Just when it looked like the Boston Red Sox offense was coming alive, Daisuke Matsuzaka went out and turned a 3-run lead in the 1st inning into a 2-run deficit at the end of the 1st. He definitely didn’t look right last night and was taken out of game after the inning. The Red Sox said he left with arm fatigue.
The injury to Dice-K is concerning right now given the fact that Clay Buchholz is out for a few days with a strained hamstring he suffered in a workout yesterday. And given the fact that John Smoltz won’t be ready until June 1st or so, the depth the Red Sox had at pitcher isn’t quite there right now.
Now of course the debate will be whether or not Dice-K should have pitched in the WBC. Did he over do it there? Quite possibly he could have especially if his arm is fatigued. His fastball was only at 89 MPH last night and we all know he can throw it around 92-94 on a consistent basis.
Justin Masterson came in last night and did yeoman’s work as he gave the Red Sox a solid 4 innings out of the bullpen, striking out 6 along the way. Other than Javier Lopez, the Red Sox bullpen was excellent, as they combined on 10 innings of no-run baseball.
With the Red Sox now standing at 2-6 and in last place in the AL East, something needs to change. I don’t know what it is but there has to be something, maybe a tweak to the leadoff position. This team is definitely not built to be a 2-6 team and without the bat of Kevin Youkilis right now, the Red Sox may not have even been in half of these games.
WBC [Hit and Run With Dan Roche]
Sox fall again [Boston Globe]
Good to the last chop [Extra Bases]
WBC catches up to Dice-K as Red Sox lose in 12 [Boston Herald]
West Coast trip gets worse, as fatigued Dice-K has nothing [Providence Journal]
Magadan identifies part of the problem [Full Count]
Beckett gets six games [Boston Globe]
Fatigue — or no fatigue? [Extra Bases]
Red Sox bullpen does all it can in losing cause [Boston Herald]
Lowrie’s wrist handled with kid gloves [Providence Journal]
How Josh Beckett’s appeal will work [Full Count]
Specialist will try his hand with Lowrie [Boston Globe]
’Shocked’ Josh Beckett appeals 6-game suspension [Boston Herald]
Ortiz misses opportunity [Projo Sox Blog]
Old haunts haunting to Tiant [Boston Globe]
Jason Bay avoids big trouble [Boston Herald]
Masterson’s the man [Projo Sox Blog]
Jed Lowrie preps for possible surgery [Boston Herald]
Rolling the Dice [Projo Sox Blog]
Matsuzaka, Sox already scrambling [Tony Mazz]
For more slices of Boston Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, and Providence Journal websites.
And if you want to see what the enemy papers are saying, head over to the San Francisco Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News and Contra Costa Times websites.
