The Boston Red Sox kicked off their 3-game set with the Detroit Tigers with a 5-1 win last night. The win for the Red Sox was the 500th for Terry Francona as Red Sox manager. He joins Joe Cronin (1,071) and Mike Higgins (560) as the only Sox managers to win 500 games.
It was a typical Daisuke Matsuzaka outing where he threw a lot of pitches and found himself in trouble only to pull the Houdini act to get out of it. This was just his third start back from the disabled list and last night marked his first win of the 2009 campaign. It would be nice to see him pitch just once like he did in the first two games of the WBC where he didn’t nibble and just threw strikes.
The time is coming for David Ortiz to be taken out of the lineup again. While he did have a hit last night, he also struck out 3 times and grounded into a DP. Once again the strikeouts came when fastballs were blown right by him.
In order for the Red Sox to compete, something needs to be done. The way Papi is swinging the bat, he deserves to be on the bench or at the very least batting 9th in the order. Otherwise, the Red Sox will have a hard time overtaking the Yankees in the division.
Reshuffled lineup does it again, helping Matsuzaka to his first win of the season [Providence Journal]
Driver’s seat [Boston Globe]
Terry Francona earns Sox win No. 500 [Boston Herald]
More and more, it’s looking like the shortstop’s job is Green’s [Providence Journal]
Lugo is ready; Francona isn’t willing [Boston Globe]
Dice-K’s 1st victory boosts staff [Boston Herald]
At long last, Kotsay returns [Providence Journal]
Motor City steers into a skid [Boston Globe]
Jacoby Ellsbury quick to spot a flaw [Boston Herald]
Smoltz views his starts at Pawtucket as the final step before he arrives in Boston [Providence Journal]
No. 500 further validation for Francona [Tony Massarotti Blog]
Five Things We Learned: Terry Francona Has Been Taught Well [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]
Something Went Squirrelly In Detroit [Center Field]
For more slices of Boston Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, and Providence Journal websites.
And if the enemy papers are more your flavor, you can check out the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press websites.
