Guess who has the worst record in all of Major League Baseball right now? Give up?? Well it’s the beloved Boston Red Sox who fell to a MLB-worst 2-9 last night in a 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. By the way, the Rays have the second worst record at 3-8 along with the Houston Astros.

Last night was a matchup of two of the best lefties in the game in Jon Lester and David Price. Unfortunately for the Red Sox, it was one bad inning from Lester in an otherwise great night for him that cost them the game. Well that and the fact that the clutch hit just didn’t come again when they needed it.

The bad inning came in the fifth when Lester had retired seven of the last eight batters he had faced and had former Red Sox catcher Kelly Shoppach down 0-2 in the count with one out. He hung a curveball to Shoppach who laced a single. Singles by Dan Johnson and Elliot Johnson loaded the bases up for New Hampshire native Sam Fuld.

Fuld brought in a run on a fielder’s choice when first baseman Adrian Gonzalez saw his throw home be just a split-second late. Johnny Damon followed that up with a 2-run single and just like that the Red Sox were behind 3-1. They had taken the lead in the third when Darnell McDonald hit a no-doubter home run to left.

Jed Lowrie got them back to within 3-2 with a RBI double in the 6th inning but after that the Red Sox failed to push another run across the plate. He did get another chance to tie the game but flew out with Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis on base in the 8th.

If it weren’t for that one bad inning who knows what could have happened.

Lester’s stuff was pretty good as he worked both sides of the plate with all of his pitches. He took the loss after going seven innings, allowing the three runs on seven hits and two walks. Lester did strikeout eight Rays. Daniel Bard and Bobby Jenks kept the Red Sox in the game with scoreless innings.

Lowrie had two of the five Red Sox hits on the night and both were doubles. Pedroia also added a double with Youk’s single off the wall in the 4th and DMac’s home run in the third accounting for the other hit.

This team is too good to be this bad right now. The baseball is just not falling for them right now. There’s way too much talent on this team and you know they’re not going to stand for losing like this every night. When everything comes together for them, they really could get on a roll.

Let’s just hope that it’s not too late when things finally decide to come together.

We’ll be back later today with tonight’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day but enjoy the overnight links by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

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When does it stop being early for Red Sox? [Alex Speier – WEEI.com]

Down cycle [Boston Globe]

It’s a roll of the dice [Boston Globe]

Youkilis takes a turn at DH [Boston Globe]

Red Sox just not good enough [Boston Herald]

Club can only roll Dice with Matsuzaka [Boston Herald]

Johnny Damon won’t wear Sox if Cooperstown calls [Boston Herald]

Darnell McDonald shows off his April powers [Boston Herald]

Jed Lowrie makes case [Boston Herald]

Hesitation from Adrian Gonzalez costly [Boston Herald]

This has got to stop at some point, right? [Clubhouse Insider]

Red Sox shut down by Price, Rays, 3-2 [CSNNE.com]

Notes: Crawford not frustrated by slump [CSNNE.com]

Lester takes hard-luck loss versus Rays [CSNNE.com]

A new look to the lineup? [CSNNE.com]

Red Sox Pitchers, Not Jarrod Saltalamacchia or Curt Young, to Be Blamed for Staff’s Rocky Start [Don Orsillo – NESN.com]

Lowrie makes case for more time [ESPN Boston]

Jon Lester can’t get Boston Red Sox out of season-long rut [ESPN Boston]

Closing Time: Rays 3, Red Sox 2 [Full Count]

Jon Lester says ‘it can’t be like this all season’ [Full Count]

Game of inches keeps working against the Sox [Full Count]

Sox looking to give Lowrie more playing time [Full Count]

Red Sox Fans Should Not Give Up Hope Yet As Minnesota Twins Won World Series in 1991 After 2-9 Start [NESN.com]

Red Sox Fail to Get the Breaks in Second Straight Loss to Rays [NESN.com]

Red Sox Host ‘Welcome Home’ Charity Dinner At House of Blues After Home Opener [NESN.com]

Tampa Bay’s Price is right [Providence Journal]

By dropping one down, Gonzalez picked the team up [Providence Journal]

Following these Red Sox is a daily soap opera [Providence Journal]

Red Sox Journal: For now, anyway, Dice-K will stay [Providence Journal]

Red Sox could use a little urgency [Tony Massarotti – Boston Globe]

For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSNNE,  ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.

And if you must check out the enemy news, head over the to St. Petersburg Times and Tampa Tribune websites.

Photo credit: Getty Images

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as some of the other sports. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Kemba Declares for Draft [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Lamb Will Try Out for U-19 Team [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Kemba’s Mom Would Nix the Knicks … Sorta [David Borges – New Haven Register]

‘Watching You Guys Play Eased My Pain’ [David Borges – New Haven Register]

Kemba, Jeter; Jeter, Kemba {David Borges – New Haven Register]

Kemba Walker press conference video, notes [Gavin Keefe – The Day]

Kemba Walker’s Honors [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

This And That From Kemba Day [Mike Anthony – Hartford Courant]

An NBA exec. on Kemba Walker [Neill Ostrout  – CT Post]

Charlie Villanueva’s Altercation and Interview [UConn Huskies Basketball]

Kemba Walker Enters Into NBA Draft [UConnHuskies.com]

Details of UCONN Victory Rally Following Sunday, April 17’s Parade [UConnHuskies.com]

Kemba makes it official: He’s going pro [CT Post]

UConn’s Kemba Walker Makes It Official; Declares For NBA [Hartford Courant]

Walker Embraced The Process [Hartford Courant]

UConn Men’s Future All About Lamb — And Calhoun [Hartford Courant]

Kemba Walker declares for NBA Draft, calls it a happy, but sad day [New Haven Register]

Kemba Walker can turn heads in the classroom, too [New Haven Register]

Star heads to next level [Norwich Bulletin]

Walker makes it official: He’s going pro [The Day]

The NBA’s sculptor: Calhoun, Huskies mold model scorers [FOXSports.com]

A Calhoun time capsule [The Daily Campus]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Maya Moore’s draft day advice for Kemba Walker [Jim Fuller – New Haven Register]

All hail Maya: A video collection (WNBA style) [Lee Lewis – The Republican-American]

Huskies Set To Begin Post-Maya Era [Rich Elliott – CT Post]

UConn women consider a future without Moore [CT Post]

UConn Football links

The Big East’s 1,000-yard backs in 2011 [Brian Bennett – ESPN.com]

Final (open) spring practice in the books [Chip Malafronte – New Haven Register]

Practice 13: A Few Notes And Observations [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

More From Practice 13 (Quotes) [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

DeLeone Hopes To Get More Out Of TE Ryan Griffin [Hartford Courant]

What We’ve Learned About The UConn Defense At Spring Practice [Hartford Courant]

New Haven native George DeLeone going nonstop [New Haven Register]

Other UConn related links

M. Soccer. Former Husky Makes MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week [UConnHuskies.com]

Baseball. Baseball Falls to Yale 10-7 in Eight Innings [UConnHuskies.com]

After a 16-5 beatdown last night, the Boston Red Sox look to recover yet again and pick up in a win in game two of a three-game set against the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park tonight.

Tonight’s first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on NESN in the Red Sox television market. If you live in the Rays television market, you can catch the game on Sun Sports. And if you don’t live in either market you’re in luck as the MLB Network will also be broadcasting tonight’s game. If you can’t catch the television broadcast, you can always listen to the game on the 2011 Red Sox Radio Network.

Jon Lester will try for his first win of the season in his third start of the 20111season. In his first two outings, he has no record with a 3.65 ERA (5 ER/12.1 IP). He faced the Rays four times in 2010 and was 3-1 with 3.24 ERA. He’s made 16 career starts against Tampa Bay in his career and is 9-3 with a 3.80 ERA.

David Price will also be looking for his first win in his third start of the 2011season. In those two starts, Price 0-2 with a 4.85 ERA (7 ER/13 IP). He made three starts against the Red Sox in 2010 and was 2-1 with a 2.61 ERA. Overall in his career, he’s made six starts against the Red Sox and is 3-2 with a 3.38 ERA. In his only career start at Fenway back on September 7, 2010, he picked up the win after allowing two runs (one earned) in five innings of work.

Click on the read more button below to see tonight’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day if you’re on the home page.

Here are tonight’s lineups:

2-8		2-8
1. Sam Fuld	LF	1. Carl Crawford	LF
2. Johnny Damon	DH	2. Dustin Pedroia	2B
3. B.J. Upton	CF	3. Adrian Gonzalez	1B
4. Felipe Lopez	3B	4. Kevin Youkilis	DH
5. Sean Rodriguez	2B	5. Jed Lowrie	3B
6. Ben Zobrist	RF	6. Mike Cameron	CF
7. Kelly Shoppach	C	7. Jason Varitek	C
8. Dan Johnson	1B	8. Darnell McDonald	RF
9. Elliot Johnson	SS	9. Marco Scutaro	SS
David Price	SP	Jon Lester	SP

Here is how the hitters have fared tonight’s starting pitchers:

Check back and/or refresh often as more links will be added if/when they become available before game time.

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Francona on Matsuzaka [Clubhouse Insider]

Sox weighing options with Dice-K [Clubhouse Insider]

Notes: Red Sox switch things up versus Price [CSNNE.com]

Lester vs. Price and a test for Crawford [ESPN Boston]

Sox hold off on any Dice-K moves [ESPN Boston]

Salty’s wife gives birth; ‘Tek in lineup [ESPN Boston]

The time has come to trade Dice-K [Extra Bases]

Red Sox podcast: Starts and stops [Extra Bases]

Odds are no playoffs for the Red Sox . . .  unless there is more John Lackey magic [Extra Bases]

Pregame news from Fenway [Extra Bases]

John Kruk on M&M: Give Daisuke Matsuzaka ‘the opportunity to fail on his own’ [Full Count]

Time for Daisuke to go? For now, the answer should be no [Full Count]

Francona: Red Sox’ view of Daisuke remains unchanged [Full Count]

Jon Lester’s Toughest Opponent Is Himself, As Red Sox Ace Commits to Sharpening Focus on Mound [NESN.com]

Peter Gammons Says Carl Crawford May Be on Verge of Finding Groove at Plate for Red Sox [NESN.com]

Theo Epstein Says There’s ‘Sense of Urgency’ to Get Daisuke Matsuzaka Straightened Out [NESN.com]

Selective amnesia might be good for reliever Wheeler [Projo Sox Blog]

Have the Red Sox gotten their money’s worth from Dice-K? [Projo Sox Blog]

PawSox to appear on MLB Network in June [Projo Sox Blog]

ESPN to air segment on Ryan Westmoreland tonight [Projo Sox Blog]

Red Sox waiting for luck to turn with runners on base [Projo Sox Blog]

Aces on tap for Red Sox and Rays [RedSox.com]

Photo credits: Getty Images, AP Photo

Man that was UGLY last night. I was there so I can attest to it.

The enigma that is Daisuke Matsuzaka struck again last night for the Boston Red Sox in their 16-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. Here you have a pitcher that’s shown flashes of brilliance over his 100 MLB starts while also stinking up the joint. Here’s a man who is so revered in Japan. Here’s a pitcher who has won two World Baseball Classic MVP’s after leading Japan to back-to-back titles.

Then you have the pitcher who served up meatballs last night. You really can’t argue with the fact that Dice-K attacked the strike zone last night. And when you attack the strike zone, you’re not supposed to put the pitches on a silver platter for the batters to hit.

The only hiccup for Dice-K in the first inning came when former Red Sox idiot Johnny Damon took the first pitch he saw and planted into the right field seats. But man was the second inning a totally different story.

The first seven batters reached base one way or another and by the time Matsuzaka actually recorded the first out of the inning, the Red Sox already found themselves chasing seven runs. In the third inning, he allowed a leadoff single to B.J. Upton and then walked Felipe Lopez. By that point, the Fenway Faithful and Terry Francona had seen enough.

Tim Wakefield came out of the bullpen to a standing ovation mainly because we’d all seen enough of Dice-K. And in his typical fashion, he waited until Wake got to the mound before exiting. And in a quick flash, the Fenway Faithful had gone from cheering Wake to booing Dice-K. Had he been smart, he would have left while the cheers for Wake were still going.

With the exception of Alfredo Aceves (2.2 innings, two strikeouts, no hits) it was a rough night for Red Sox pitching. Dice-K allowed seven runs on eight hits in two plus innings. Wake allowed five runs on seven hits in 3 1/3 innings. And Rhode Island native Dan Wheeler got roughed up by his former team to the tune of four runs on five hits.

Definitely a strange night offensively when David Ortiz and Adrian Gonzalez, the two slowest players on the Red Sox, hit triples. Carl Crawford finally got an extra base hit and Jacoby Ellsbury showed signs of life with a single and a solo home run.

It’s really hard to find any positives though from this game. Sure you can look at Crawford’s extra base hit or Ellsbury’s two hits, but when you’re chasing seven runs before even coming to the plate in the second inning, you just think to yourself, here we go again.

I said this on Facebook and Twitter. If this is what it feels like to be a fan of the Pittsburgh Pirates, then this sucks.

We’ll be back later today with tonight’s lineups, batter/pitcher matchups and links from the day but enjoy the overnight links by clicking on the read more button below if you’re on the home page.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

Sox let one get away [Boston Globe]

It was a full day for Fuld [Boston Globe]

Personally, Maddon’s not mad [Boston Globe]

Biographer looks back on working with Manny [Boston Globe]

Dice-K, Sox fail miserably [Boston Herald]

Joe Maddon spots a ‘problem’ with Carl Crawford [Boston Herald]

A wonder-Fuld debut [Boston Herald]

Situation’s quite Dice-y [Boston Herald]

Johnny Damon back in town, but without Ramirez [Boston Herald]

Nation Station: Numbers show no place like Fenway [CSNNE.com]

Maddon on Ramirez: ‘We were counting on him’ [CSNNE.com]

Matsuzaka hammered in short-lived start [CSNNE.com]

Notes: Red Sox pitchers continue to struggle [CSNNE.com]

Problems right at the start [CSNNE.com]

Damon: Ramirez retirement ‘shocked us all’ [ESPN Boston]

Damon gets mixed reception, then homers [ESPN Boston]

Ellsbury on extension: Who wouldn’t want one? [ESPN Boston]

Rapid reaction: Rays 16, Red Sox 5 [ESPN Boston]

Sox frustrated after blowout [ESPN Boston]

Scuffling Daisuke Matsuzaka testing patience of Boston Red Sox [ESPN Boston]

Closing Time: Rays pounce all over Daisuke Matsuzaka and the Red Sox [Full Count]

Joe Maddon: In perfect world, Carl Crawford’s best spot in lineup is No. 2 [Full Count]

Joe Maddon Counted on Manny Ramirez, Was ‘Shocked’ by Slugger’s Departure [NESN.com]

Josh Beckett’s Fastball Command, Velocity Is Key to Regaining Form as Top-of-Rotation Starter [NESN.com]

Clay Buchholz Relieved, Excited About New Contract Extension With Red Sox [NESN.com]

Who Is the Clubhouse Leader of the 2011 Red Sox? [NESN.com]

Daisuke Matsuzaka Invents New Way to Struggle, Sinks Red Sox in Blowout Loss to Rays [NESN.com]

Red Sox Mailbag: Terry Francona Burdened With Too Many Lineup Options, Struggling Stars [NESN.com]

David Ortiz Believes Designated Hitters Deserve Hall of Fame Consideration [NESN.com]

Matsuzaka shelled as Boston’s struggles continue [Providence Journal]

Homegrown Buchholz costs Sox less in the long run [Providence Journal]

Damon’s Boston debut as a Ray a big hit [Providence Journal]

Red Sox Journal: Francona confident in Young’s abilities [Providence Journal]

One hundred starts later, the Daisuke Matsuzaka mystery remains unsolved [Rob Bradford – WEEI.com]

For more slices of Red Sox goodness, head over to the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, CSNNE,  ESPN Boston, NESN, Providence Journal, RedSox.com and WEEI websites.

And if you must check out the enemy news, head over the to St. Petersburg Times and Tampa Tribune websites.

Photo credit: Getty Images

Paw Prints is our daily look at the happenings for the UConn Huskies football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball teams as well as some of the other sports. We will do our best to bring you the links from all of the media that covers the Huskies on a daily basis. As always, links can be found by clicking on the read more button below.

Thank you for stopping by and making SOX & Dawgs your home for UConn Huskies news.

To open the links up in a new tab or window, use Control+click

UConn Men’s Basketball links

Kemba Walker to declare for NBA today [New Haven Register]

UConn Women’s Basketball links

Maya Moore moves on to Lynx [CT Post]

UConn’s Maya Moore Top Pick In WNBA Draft [Hartford Courant]

Special Day For UConn’s Moore [Hartford Courant]

Minnesota selects UConn star Maya Moore with No. 1 pick [New Haven Register]

Top draft pick Moore wants to help Lynx turn around [Norwich Bulletin]

Sun reunite UConn teammates Charles, Greene [Norwich Bulletin]

UConn Football links

No Changes Expected For Spring Game, No Live SNY Coverage [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

Mailbag April 12: How Is Leon Kinnard Doing? [Desmond Conner – Hartford Courant]

UConn Football: What We’ve Learned This Spring About The Running Game [Hartford Courant]

No, Kalana Greene is not coming back to the University of Connecticut Huskies women’s basketball team. But she will be playing professionally here in the state of Connecticut.

After spending the 2010 season with the WNBA’s New York Liberty, Greene is coming back to the state as she was traded from the Liberty to the Connecticut Sun in a draft-day trade.

Greene played in all 33 games for the Liberty in 2010 averaging 4.5 points and 1.6 rebounds. She averaged just 0.6 points and 0.4 rebounds in the Liberty’s five playoff games.

With Greene being added to the roster, the Sun now have four former Huskies on their roster. The others are TIna Charles, Renee Montgomery and Ashja Jones.

Photo credit: WNBA.com

There are multiple media reports out there that UConn Huskies junior All-American point guard Kemba Walker will be declaring for the NBA Draft in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon at 3 p.m.

Honestly, I figured the writing was literally on the wall. After all, he has his number placed in the “Huskies of Honor” and underneath his name, it said 2008-2011.

There’s really nothing left for Kemba to prove at UConn.

He had arguably the greatest season ever in a men’s basketball uniform at Storrs. He was a consensus All-American. The only thing lacking was a player of the year trophy but I’m guessing that he’ll take the 2011 National Championship trophy over any of those individual honors or awards.

If you’d like to watch the press conference, UConnHuskies.com will be streaming it live at 3 p.m.

Photo credit: Bettina Hansen – Hartford Courant