A Legitimate Win Streak

What's the best way to watch a terrific Game 7 in the NHL playoffs? While reminiscing about a one-sided Red Sox win earlier in the day.


Just one of the finer points you get with a bright and early 11 a.m. start. Of course, we only get that once a year, on Marathon Monday, but while an 11:05 first pitch spells 5:30 doom for TV production types, for the rest of us it spells plenty of time to sit back at work and watch (or listen) to the game while pretending to be productive.

So what did we see on Monday morning? A very complete game from a Red Sox squad that rested more starters than we'll probably see sitting in any game for the rest of the season. Dominant starting pitching? Check, from Penthouse aficionado and budding rookie Clay Buchholz to boot. A batting order that strings hits together to produce runs? Check, with special thanks to Dustin Pedoria (as ever) and the booming Jed Lowrie, who would seem like a "have to find a place to fit him in guy", if not for the fact that Julio Lugo officially topped .300 in the batting average category with a strong game this afternoon. In all honesty, he might not even be the best guy for the job. The way Lowrie is playing, a case could easily be made to take the gloves off and run him out at shortstop for good, particualrly after Lugo's six early-season errors (shades of a return of the pre-Boston Julio?). Knowing Terry Francona, we're betting that's not going to happen ... yet. But Lowrie's ability to play short, second and third is creating openings for him to prove his value, particularly while typical fill in Alex Cora chills on the DL.

Regardless, there's little to gripe about following Monday's 8-3 win over the woeful Rangers. Shaky bullpen work? Maybe, though the Rangers bats, which have potential to be a lot more potent than they were at the Fens the past four days, were bound to wake up a little bit at some point. Considering the fact that Javier Lopez ate up an inning-plus of scoreless relief, even that's a decent factor to point to (though yet another inherited runner scored is more reason for loogy concern).

Manny Delcarmen's ninth? OK, there's the Achilles. Or maybe Little Manny was worn out from partying about Frank Thomas' MLB departure, temporary though it may be. Who knows. Regardless, if that's the biggest complaint Sox fans can lodge, we don't have much to complain about at the moment.

STARTING PITCHING: √+
It was time. Six innings, 5 H, 6 Ks and 2 BBs. Not perfect, but more than solid for native Texan Clay Buchholz who, rather than wilt once the season started, has shown general improvement in each outing. He needs to be more efficient with his pitches - 103 in his six innings Monday - but that's a complaint that could be lodged against almost all of the Sox pitchers here in the early going.

MIDDLE RELIEF: √-
Sure, David Aardsma and Javier Lopez got the job done, but it was definitely uglier than it needed to be. The Sox need Aardsma to eat up more than an inning at a time, which is all he's been used for so far, or else Julian Tavarez is going to throw his shoulder off at some point during a rough patch. Lopez's 1.1 innings were a step in the right direction, if just to prove that he can be more versatile than static projections would expect.

SET UP RELIEF: N/A
No way anyone can be considered fulfilling a set up role with a six run lead. Sorry Javi.

CLOSER: -
It's not the role Little Manny's become accustomed to, but still, giving up a run to the Rangers on a pair of hits may signal one of two things. Either A) Manny couldn't keep his focus when the game wasn't tight or, B) His recent reliability was all a short-term facade. Or maybe he's just not a morning person. Let's hope door No. 3 is closest to correct.

LINEUP: √+
Patience, staying within their swings and overall depth, it was all there for the Red Sox on Monday. And while there were a lot of good game back pats to be handed around - Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia and David Ortiz with two hits a piece come to mind - Julio Lugo's four-hit day, and his bulging .316 average, deserve the biggest tip of the cap. Maybe Julio really does thrive on competition, eh?

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