two starts - against the Orioles and Blue Jays. In those fourteen innings, he gave up only three hits. ... By contrast, Miley's two-start ERA in 10.57. Facing the Nationals in his last outing, he recorded only seven outs, surrendering seven runs.

Also: Orioles announcer Jim Palmer is an attention-seeking dick.

And: "Reds manager goes on tirade about media, uses 'F' word 77 times".

Batting Around: 9 Or 10 Batters?

When has a team "batted around"? Is it when nine players have batted? Or does a 10th batter have to come to the plate?

I've always thought the answer is obvious: Nine. But, judging from this SoSH discussion, most people believe it is 10.

For what it's worth, the Red Sox define "batting around" as nine. In their Game Notes, distributed to members of the media, they list "Innings Batted Around" on the first page. In the Notes of April 20, it says the team has batted around twice this season, with the most recent being the 3rd inning on April 13. Boston sent nine men to the plate in that inning.

On the other hand (if I remember correctly (and I probably do, because it annoys me)), NESN's Don Orsillo always waits until the 10th batter is at the plate before noting that the team has batted around.

G13: Red Sox 7, Orioles 1 (7, rain)

Orioles - 010 000 0 - 1  4  3
Red Sox - 104 002 x - 7  5  0

A horribly inclement Patriots Day afternoon at Fenway - windy, cold, rainy - was made slightly more comfortable by a number of gifts by the Orioles' defense that gave the Red Sox a rain-shortened victory. Although Boston sent 10 men to the plate in the third inning, the Red Sox had only one hit. Wei-Yin Chen walked four batters, and he and Manny Machado committed fielding errors.

Before that, though, the two teams - who began the day tied for first place at 7-5 - traded runs. Mookie Betts singled to right, immediately stole second, and took third on catcher Ryan Lavarnway's throwing error. David Ortiz brought Betts home with a sacrifice fly to right. In the top of the second, Travis Snider tripled on a hard line drive that skipped past Betts and rolled to the garage door in deep center. Two batters later, Ryan Flaherty's double off the Wall tied the game at 1-1.

Xander Bogaerts walked to start the pivotal third. Ryan Hanigan lined a single down the right field line and Bogaerts took third. Betts hit a routine chopper back to the mound. As Chen (4.1-3-5-5-3, 95) gloved it, he looked towards Bogaerts at third, and dropped the ball. Chen then picked it up and dropped it again, finally throwing very late to first base. Bogaerts scored and Boston had runners at first and second. Dustin Pedroia was out on a sacrifice bunt to first baseman Chris Davis, but FY may have been trying for a hit. Ortiz fouled out to third for the second out. Allen Craig, who took over for Hanley Ramirez in the top half of the inning (Ramirez left because of "illness"), walked, loading the bases. Chen then walked Mike Napoli, forcing in a run. Shane Victorino followed with a hot grounder that Machado tried to backhand. The ball caromed off his glove and rolled towards the left field corner. Two runs scored. Chen walked Brock Holt before Bogaerts popped out to third.

Boston added two runs in the sixth against Jason Garcia. With one out Hanigan was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game. He scored from first as third base coach Brian Butterfield read the play perfectly, and Hanigan slid in safely ahead of the tag. Garcia fell behind Ortiz 2-0 and put him on intentionally. Craig gummed up that strategy by lining a single to left, scoring FY.

Justin Masterson was very good (5-3-1-3-6, 93), with a biting slider, although his only perfect inning was the fourth. Junichi Tazawa pitched the sixth and two batters in the seventh, before Robbie Ross came in to get an inning-ending double play.

As the Red Sox prepared to bat in the seventh inning, and after three innings of steady rain, the umpires called the tarp out. (The rain was falling quite hard through the sixth and seventh; perhaps Red Sox management wanted the game to continue so they could present GBA. Once that was done ... tarp time!)

According to NESN, it was 44 degrees when the first pitch was thrown, with an 18 mph wind blowing in from right.

Wei-Yin Chen / Justin Masterson

Betts, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, LF
Napoli, 1B
Victorino, RF
Holt, 3B
Bogaerts, SS
Hanigan, C

Kyle Brasseur, ESPN:

Through their first 12 games of the season, Red Sox starters have the worst ERA in the league with a combined mark of 6.24. Only Joe Kelly -- the team's No. 5 starter -- has an ERA under six.

Ryan Hannable, WEEI:

Of the 12 games the Red Sox have played so far this season, Red Sox starters have recorded an out in the seventh inning just three times, gone less than five innings three times, and have allowed more than seven runs four times.

Gordon Edes, ESPN:

Write off Boston's Five Guys? Hold the bile, pass the patience, please

G12: Orioles 8, Red Sox 3

Orioles - 210 023 000 - 8 15  1
Red Sox - 300 000 000 - 3  6  0

Hanley Ramirez (2-for-4) hit a three-run homer. ... Pablo Sandoval doubled and walked. ... Porcello: 5-12-8-3-6, 102.

For Baltimore, Adam Jones went 4-for-5, with a double, home run, and five RBI.

Miguel Gonzalez / Rick Porcello

Holt, 2B
Betts, CF
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, LF
Napoli, 1B
Sandoval, 3B
Victorino, RF
Bogaerts, SS
Leon, C

G11: Orioles 4, Red Sox 1

Orioles - 000 200 002 - 4 13  1
Red Sox - 000 001 000 - 1  7  0

David Ortiz reached base four times, on two singles, a double, and a walk. He also scored Boston's only run.

Brock Holt also had three hits.

Buchholz: 6-11-2-1-7, 102.

Chris Tillman / Clay Buchholz

Holt, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, LF
Sandoval, 3B
Napoli, 1B
Nava, RF
Bogaerts, SS
Hanigan, C

G10: Red Sox 3, Orioles 2

Orioles - 000 110 000 - 2  5  0
Red Sox - 000 020 001 - 3  4  1

Xander Bogaerts's one-out single in the bottom of the ninth scored Mike Napoli with the winning run.

Brian Matusz walked Napoli to start the ninth. Daniel Nava laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Napoli to second. Tommy Hunter came in to pitch. Bogaerts looked at a strike before delivering the game-winning hit, a blooper that fell into shallow right field.

Ryan Hanigan hit a two-run homer (with Bogaerts aboard) in the fifth.

The Red Sox are now 7-3.

Ubaldo Jimenez / Joe Kelly

Betts, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, LF
Sandoval, 3B
Napoli, 1B
Victorino, RF
Bogaerts, SS
Hanigan, C

           W   L   PCT   GB   RS   RA   DIF
Red Sox    6   3  .667  ---   56   50   + 6
Rays       6   4  .600  0.5   44   44     0
Orioles    5   4  .556  1.0   47   46   + 1
Blue Jays  5   5  .500  1.5   55   43   +12
Yankees    3   6  .333  3.0   45   49   - 4

G9: Nationals 10, Red Sox 5

Nationals - 206 000 200 - 10 12  1
Red Sox   - 020 021 000 -  5  7  1

Miley: 2.1-5-7-3-1, 75. ... What more do you need to know?

Hanley Ramirez hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning. ... Mike Napoli tripled and scored twice. ... Dustin Pedroia had two hits, including a double.

Gio Gonzalez / Wade Miley

Betts, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Ramirez, LF
Craig, 1B
Napoli, DH
Victorino, RF
Bogaerts, SS
Holt, 3B
Leon, C

NESN: Apostrophe Abuse

Someone - or, more likely, a group of people - at NESN has no clue about how to use "its" and "it's".

G8: Red Sox 8, Nationals 7

Nationals - 010 060 000 - 7 10  3
Red Sox   - 022 100 30x - 8 11  1

After blowing a 5-1 lead, the Red Sox rallied to win - with some serious assistance from the Nationals - by scoring three times in the seventh inning without the benefit of a hit.

Koji Uehara made his season debut, striking out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth.

Washington committed three errors in the seventh, including two errors on one play by pitcher Blake Treinen. The rally began when shortstop Ian Desmond botched Hanley Ramirez's ground ball and was awarded his sixth error of the young season. Pitcher Craig Stammen hit Shave Victorino in the left shoulder. After Mike Napoli flied to right, Nats manager Matt Williams brought in Treinen.

Before facing pinch-hitter Allen Craig, Treinen made a demonstrative show of faith, removing his cap, placing it over his heart and pointing theatrically to the heavens. His God must have had His back turned at that moment, because Treinen's outing was an utter nightmare. He hit Craig with his first pitch, loading the bases. Then Ryan Hanigan tapped his second pitch to the third base side of the mound. Treinen came in and bobbled the easy grounder, then threw it wildly past the plate. He was charged with two errors on the play - and two Boston runs scored, tying the game at 7-7.

On Treinen's third pitch, Brock Holt grounded to shortstop - and Desmond screwed up yet again. He did not throw home, though he likely had a play on Craig. He looked to third base (?) and chose to throw to first. He got the out, but the go-ahead run scored for Boston.

It was the first time since August 25, 2001 that the Red Sox scored as many as three runs in an inning without the benefit of a hit. ... According to Elias, Boston is the first team in the expansion era (since 1961) to score three or more runs in an inning with no hits and no walks.

Edward Mujica, who pitched a perfect seventh, recorded the first out in the eighth. Junichi Tazawa came in and allowed a two-out single to Yunel Escobar, but struck out Jayson Werth to end the inning. In the ninth, Uehara fanned Bryce Harper for the first out. Ryan Zimmerman crushed a long foul ball that sailed to the left of the Fisk Pole - Williams challenged the call, but it was upheld - before lining to Craig in left. Uehara struck out Clint Robinson to end the game.

Boston battered Strasburg (5.1-10-5-0-5, 109) in the early innings. With Napoli and Holt on base in the second, Mookie Betts ripped a double into the left-field corner and Boston led 2-0. Daniel Nava and Hanigan hit back-to-back run-scoring singles in the third and Dustin Pedroia hit his third home run of the season in the fourth.

Masterson (4.2-8-7-3-4, 93) allowed five of the Nationals' first nine batters to reach base. He then settled down a bit, retiring six in a row into the fourth inning, before giving up two two-out singles. The wheels fell completely off in the fifth. With one out, he hit Werth on a 3-0 pitch. Harper singled to left, Zimmerman walked, and Robinson knocked in a run with a single. Wilson Ramos's groundout scored another run and Desmond's hard single to right brought home two more, tying the score at 5-5. After Masterson plunked Danny Espinosa, he was pulled. Alexi Ogando allowed a two-run double to Michael Taylor, giving Washington a 7-5 lead.

Boston went down in order in the fifth and stranded two men in the sixth before Washington gift-wrapped a three-run rally that helped the Red Sox raise their record to 6-2.

Pablo Sandoval fouled a ball of his left foot in the third inning and left the game in the sixth. ... Pedroia singled twice, homered, and walked. ... Holt had two hits; he is now 7-for-11 this year. ... Napoli and Ramirez scored two runs each.

Stephen Strasburg / Justin Masterson

Betts, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, LF
Sandoval, 3B
Napoli, 1B
Nava, RF
Hanigan, C
Holt, SS

G7: Red Sox 9, Nationals 4

Nationals - 000 020 110 - 4  4  1
Red Sox   - 134 001 00x - 9 13  2

Mookie Betts owned the first inning. First, he robbed Bryce Harper of a two-run homer when he sprinted to deep right-center and reached over the short wall in front of the Red Sox bullpen, pulling the ball back.

Then, after walking to begin the home half, he stole two bases on one pitch. David Ortiz was batting and the infield had been shifted over to the right side. Betts slid into second safely, popped up and immediately raced to third, making it safely. Washington challenged the safe calls, but they stood. Then Ortiz singled over Jayson Werth's head in left to bring Betts home.

I guess Betts owned the second inning, as well, since his three-run homer into the Monster Seats gave Boston a 4-0 lead. With one out, Xander Bogaerts reached on an infield error and Sandy Leon singled, setting the table for the Magnificent Mookie. (MookieVision)

The Red Sox batted around in the third. Zimmermann (2.1-9-8-1-0, 70) hit both Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval. Neither batter was amused. Mike Napoli lifted a fly ball to the track in left-center, but center fielder Michael Taylor lost track of the ball and it dropped cleanly to the dirt. The runners could only advance one base, so the sacks were loaded. Shane Victorino popped to second, but Bogaerts squibbed a single into right field, and one run scored. Then Leon hit a routine fly ball to right-center than fell between Taylor and Harper for an RBI-single. Betts followed with a ground ball that shortstop Ian Desmond couldn't handle. Yet another run scored, and Boston led 7-0. That was the end of the afternoon for Zimmermann, who, while he certainly did not pitch well, must have been pissed off at his fielders (giving the Red Sox three additional outs). Facing Tanner Roark, Dustin Pedroia hit a sac fly for the inning's final run.

Boston's remaining run came on an Ortiz dong in the sixth, which a young kid made a nice catch on in the left-center Monster Seats. ... Leon finished the day with three hits; Betts, Ortiz, Sandoval, and Bogaerts each had two. ... Betts and Bogaerts scored two runs apiece. ... Mike Napoli had a great game at first base, digging several low throws out of the dirt.

Porcello (8-4-3-1-6, 112) allowed only one hit through the first four innings. He hit a rough patch in the fifth, throwing 30 pitches and giving up a home run to Ryan Zimmerman and a triple to Clint Robinson (who later scored). Porcello rebounded in the sixth and gave up a couple of meaningless runs in the later innings. ... Junichi Tazawa pitched the ninth, walking one and striking out three.

Jordan Zimmermann / Rick Porcello

Betts, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, LF
Sandoval, 3B
Napoli, 1B
Victorino, RF
Bogaerts, SS
Leon, C

Red Sox home opener!

Koji Uehara is expected to be activated from the disabled list today.

G6: Yankees 14, Red Sox 4

Red Sox - 000 310 000 -  4  8  1
Yankees - 700 303 01x - 14 16  1

As good as Buchholz was in his first start, that's how bad he was in his second. By the time Buchholz (3.1-9-10-2-3, 79) recorded his second out, the Yankees led by seven runs.

Buchholz walked Jacoby Ellsbury, who raced to third when Brett Gardner squibbed a single through the infield into left. Carlos Beltran grounded into a fielder's choice, and Ellsbury scored. Mark Teixeira walked and Brian McCann reached on a fielding error by first baseman Mike Napoli. With the bases loaded, Alex Rodriguez slammed a double to the gap in left-center, bringing in three runs. Chase Headley crushed a two-run home run to right and Stephen Drew followed with a solo shot to right-center.

Although Buchholz retired the next seven batters, he did not make it out of the fourth inning. Boston had cut the lead to 7-3 with a rally in the top half, with Xander Bogaerts's two-run double being the big blow. Buchholz gave those runs right back, allowing singles to the first four New York batters - Didi Gregorius, Ellsbury, Gardner, and Beltran. A sac fly by Teixeira made it 10-3, and ended Clay's night.

Hanley Ramirez homered in the fifth. ... Bogaerts and Pablo Sandoval had two hits each. ... Napoli singled (snapping an 0-for-18 start to the season) and walked twice.

Clay Buchholz / Masahiro Tanaka

Betts, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, LF
Sandoval, 3B
Napoli, 1B
Victorino, RF
Bogaerts, SS
Hanigan, C

Boston (4-1) goes for a three-game sweep of the Yankees as Buchholz hopes to continue the success he had against the Phillies (seven shutout innings) on Opening Day. "Mechanically, I'm in a lot better spot," Buchholz said. "I feel like I'm within my delivery with every pitch. ... I feel like I know my mechanics better than I did at any point last year."

Tanaka lasted only four innings in his first start, throwing 82 pitches and allowing five runs. He avoided throwing his fastball, causing some concerns about the slightly torn ligament in his right elbow.

Schadenfreude 181 (A Continuing Series)

Ace of Baseball Stats tweets:

Yankees are hitting .193 through 5 games ... their worst BA thru 5 since 1968 (.176).

The Yankees have played 327 outs this season. They have held a lead for 5 of those outs.

The Yankees have not led a full inning from start to finish this season.

George A. King III, Post:

If you believe early patterns shape the long-term picture, the opening five-game stretch of the Yankees' season serves as an example this could get ugly.

Essentially the same bats that got hitting coach Kevin Long fired with a year on a contract remained silent in a ballpark built for hitters until the game was out of reach ...

Since the Yankees didn't hit, pitch, catch or throw the ball with any degree of success, it wasn't hard to ask why the hosts were embarrassed by their blood rivals ... after losing in 19 innings Friday night.

Anthony McCarron, Daily News:

Looking every bit like an exhausted team that had played a marathon the night before, the Yankees got beaten again by Boston Saturday afternoon, a mostly-lifeless 8-4 loss at the Stadium that dropped them to 1-4. ...

The Yankees, who were supposed to be improved defensively, suffered errors by Alex Rodriguez – who was making his debut at first base – John Ryan Murphy and Chase Headley. ...

What might be worse is their anemic offense. No one in the Yankee lineup could do much against a pitcher who was previously known in Yankeeland for his wife's hilarious tweet last season. ...

Thanks to the way they played Saturday afternoon, the Yanks might have another night's sleep wrecked, too.

Joel Sherman, Post:

These first five games for the Yankees could have gone worse. Pinstripes could have been outlawed or Monument Park could have become contaminated or all fans could have received David Ortiz bobblehead dolls.

But aside from that, this has been just about as miserable a five games as could be imagined.

The Yankees have played 55 innings and have led in one.

To date, they can't hit, field or run the bases. Their starting pitching has been, at best, ordinary and their relief has not been as good as advertised. ...

The pinnacle of their season, to date, was being plucky on Friday night to keep coming back late before losing 6-5 to Boston in 19 innings. The Yankees actually played highlights of their big hits before Saturday's game. This is what they are reduced to these days — bragging about positive achievements in losses.

Talk about stuff that would make George Steinbrenner vomit.

Bill Madden, Daily News:

They sure couldn't be much worse — with Masahiro Tanaka's second start Sunday night now looming larger than ever for what is ominously looking like one of the worst Yankee teams in decades.

And from earlier in the week(end):

Ken Davidoff, Post:

OK, so just take Thursday, in its entirety. Bottle it, replicate it and serve it over the next six months.

Voila! You have perfected the recipe for the 2015 Yankees' nightmare: Bad, boring and overshadowed by their long-suffering neighbors to the southeast. ...

The Yankees began this season as a club that looked decidedly mediocre, and the tiny sample size of one series hasn't altered that view whatsoever. ...

And as it happens, 2015 is the Mets' long-planned target for rising from a six-year slumber and reaffirming relevance. ...

New York hasn't been a Mets town in a very long time. The Yankees, through their own timeline, might wind up as an accomplice in this changing of the guard. Especially if Thursday night proves to be an undesired template.

Ken Davidoff, Post:

As they try to avoid a third straight season of missing the playoffs, Joe Girardi's bunch played the Yankees' longest home game ever Friday night into Saturday morning. That they lost the contest, 6-5 in 19 innings to the Red Sox in the inaugural rivalry game of the year, served as yet another negative indicator on a squad filled with them. ...

[T]he Yankees continued a young trend by going 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position, and that ultimately cost them, as did the recurring trend of base running ineptitude. Gardner got caught stealing second base in the eighth, and he got picked off first base in the 17th. ...

The Yankees displayed plenty of fight on this night into morning, and maybe this game can register positively down the line. More likely, though, it will go down as the sort of game that characterizes their season: Just not good enough, on the road to the wrong kind of history.

G5: Red Sox 8, Yankees 4

Red Sox - 010 100 330 - 8  9  0
Yankees - 010 000 030 - 4  5  3

The Red Sox bounced back from their 19-inning Friday night marathon, while the Yankee bats never got a wake-up call against Joe Kelly (7-2-1-2-8, 93).

Kelly allowed only three baserunners - all of them in the second inning - and gave the bullpen a much-needed day off. Activated from the disabled list before the game, Kelly retired the final 17 batters he faced.

Brock Holt went 4-for-5 with three RBI. Dustin Pedroia and Daniel Nava each drove in two runs. Xander Bogaerts and Ryan Hanigan each scored twice.

Mike Napoli, leading off the second inning, reached on a fielding error by Alex Rodriguez, who was making his first career start at first base. Two groundouts moved the Bearded One to third, and he scored on Nava's double to left. Brett Gardner drifted back on the ball, but he stumbled and fell down.

The Yankees, as they did twice in extra innings last night, answered the Red Sox with a run of their own. Slappy lined a single to left and, with one out, Kelly walked both Garrett Jones and John Ryan Murphy. Didi Gregorius lofted a fly ball down the left field line. Nava caught it and Rodriguez came home to tie the game at 1-1. Kelly then struck out Gregorio Petit to end the rally.

With two outs in the fourth, Pablo Sandoval singled, Allen Craig walked, and Nava rapped an RBI single to left-center. Boston led 2-1.

Boston put the game away in the seventh and eighth. Xander Bogaerts was on first with one out when he stole second and took third on Murphy's throwing error. Ryan Hanigan grounded to third, but even with the New York infield in, Bogaerts still beat Chase Headley's wide throw home. Brock Holt singled and Dustin Pedroia crushed a two-run double to dead center, the ball flying well over Young's head to the wall.

In the eighth, it looked like the Red Sox had been retired in order. But manager John Farrell challenged the third out call on Nava's grounder and the "out" call was changed, the umpires saying that Rodriguez had pulled his foot off the bag. Given a second chance, Boston took full advantage. Bogaerts lined the ball off the pitcher's foot for a hit, and Hanigan walked to load the bases. Holt then hit a bases-clearing double that should have been an E9. Jones may have been battling the sun, but he was under the ball when it clanked off the side of his glove. (Even with the generous home team scoring decisions on Nava's second-inning double and this play, the Yankees committed three errors.)

Alexi Ogando allowed a three-run homer to Chris Young before Anthony Varvaro and Robbie Ross finished up. Boston is now 4-1, while New York dropped to 1-4.

Joe Kelly / Adam Warren

Holt, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Napoli, 1B
Sandoval, 3B
Craig, RF
Nava, LF
Bogaerts, SS
Hanigan, C

G4: Red Sox 6, Yankees 5 (19)

Red Sox - 100 002 000 000 000 101 1 - 6 18  1
Yankees - 000 002 001 000 000 101 0 - 5 14  1

It was a game the Red Sox had seemingly won three times.

They were one out away from a 3-2 victory when Chase Headley homered off Edward Mujica in the bottom of the ninth. Then Boston scored runs in the sixteenth and eighteenth innings, only to see the Yankees tie things up both times.

Finally, in the longest game (by time) in Red Sox history and the longest home game (by time) ever played by the Yankees (6:49), Boston held off the Yankees in the bottom of the nineteenth - though it took a spectacular, game-ending double play to do so - and posted a well-earned victory. The game ended at 2:13 a.m.

Xander Bogaerts (4-for-9) singled with one out in the nineteenth. He stole second base before Ryan Hanigan walked. Both runners moved up on a passed ball by backup catcher John Ryan Murphy. Mookie Betts lofted a fly ball to center and Bogaerts easily beat Jacoby Ellsbury's weak toss back to the infield.

In the home half, the Yankees tried to rally for the fourth time. Ellsbury singled, but Brett Gardner flied to left and Garrett Jones grounded into a double play. Bogaerts took the ball behind second and flipped it to Dustin Pedroia, who made an amazing pivot and fired to first in time to get Jones.

The game was the second-longest (by innings) between the two longtime rivals. New York won 4-3 in 20 innings in the second game of a doubleheader on August 29, 1967 at the original Yankee Stadium.

The Red Sox had been one out away from a win back in the ninth inning. Leading 3-2, Mujica easily retired the first two New York batters. But then he grooved a 2-1 fastball to Headley, who crushed it into the second deck in right field, tying the game.

Then it seemed as though David Ortiz had picked an ideal time to hit his first home run of the season. With one out in the top of the sixteenth inning, Ortiz crushed an 0-2 offering from Rogers high and deep to right-center field. But Wright, Boston's ninth pitcher of the night, allowed a home run to leadoff batter Mark Teixeira in the bottom of the inning. With one out, Wright walked Headley and with two outs, Stephen Drew singled Headley to third. Wright rebounded and got Didi Gregorius to ground out to Mike Napoli at first base.

Pablo Sandoval's (4-for-9) fourth hit of the night scored Pedroia in the eighteenth. Pedroia was hit by a pitch by Esmil Rogers to start the innings. After Ortiz flied to left, Hanley Ramirez singled to right-center, moving Pedroia to third. Sandoval then cracked a 1-1 pitch up the middle, snapping the 4-4 tie. Ramirez was thrown out trying for third, and Mike Napoli popped up.

In the bottom half, Steven Wright, in his fourth inning of work, gave up a leadoff double to Brian McCann. Pinch-runner John Ryan Murphy took over and went to third as Headley tapped back to the mound. Beltran doubled to left, a slicing drive that eluded Hanley Ramirez's glove, and Murphy scored. Wright got the next two batters on groundouts.

Both teams had numerous runners on base in the late innings. The last 1-2-3 inning of the night was the bottom of the thirteenth. New York stranded the potential winning run on third base in the sixteenth and eighteenth innings.

The game featured a delay of 16 minutes when seven banks of lights directly behind home plate went dark in the bottom of the twelfth.

Longest Red Sox/Yankees Games, By Innings

20 innings - August 29, 1967 (G2)
19 innings - April 10, 2015
18 innings - April 16, 1967
18 innings - September 5, 1927 (G1)
17 innings - August 2, 1978

Wade Miley / Nathan Eovaldi

Betts, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, DH
Ramirez, LF
Sandoval, 3B
Napoli, 1B
Nava, RF
Bogaerts, SS
Leon, C

NESN's Latest Pathetic In-Game "Feature"

NESN has had more than a few pathetic bonus features over the years geared towards increasing viewership or keeping viewers tuned to that night's Red Sox game. Over the years, there has been a dating show, segments on ballpark food, the Wally Wave, having the always-taciturn Jerry Remy answer questions submitted via Twitter - and several others that I have wonderfully blocked from my memory. (I've written about NESN's problems in the past.)

While this latest gimmick is no less pathetic than any of the others, it is also (I grudgingly admit) almost clever.

"Stay In The Park" promises viewers a look behind the scenes at what goes on at the ball park between innings. But rather than NESN's other behind-the-scene segments from a couple of years ago - which often showed nothing but empty concrete-walled hallways (the showing of which often caused NESN to miss pitches from the actual game being played) - this one is being run in small boxes on the screen during commercials.

Of course, anyone who has ever been to a baseball park knows what happens between innings. Some players run off the field and mill around the dugout, other players run onto the field and start throwing a ball around, a couple of guys grab bats and batting helmets and walk to the end of the dugout or out to the on-deck circle, a pitcher throws about eight warm-up pitches ... It's the same thing every half-inning, for every game of the year, and it's not exciting. (And if anything does happen, we get some replay of it when the next inning starts, anyway.)

"Stay In The Park" is nothing more than a way that NESN has devised to get fans to watch commercials that they would otherwise avoid either by flipping the channel or leaving the room between innings. The supposed allure of seeing this secret ball park stuff keeps fans' eyes on the screen during the commercial break.

Plus, we get Don Orsillo's and Jerry Remy's obviously scripted, faux-excitement over the debut and subsequent wonderfulness of this new distraction: "You know, Jerry, last night's special presentation of what goes on between innings here at the park was so well-received, we are doing it again tonight!"

The most important aspect of the game is the game. Yet NESN's producers (and Red Sox management) have yet to figure out the simple fact - or have little confidence in that fact. Instead of making the game more enjoyable to see - showing every pitch, showing the action of each play - they have larded up the broadcast with gimmicks that add nothing to the broadcast's enjoyment and actually cause fans to miss parts of the game. (At the park, we get mindless music and noise and commercials instead of the wonderful sounds of the game being played.)

For most fans, these televised distractions must be tolerated. We have no choice if we want to watch the Red Sox. At least for fans watching via MLBTV, we get the usual "commercial break" card between innings and are spared this current nonsense.

G3: Red Sox 6, Phillies 2

Red Sox  - 006 000 000 - 6 11  0
Phillies - 002 000 000 - 2  5  3

It's my absolute favourite kind of Red Sox inning. The first two batters are retired - then the offense decides to kick some ass.

So it in the third inning. Mookie Betts lined out to left and Dustin Pedroia grounded out to shortstop. But then David Ortiz cracked a ball into the shift that second baseman Chase Utley couldn't handle. Hanley Ramirez chopped a ball over the head of pitcher Buchanan. It tipped off his glove; he picked up the ball up and threw it very wild past first base for an error. Boston had runners at second and third. A bit rattled, perhaps, Buchanan walked Pablo Sandoval. Shane Victorino grounded to third. Cody Asche backhanded the ball, looked at second, then threw late and off target to first. Ortiz scored.

A visit from the pitching coach did absolutely no good, as Ryan Hanigan walked on four pitches to force home another run. Then, on a full count pitch, Xander Bogaerts lifted a pop fly down the right field line. Jeff Francoeur ran over towards the line, but he couldn't get to it. It fell safely and rolled away from him, along the fence. All three runners scored, and the Red Sox led 5-0. Justin Masterson finished the scoring by lining a single to center, scoring Bogaerts. And Betts, who had begun the inning, grounded into a fielder's choice.

Masterson (6-3-2-2-7, 95) was quite good, with the third inning being his only shaky frame. He allowed two hits and two walks in that inning. In the other five innings of work, he retired 15 of 16 batters, allowing only a single.

Craig Breslow, Tommy Layne, and Edward Mujica each pitched an inning of relief. ... The Phillies made a little noise in the seventh against Breslow, with a walk and a single. Ben Revere then clubbed a two-out drive to deep right that Victorino sprinted back on, stretching out his arm and glove towards the warning track and hauling in the baseball.

Bogaerts reached base five times, on two singles, a walk, a triple, and an infield error. ... Ortiz singled and walked twice. ... Ramirez, Victorino, and Masterson (!) each had two hits.

Justin Masterson / David Buchanan

Betts, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Ortiz, 1B
Ramirez, LF
Sandoval, 3B
Victorino, RF
Hanigan, C
Bogaerts, SS
Masterson, P

G2: Phillies 4, Red Sox 2

Red Sox  - 000 000 020 - 2  3  2
Phillies - 000 003 10x - 4  6  2

Jeff Francoeur's three-run home run snapped a scoreless tie on a cold, windy, misty night in Philadelphia.

Porcello (6-6-3-2-4, 101) did not have a 1-2-3 inning all night. He allowed a single in each of the first three inning, though the baserunner never advanced. There was a fielding error in the fourth, and a two-out single and walk in the fifth. In the sixth, with one out, Porcello walked Darin Ruf and Cody Asche ground a single through the infield to right. Francoeur then blasted a 1-1 pitch to left-center.

Philadelphia added a run in the seventh on a three-base throwing error by Pablo Sandoval and a sacrifice fly from Chase Utley.

Phillies reliever Ken Giles tried mightily to give the gave to the Red Sox in the eighth. After Ruf, who had moved from left field to first base, committed an error, Giles walked Ryan Hanigan and gave up a line-drive single to Xander Bogaerts. Pinch-hitter David Ortiz struck out and Mookie Betts flied to right, but then Giles was nowhere near the plate as he walked Dustin Pedroia, loading the bases, and Sandoval, forcing in Boston's second run. Philadelphia was forced to call on closer Jonathan Paplebon for four outs. Hanley Ramirez made a strong bid for his second grand slam in as many games, but he hit the ball straight into the wind and it died on the left field warning track.

The Red Sox received a two-out baserunner thanks to catcher's interference, but Bogaerts fanned to end the game.

Harang (6.1-2-0-1-8, 105) retired the first 11 Red Sox batters before Sandoval singled in the fourth. K.F. Panda finished the night with two singles and a walk. Pedroia walked twice.

Rick Porcello / Aaron Harang

Betts, CF
Pedroia, 2B
Sandoval, 3B
Ramirez, LF
Napoli, 1B
Nava, RF
Hanigan, C
Bogaerts, SS
Porcello, P

Schadenfreude 180 (A Continuing Series)

Bill Madden, Daily News:

All those Yankee fears? All those Yankee questions? All those Yankee "ifs"?

It did not take long for them to be realized, did it? Like three innings into the season. A Yankee Stadium Opening Day ... turned ugly quickly Monday — sufficiently muting the sellout crowd of 48,469 when Masahiro Tanaka suddenly lost his command in the third inning and was battered about for five runs by the Toronto Blue Jays. From there, it was nothing but gloom the rest of the afternoon, sprinkled with a tepid Yankee offense, some mixed results from GM Brian Cashman's supposedly new and improved power bullpen and a horrifying base-running gaffe by Derek Jeter's shortstop successor, Didi Gregorius. ...

[G]iven the fact the Yankee legions — justifiably — had plenty of reservations already about this team, it is not at all encouraging that all of them should seem so real right off the bat.

Mark Feinsand, Daily News:

Masahiro Tanaka ... did little to calm fears that he is anywhere near the ace they so desperately need him to be.

Tanaka was knocked around for five runs over four innings, all of them coming in a brutal third inning in the Yankees' ugly 6-1 loss to the Blue Jays at the Stadium.

Johnette Howard, ESPNNewYork:

The sun was shining brilliantly. ... The red-white-and-blue parade bunting was hanging on the stadium railing like it always does on Opening Day ...

Then the game started. And it was hard not to think that if Tanaka himself is determined to spend this season as a junkballer, his life as New York's staff ace might not go well for him or the Yanks. ...

The Yankees offense was as weak as feared in their three-hit, 6-1 loss to the Blue Jays.

Brian Lewis, Post:

Toronto got the watered-down version of Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka that they expected, and roughed him up in a 6-1, Opening Day rout at the Stadium. Instead of the electric All-Star from last year, the Blue Jays faced a gas-less facsimile, one they said will have to make adjustments to get by with his injured elbow. ...

Tanaka suffer[ed] the second-worst inning of his Bombers career (a five-run third) and shortest stint for a Yankees Opening Day starter in 30 years (four innings).

John Harper, Daily News:

By the fourth inning, when Masahiro Tanaka had stopped throwing his fastball entirely in favor of sliders, splitters, and changeups, it seemed fair to ask, in all seriousness:

How soon can the Yankees schedule him for Tommy John surgery? ...

Instead everyone tried to paint it as simply a bad day at the office, more the result of getting in bad counts in the third inning, when the Blue Jays scored five runs, than anything to do with his elbow. ...

Of his 82 pitches on Monday, Tanaka threw only 26 fastballs, and all but a handful of them were two-seamers in the 89-90-mph range.

Porcello Agrees to Four-Year Extension (2016-19)

The Red Sox announced this evening that Rick Porcello has agreed to a four-year contract extension worth $82.5 million.

The deal will pay the 26-year-old right-hander - who will make his Red Sox debut tomorrow night in Philadelphia - $20 million in 2016 and 2017 and $21 million in 2018 and 2019.

Porcello, The Player's Tribune:

In a short time, I have become very comfortable with the organization and my teammates. At our winter fan event in January, I got to spend time with the veteran guys on the team like Mike Napoli, David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia. The main topic of conversation was winning a World Series in 2015. What struck me was that it wasn't discussed like it was a goal, but rather an expectation. I continued to see this overwhelming commitment from my teammates, my manager, my coaches, the front office and ownership. I knew immediately I wanted to work in a place with that mentality.

G1: Red Sox 8, Phillies 0

Red Sox  - 101 020 004 - 8  9  1
Phillies - 000 000 000 - 0  3  0

Well, there's a lot, a lot of offense there.

We knew the Red Sox would hit. And from the first inning in Philadelphia, they did. Dustin Pedroia whacked a solo home run to left field in the first inning, on Hamels's fifth pitch of the day. Mookie Betts went deep to roughly the same spot leading off the third. Then, in the fifth, Pedroia hit his second dong and Hanley Ramirez lined a solo shot to left. Ramirez capped the scoring by banging a grand slam off the left field foul pole in the ninth.

It was only the second time in Red Sox history that the team hit as many as five home runs on Opening Day (April 12, 1965, at Washington). ... Hanley Ramirez became the third Boston player to hit a grand slam on Opening Day (Jack Clark, 1991; Carlton Fisk, 1973). ... Pedroia's last two-HR game was back on September 13, 2011.

But perhaps the nicest sight of the day was the superlative pitching performance turned in by Buchholz (7-3-0-1-9, 94). He had command of all of his pitches, especially a darting changeup, and worked well with new catcher Ryan Hanigan. With any luck, Buchholz will have silenced (for at least five days, anyway) the media yahoos who have been braying for months about how the Red Sox  are doomed because they don't have an ACETM. (Like Hamels (5-5-4-3-6, 100), who was tagged for four dingers.)

Buchholz committed a fielding error in the first, but did not allow a hit until Ryan Howard doubled with two outs in the fourth. Philadelphia's other two hits came in the seventh, when Buchholz might have been tiring a bit. In that later inning, when the score was still only 4-0, Pedroia made an outstanding pick of a hard ground ball to his left, getting a force play at second for the second out, and perhaps saving a run. Buchholz then struck out Freddie Galvis, who helped the Boston righthander out by waving at an outside pitch for an inning-ending strike three.

Ramirez finished the afternoon with two home runs, five RBI, and a walk; he also caught the only fly ball hit his way in left field. Pedroia added a single to his two homers, and made three outstanding plays at second. Betts singled and walked to go with his homer. They accounted for seven of Boston's nine hits.

Shane Victorino walked twice and stole a base. ... Hanigan singled and walked. ... Allen Craig had a pinch-hit singled and scored. ... Pablo Sandoval went 0-for-5, with two groundouts and three strikeouts. ... David Ortiz was 0-for-4.

All that, and the Yankees lost 6-1.

Clay Buchholz / Cole Hamels

It's been a strange three years (though I suppose the strangeness really began in September 2011):

       W   L   PCT   GB
2012  69  93  .426  26 GB    5th of 5 in AL East
2013  97  65  .599   ---     1st of 5 in AL East/Won World Series
2014  71  91  .438  25 GB    5th of 5 in AL East
2015   ?

With what promises to be one of the most potent lineups in MLB, we begin the 2015 season in Philadelphia.

Buchholz (who allowed 27 hits and 4 walks in 19 spring innings, while striking out 22) is making his first Opening Day start.

Opening Day Lineup (and spring stats):

                          AVG   OBP   SLG    OPS
Mookie Betts, CF         .429  .467  .750  1.217
Dustin Pedroia, 2B       .321  .390  .434   .824
David Ortiz, 1B          .222  .300  .333   .633
Hanley Ramirez, LF       .263  .283  .404   .687
Pablo Sandoval, 3B       .259  .273  .389   .662
Shane Victorino, RF      .190  .261  .286   .547
Xander Bogaerts, SS      .271  .368  .458   .827
Ryan Hanigan, C          .292  .320  .292   .612
Clay Buchholz, P

Mike Napoli - despite hitting a Bettsian .400/.467/.875/1.342 during the spring - will start the afternoon on the bench. ... The rest of Boston's 25-man roster (Christian Vazquez is out for the season; Joe Kelly and Koji Uehara are on the disabled list):

Bench:
Mike Napoli
Brock Holt
Daniel Nava
Allen Craig
Sandy Leon

SP: 
Justin Masterson
Rick Porcello
Wade Miley

RP:
Edward Mujica
Alexi Ogando
Junichi Tazawa
Anthony Varvaro
Craig Breslow
Tommy Layne
Robbie Ross Jr.
Steven Wright

Jackie Bradley hit very well (.378/.462/.444/.906), but will begin 2015 in Pawtucket. Rusney Castillo, also with the PawSox, batted .310/.310/.621/.931.

2015 W-L Contest Entries

Here are the entries for this season's W-L contest:

             W-L   MOOKIE OPS

Laura K    103-59      .810

Brian R     97-65     1.150
Joshua L    97-65      .859
Joni P      97-65      .727

Jere S      96-66      .896
Jeff C      96-66      .825

Paul RSD    94-68      .777  
 
Lewis S     93-69      .868
Ian R       93-69      .825
Ben B       93-69      .775
Tim C       93-69      .726

Jeff M      92-70      .920
Jeff J      92-70      .889
Ben A       92-70      .875
Patrick     92-70      .827
Paul H      92-70      .707

Matt K      91-71      .782
Tom D       91-71      .760

Jacob L     90-72      .818
Alan C      90-72      .777
John Q      90-72      .757

Rick F      89-73      .850
Zeke W      89-73      .819

Jeff Am     88-74      .900
Jeff L      88-74      .830
Allan W     88-74      .825
Jeff R      88-74      .799
Jeff Ab     88-74      .773
Ruben L     88-74      .765

Kathryn L   87-75      .820
David F     87-75      .763
Justin      87-75      .647
 
Ben D       86-76      .777
Warwick D   86-76      .776

John G      84-78      .900

Peter L     82-80      .701

Baseball Prospectus: Likes The Red Sox In 2015

Baseball Prospectus offers its 2015 picks:

AL East (# of picks for 1st place)

Red Sox    34
Blue Jays   5
Orioles     3
Yankees     2
Rays        1

The other spots for the Red Sox were 2nd (7), 3rd (2), and 4th (2). The two guys who picked Boston to finish in 4th place both picked the Yankees to win the division, so they are probably just acting like dicks. However, Friend-of-JoS Matthew Kory is most certainly not a dick, as he smartly picked the Red Sox for 1st and the Yankees for 5th.

Rusney Castillo led the way with 13 Rookie of the Year picks. Carlos Rodon had 12 (and more overall points, actually).

In the National League, the Nationals and Dodgers were unanimous picks for the East and West, respectively.

World Series Winners

Nationals    24
Dodgers      14
Cleveland     2
Orioles       1
Cardinals     1
Pirates       1
Mariners      1
Padres        1

Road Trip!

Looking fresh for the first road trip of the season. Who you got for #bestdressed? #OpeningDay pic.twitter.com/XoDwcyKfrW
— Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) April 4, 2015

NY Daily News: 2015 Predictions

Bill Madden, after stating that the Mets will win the NL East, turns his attention to the AL East:

Orioles
Red Sox
Yankees
Blue Jays
Rays

RED SOX (83-79) [4 GB Baltimore]

BIG PICTURE: After going from world champions to last place last season, the Red Sox went out and spent a combined $183 million on Pablo Sandoval to play third base and Hanley Ramirez to play (gulp!) left field − this on top of the $72.5 million they spent at the end of August last year on Cuban export Rusney Castillo.

No doubt, their offense should be greatly improved, but it remains to be seen if the Red Sox can fill the void left by new Cub Jon Lester. The Red Sox filled their rotation holes by signing Justin Masterson and trading for lefty Wade Miley from Arizona and Rick Porcello from the Tigers. Both Miley (8-12, 4.24) and Masterson (7-9, 5.88) had very subpar seasons in 2014. ...

WHY THEY'LL FINISH SECOND: Even though their lineup — with Sandoval and Ramirez complementing David Ortiz and Mike Napoli in the middle and rookie Mookie Betts adding speed at the top ahead of Dustin Pedroia looms as the most formidable in the division, the Red Sox cannot expect to get to the postseason without a No. 1 starter and possibly even more rotation help. Their bullpen is also suspect, especially with closer Kohi [sic] Uehara starting on the DL (hamstring).

YANKEES (79-83)

BIG PICTURE: No doubt, every time Masahiro Tanaka takes the mound this season the Yankees will be holding their breath that his torn elbow ligament doesn't completely blow out. For as long as Tanaka holds up, the Yankees have a chance to break their two-year no-postseason slump − especially if Michael Pineda pitches with equal dominance as he demonstrated all spring. Tanaka and Pineda form potentially the most lethal 1-2 starting rotation duo in the AL East, and it is hoped that Nathan Eovaldi, the righty with the equally big arm can slide behind (or ahead of?) CC Sabathia as a dependable No. 3 or 4. ...

WHY THEY'LL FINISH THIRD: As much as they've seemingly improved the bullpen and the defense, with Didi Gregorius replacing Derek Jeter at short, the Yankees need big comebacks and full seasons from Mark Teixeira and Carlos Beltran, as well as improvement from Brian McCann and a full productive year from Jacoby Ellsbury, if they are going to have any kind of offense this season. With neither Gregorius and (presumably) Stephen Drew at the bottom of the order likely to hit much better than .220, this could be one of the weakest Yankee lineups we've seen in years.

Of the seven Daily News writers, four pick the Orioles to win the East and three pick the Red Sox. (Another writer has the Red Sox and Yankees as the two wild card teams!)

Three writers have Boston reaching the ALCS, losing to the Angels, White Sox, and Mariners.

Rusney Castillo gets two Rookie of the Year nods.

World Champs: Dodgers (3), Nationals (2), Marlins (1), Mariners (1).

ESPN: 2015 Predictions

ESPN:

ESPN formed a panel of [88] writers, analysts and contributors to give their team and award predictions for the 2015 MLB season. ...

The Washington Nationals led the way as our pick to win the World Series, receiving 42 percent (37 of the 88 votes) of the vote from our panel of experts. The Los Angeles Dodgers came in second, getting 19 percent (17 votes) of the vote.

In the American League East, the Boston Red Sox came out on top by receiving 36 votes followed by the Baltimore Orioles (30), Toronto Blue Jays (17), New York Yankees (4) and Tampa Bay Rays (1). ...

Below are 15 of our experts' picks for '15: ...

As you can see from the graphic at the above link, those 15 picks for the AL East are: Baltimore (10), Toronto (4), and Boston (1).

Three other people picked Boston as one of the two wild card teams. No one picked them to make the ALCS.

Only three of the 15 experts predict an American League team as the World Series champion  (Cleveland, White Sox, Mariners).

The Award picks are here.

SB Nation: 2015 Predictions: Red Sox First, Yankees Last

Now, this is a divisional finish I can get behind!

AL EAST
1. Boston Red Sox
2. Baltimore Orioles
3. Toronto Blue Jays
4. Tampa Bay Rays
5. New York Yankees

1. Boston Red Sox

With the additions of Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval, though, the Red Sox have an outstanding, five-deep run in the middle of their lineup that's free of serious red flags. Ramirez, Sandoval, Ortiz, Pedroia, and Mike Napoli aren't locks for anything — never forget that baseball is awful and age is even worse — but they're all proven, reliable hitters. Now if Mookie Betts wants to break out? Sure, come along. Same goes for Bogaerts and Rusney Castillo. Happy to have you. The Red Sox don't have to have them do things they've never done before.

The rotation sure does bring up a lot of questions, though, so this isn't the lock of MLB. Every single pitcher comes with a "yeah, but," and those things can ruin the best-laid plans. Still, the Red Sox have depth upon depth upon depth at almost every position. They should be one of the more watchable teams this year. Other than the four-hour-game part. ...

5. New York Yankees

The Yankees have a rotation that's held together with twine and moist newspaper. CC Sabathia wasn't good last year, and then he missed time with a serious injury. Michael Pineda had serious shoulder problems, and Masahiro Tanaka's throwing ligament is partially torn. It's more likely that all three of them miss chunks of the season than they all make more than 28 starts, so the Yankees would have to figure out how to make pitching stew out of flour and warm Tab if anything went wrong. Ivan Nova and Chris Capuano are already hurt, too.

The lineup is filled with I've-heard-of-them players, but they're all a year older, and Chase Headley isn't enough to save an offense that was comfortably below-average last year. ...

SB's Awards section has me scratching my head: AL MVP: Jacoby Ellsbury & AL Cy Young: Masahiro Tanaka. ?!?! ... In the playoff picks, they have the Red Sox losing to the Angels in the ALCS. ... World Series: Pirates over Angels.

Contest Reminder

If you want to enter the 2015 Red Sox W-L contest, remember that the deadline is Sunday at 11:59 pm.

WEEI's "Not Even Remotely Special [Baseball Preview] Section"

From Rob Bradford and John Tomase:

What is your predicted order of finish in the AL East?

Tomase: Red Sox, Orioles, Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays. This really is a mediocre division, and the Red Sox are the one team with a standout unit — their offense.

Bradford: Orioles, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Yankees, Rays.

How many games will the Red Sox win?

Tomase: Come hell or high water, it takes at least 90 games to win the American League East every year and this one will be no different: 93.

Bradford: Harry Belafonte is this many years old (Spoiler: 88)

And their World Series predictions:

Tomase: Dodgers over White Sox

Bradford: Nationals over Mariners

Actually, contrary to what Tomase writes above about the AL East winner needing to win 90 games, the Yankees won the East in 2000 with only 87 victories.

And last year, although the first-place Orioles won 96 games, a win total of merely 85 would have taken the division.

Boston Globe Writers: 2015 Predictions

The Boston Globe writers offer their thoughts on the upcoming season. Here are some of the relevant bits:

Alex Speier
AL East: Red Sox – Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.
AL Wild Card: Yankees, Angels – Yankees staff surprises with health; Trout helps Halos get past.
World Series: Nationals over Mariners in 5 – Scott Boras hailed as conquering hero as client-loaded Nats triumph.

Chad Finn
AL East: Red Sox – Offense will keep scoreboard busy, but pitching reinforcements required.
AL Wild Card: Athletics, White Sox – Billy Beane's bewildering offseason moves pay off. Carlos Rodon electrifies.
World Series: Pirates over Red Sox in 6 – Pittsburgh finally avenges 1903 loss to Boston. Shall we meet again in 2127?

Nick Cafardo
AL East: Orioles – Most consistent starting rotation, great player in Manny Machado.
AL Wild Card: Angels, Tigers – The Angels still have overall talent; Tigers continue to ignore their bullpen.
World Series: Nationals over Mariners in 6 – The Nationals can't possibly lose with that pitching staff.

Peter Abraham
AL East: Orioles – Baltimore gets a big boost from Manny Machado's return.
AL Wild Card: Indians, Angels – The Sox will compete, but the loss of Christian Vazquez was a killer.
World Series: Nationals over Mariners in 6 – In a playoff series, it will be tough to beat the Washington starters.

Christopher L. Gasper
AL East: Blue Jays – The Blue Jays end the longest playoff drought in major North American pro sports.
AL Wild Card: Mariners, Tigers – Mariners' defense is almost as good as Pete Carroll's. Tigers edge Red Sox for final wild card.
World Series: Nationals over Tigers in 7 – Someone in Washington finally delivers on their promise.

Dan Shaughnessy
AL East: Orioles – Why does everyone think the Red Sox made up 25 games on these guys?
AL Wild Card: Indians, Red Sox – Tito gives his regards to Sox owners again in playoffs.
World Series: Nationals over Orioles in 7 – Beltway Series unites all houses.

NY Post: 2015 AL East Predictions

Of the seven baseball writers at the New York Post, five are predicting the Red Sox to finish ahead of the Yankees in the AL East, by either winning the division or finishing in second place.

As you probably could have guessed, one of the other two is lying shitbag George King.

Ken Davidoff
AL EAST: Orioles, Blue Jays, Yankees, Red Sox, Rays
ALCS: Tigers over Mariners
NLCS: Pirates over Dodgers
World Series champ: Pirates

Kevin Kernan
AL EAST: Orioles, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Yankees, Rays
ALCS: Mariners over White Sox
NLCS: Mets over Dodgers
World Series champ: Mariners

George A. King III
AL EAST: Orioles, Blue Jays, Yankees, Red Sox, Rays
ALCS: Orioles over Royals
NLCS: Nationals over Giants
World Series: Orioles

Dan Martin
AL EAST: Red Sox, Orioles, Blue Jays, Yankees, Rays
ALCS: Mariners over White Sox
NLCS: Nationals over Dodgers
World Series champ: Mariners

Mike Puma
AL EAST: Orioles, Red Sox, Blue Jays, Yankees, Rays
ALCS: Orioles over White Sox
NLCS: Marlins over Nationals
World Series: Marlins

Joel Sherman
AL EAST: Orioles, Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays
ALCS: Mariners over Orioles
NLCS: Dodgers over Pirates
World Series champ: Dodgers

Mike Vaccaro
AL EAST: Red Sox, Yankees, Blue Jays, Orioles, Rays
ALCS: Indians over Mariners
NLCS: Dodgers over Nationals
World Series champ: Dodgers

Sherman offers some comments on the Red Sox:

Key player: Clay Buchholz. Is he the guy who was 12-1 with a 1.74 ERA before a shoulder injury derailed him in 2013 or the guy who sank to 8-11 with a 5.34 ERA last year? A starter or two from among Buchholz, Rick Porcello, Justin Masterson, Joe Kelly and Wade Miley needs to emerge as anchors.

Player who'll need to step up: Hanley Ramirez. Boston gave him a four-year, $88 million pact and switched him from short to left, imagining his offense being helped by playing at Fenway. The lineup could be dynamic if the moody Ramirez is productive.

Name you'll get to know: Blake Swihart. The Red Sox have resisted including him as the key element in a trade for Cole Hamels. He might take over as the main catcher by midseason — especially now that fellow catcher prospect Christian Vazquez is headed for Tommy John surgery.

Biggest question mark: Can Xander Bogaerts handle shortstop? This groundball-heavy staff is going to need Bogaerts to field the position. There still is a star in there. Will it come out?

How it'll go down: There are enough questions up and down the pitching staff to undermine the season. But Mookie Betts is poised to be a star, the offense is strong and the farm system deep enough to help solve problems in season.

SI Picks Red Sox To Win AL East

Sports Illustrated's MLB Preview '15 is out.

AL East
Red Sox    89-73
Blue Jays  84-78
Orioles    82-80
Yankees    77-85
Rays       74-88

ALDS: Cleveland over Red Sox; Mariners over Tigers
ALCS: Cleveland over Mariners
World Series: Cleveland over Nationals

A Rival Scout Sizes Up The Red Sox:

The Red Sox can win the division because the whole division has holes. This is the worst AL East I've ever seen. ... There's no No. 1 starter, no No. 2. Clay Buchholz is a zero; he's got no tiger in him. ... Joe Kelly is a teaser. ... Rick Porcello is a 4. ... Mookie Betts is a better offensive player than Rusney Castillo right now. Betts should start in centerfield but shift to right eventually. ... Their bullpen is sketchy. Koji Uehara looks healthy but old. ...

A Rival Scout Sizes Up The Yankees:

Welcome to the if club: If Masahiro Tanaka's arm doesn't fall off, if CC Sabathia turns back the clock to 2011, if Michael Pineda stays healthy, if Adam Warren steps up. ... Tanaka has looked very good this spring [but] you're playing Russian roulette every time he throws the ball. ... I have to say, Alex Rodriguez has been a pleasant surprise. ... He's a piece of crap - but he's winning me over. ... The division is up for grabs, so they'll hang around.

Vazquez Lost for Season; Will Undergo TJ Surgery Tomorrow

Catcher Christian Vazquez will have Tommy John surgery tomorrow, and will miss all of the 2015 season.

WEEI:

Given the typical recovery time of roughly a year, Vazquez should be ready next spring training, but that's of little consolation in the here and now for a Red Sox team that expected Vazquez to handle not just a new pitching staff, but to shut down opposing running games with his howitzer of a right arm.

Vazquez threw out 52 percent of opposing base stealers in an impressive debut last year, but that arm ended up being his undoing. He felt soreness after throwing out Tyler Wade of the Yankees on March 13, and when two weeks of rest didn't provide adequate healing, underwent an MRI. The results of that, on Friday, "found something," Vazquez said, and he was referred to Dr. [James] Andrews.

The starting catching job will fall to Ryan Hanigan, with newcomer Sandy Leon in reserve. Top prospect Blake Swihart will begin the year in Pawtucket.

Pedro Says Yankees Ace Is "Not Completely Healthy"

Pedro Martinez believes Masahiro Tanaka, the Yankees' Opening Day starter, is still having elbow issues and predicted that Tanaka will not make it through the 2015 season without injury. Tanaka is pitching with a slight tear in the ulnar collateral ligament of his right elbow.

Anthony McCarron, Daily News:

[Pedro Martinez] said Wednesday he believes [Masahiro] Tanaka has been holding back on most of his pitches in spring training and predicted the Yankee ace won't get through the season intact. ...

Tanaka missed 10 weeks last season, but doctors recommended rest and rehab instead of Tommy John surgery. ...

There were questions in camp about Tanaka's fastball velocity, which dipped to 89-90 miles per hour. But Tanaka waved those away, saying he was working on his two-seam fastball rather than the harder, four-seamer that could get into the mid-90s last year.

Martinez isn't convinced. "Tanaka's not healthy right now because I believe Tanaka is hesitant to let it go," he said. "He's hanging all those breaking balls he's throwing. The only pitch he's committing to is the split-finger and his problems are actually in a place where you don't need to put any more stress, which is the elbow. And he's hesitant. He's hesitating to throw the fastball and he's hanging every breaking ball he throwing out there."

Baseball America: Boston Has MLB's #2 Farm System

Baseball America ranks the organizational talent of all 30 major league teams.

The top five farms: Cubs, Red Sox, Dodgers, Twins, and Mets. ... The Yankees rank #18.

2. Boston Red Sox
2014 Rank: #2
2013 Rank: #6

TOP 10 PROSPECTS

 1. Yoan Moncada, 2B
 2. Blake Swihart, C (17)
 3. Henry Owens, LHP (44)
 4. Rusney Castillo, OF (21)
 5. Eduardo Rodriguez, LHP (59)
 6. Brian Johnson, LHP (82)
 7. Rafael Devers, 3B (99)
 8. Manuel Margot, OF (72)
 9. Matt Barnes, RHP
10. Deven Marrero, SS

How They Got Here: An aggressive spender under the old draft rules, Boston has attacked the Cuban market aggressively, spending more than $130 million on Yoan Moncada and Rusney Castillo in bonuses, guaranteed major league contracts and international bonus pool penalties. Their top lefthanded starters all had success in Double-A or higher in 2014.

High-Ceiling Sleeper: Hard-throwing RHP Michael Kopech has one of the fastest and liveliest arms of any 2014 draft pick. He has a somewhat unconventional delivery for a starter, but the Red Sox will let him take his time to develop.

2015 Rookies: Castillo will challenge 2014 rookies Mookie Betts and Jackie Bradley for a spot in Boston’s crowded outfield. Matt Barnes could ease into a relief role. Henry Owens, Brian Johnson and Eduardo Rodriguez all could pitch their way to Boston in 2015.

Note: Moncada signed with the Red Sox after BA had compiled its Top 100 list.

Buchholz To Start Opening Day; Vazquez Put On 60-Day DL; Mookie!

Clay Buchholz will start on Opening Day, next Monday afternoon, in Philadelphia.

Christian Vazquez was placed on the 60-DL with a sprained right elbow. The Red Sox immediately added to their catching depth by trading for Sandy Leon of the Nationals.

Koji Uehara (hamstring) has not pitched since March 14 and will likely not be on the Opening Day roster. Edward Mujica will be the closer.

Mookie Betts continues to tear it up. In 14 games, Betts is hitting .452/.477/.857 for a 1.334 OPS. He leads the Grapefruit League with 11 extra-base hits, is second with 36 total bases, and is tied for second with 19 hits.

David Ortiz: On The Record

David Ortiz:

In some people's minds, I will always be considered a cheater. And that's bullshit. Mark my words: Nobody in MLB history has been tested for PEDs more than me. You know how many times I've been tested since 2004? More than 80. They say these tests are random. If it's really random, I should start playing the damn lottery. Some people still think the testing is a joke. It's no joke. Ten times a season these guys come into the clubhouse or my home with their briefcases. I have never failed a single one of those tests and I never will. ...

In 2013, I came off the DL and started hot. My first 20 games I was hitting like .400. And the reporter with the red jheri curl from The Boston Globe comes into the locker room says, "You're from the Dominican. You're older. You fit the profile of a steroid user. Don't you think you're a prime suspect?"

He's saying this with a straight face. I had taken like 70 at-bats. Anybody can get hot and hit .400 with 70 at-bats. I was stunned. I'm like, I'm Dominican? I fit the profile? Are you kidding me?

I wanted to kill this guy.

Everyone Loves A Contest #17

With Opening Day (April 6) only two weeks away, it's time for this year's Red Sox W-L Contest!

Correctly guess Boston's 2015 regular season record and win a copy of Peter Golenbock's Red Sox Nation: The Rich And Colorful History Of The Boston Red Sox.

Older readers may remember Golenbock's Fenway: An Unexpurgated History Of The Boston Red Sox from the early '90s. This new book, which will be published next month by Triumph*, updates the team's history through the 2013 World Championship season.

* FYI: Triumph published another cool Red Sox book last spring.

Contest entries must be emailed to me and include the following two items:

1. Predicted 2015 W-L record
2. Tiebreaker: Mookie Betts's OPS (OBP+SLG)

W-L guesses must be exact. Tiebreaker winner will be the closest guess, either over or under.

Deadline: Sunday, April 5, 11:59 PM.

Friday: Angels Hit Four Triples In One Inning

On Friday, the Angels hit four triples in the third inning against Cleveland. Erick Aybar, CJ Cron, Johnny Giavotella and Collin Cowgill hit the three-baggers.

According to The Baseball Almanac:

On September 15, 1901, Chicago hit five triples against Milwaukee in the eighth inning which is the most ever hit in a single inning by one team.

On May 6, 1934, Boston hit four consecutive triples [Carl Reynolds, Moose Solters, Rick Ferrell, and Bucky Walters] against Detroit in the fourth inning which is the most ever hit consecutively in a single inning.

The Red Sox scored 12 times in that fourth inning and beat the Tigers 14-4.

Pedro > Koufax

Pedro Martinez maintained a 190 ERA+ during his #RedSox career. #Dodgers Sandy Koufax had a career-best 190 ERA+ in 1966.
— Ace of MLB Stats (@AceballStats) March 20, 2015

Something You Must Do Today

Actually, do it now, because if you put it off until later, you might forget.

Subscribe to Alex Speier's "108 Stitches".

It's like Peter Gammons's classic Sunday Notes columns, but all about the Red Sox and written every single day. Get it delivered to your inbox and you won't have to worry about going to the Globe and then accidentally clicking on a Cafardo or CHB link.

Napoli Dreams Big

Mike Napoli cranked two home runs yesterday and is 7-for-15 this spring.

He also described two vivid dreams he had recently:

I was roller skating with old school roller skates, headband, jean shorts, tank-top, old school earphones with the cassette player, skating through a city. Like dancing skating. Through cars, busses going by. I went by the Ritz and an NBA basketball team was checking into the hotel. Then all of a sudden I ended up being in a mall, skating around the mall, just dancing around and going around and around the mall.

Thanks For Letting Us Know, Daily News

ST: Red Sox 10, Yankees 6

It doesn't count ... but it counts!

Red Sox - 001 400 230 -10 18  1
Yankees - 002 100 102 - 6  8  2

Mookie Betts (3-for-4, 2B), Travis Shaw (2B, HR, 3 RBI) and Garin Cecchini (2-for-5, 3 RBI) led the way.

John Farrell on Betts:

He works deep counts, he gets on base, the bat speed is there. He's obviously got the ability to drive the baseball. He's an exciting player and seemingly has picked up where he left off last year.

Linescores From Astros' Split-Squads

Two interesting linescores from Houston's split-squad games on Sunday:

Atlanta - 100 000 010 0 - 2  7  0
Astros  - 000 000 200 0 - 2  0  0

Atlanta used nine pitchers in completing the no-hitter. How did Houston score twice? They began the inning with two walks and a HBP. Two groundouts brought home the runs.

Astros - 210 322 121 - 14 20  1
Tigers - 202 220 010 -  9 13  0

The Astros left the bases loaded in the third inning. So close ...

Baseball Today!

The Red Sox play their traditional spring college doubleheader today.

Clay Buchholz will start in the first game against Northeastern, with Rick Porcello and Eduardo Rodriguez following him. Wade Miley will start against Boston College at night; Steven Wright, Craig Breslow, and Brandon Workman are also expected to pitch.

Boston's Grapefruit League opener is Thursday against the Twins, with Joe Kelly getting the ball.

And Then We Came To (Almost, Sort Of) The End

My relationship with the Red Sox has changed dramatically over the course of writing this blog. Back in mid-2003, I was obsessed with the team. Now, after three championships over a ten-year period, my attachment has decreased significantly.

These days, I glance at stories online (mostly ESPNBoston, WEEI, Over The Monster, and redsox.com), but I no longer feel the need to be in the know about everything every day. And because of that, I don't feel like I have anything worthwhile to say about the team.

This disengagement has been helped along by two last-place finishes in the past three seasons. (Of course, the Red Sox won the World Series in the middle year, but I was somewhat distracted during that time because of Don't Let Us Win Tonight.)

In 2012 and 2014, I lost interest in following the Red Sox in the second half of each season. The teams were horrible, and listening to Don and Jerry was like hearing nails on a blackboard. (I have my issues with the radio guys, as well.) I asked myself if I really wanted to devote three hours of every evening watching my favourite baseball team lose. The answer was a resounding No - a wise choice, I think, in the long run.

I don't know what will happen in this space once the season begins. Other things, such as researching a new book, feel more important to me. I've always said I'd keep writing The Joy of Sox until it felt like a job, and then I'd stop. But after all these years, it doesn't seem right to simply stop cold. So the blog will remain, but I truly don't know in what form. (Naturally, I reserve the right to completely change my mind and post 2-3 times a day.)