I'll say it... the Red Sox over babied Clay Buchholz

The Red Sox decided not to trade for Rich Harden.

Why? Because they already had an ace caliber pitcher who is always hurt!

Clay Buchholz has a stress fracture in his back. I don't think it is as bad as what Ralph Macchio had in The Outsiders, but just as destructive for the season.

Hasn't that been the mantra this season?

Get Lester and Buchholz healthy and the Sox could win the pennant.

Now what?

Lester is healthy and looks good and Beckett has been solid.

Lackey has been winning, but how long will THAT last?

Andrew Miller is not the ace that the Tigers and Marlins thought he was. He's a #5 pitcher.

Tim Wakefield is Russian Roulette.

And Eric Bedard will probably be in a full body cast by Labor Day.

The Red Sox pennant chances are no better than the Yankees, whose rotation we love to make fun of.

The Rangers pitching staff is miles ahead of the Red Sox and Yankees. I even put the Angels in front of us.

And I will say it. I can never rely on Clay Buchholz again.

I've been saying since 2007 that the Red Sox have been babying him.

They've been treating him with kid gloves to avoid injuries since he threw the no hitter. And what has he been since?

AN INJURY PRONE PITCHER!

Red Sox fans, ask yourself. If Buchholz were a Yankee, wouldn't you be throwing him in with Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain as pitchers with ability but whose bodies have betrayed them.

And here we have Clay Buchholz. It's his 5th big league season. He's 26. And he has pitched 100 innings a grand total of one time in his career.

All the while he has been treated with kid gloves and all of that love and care has put him on the shelf AGAIN!

He's another example of a babied pitcher. Instead of a reliable stud we have an injury prone frustration.

Any decent season the Sox get from Clay Buchholz MUST be considered a bonus from now on.

He is another pitcher ruined by kid gloves.

Giants... Better make a move sooner than later

The Giants offense, save for a grand slam by rookie Brandon Crawford, looks beyond dormant in the wake of the Buster Posey injury.

Suddenly this season that was filled with walk off hits and post World Series mania could take an ugly turn.

In fact it already has.
The DIAMONDBACKS are in first place as I type this.

Read that sentence again.
How did THAT happen that Arizona is in first?

(More on that later.)

Make a deal, Giants. Give the team a positive bolt. I already suggested Jose Reyes (I think it is a no brainer to bring bring in Reyes.)

But make SOME move now... Something to bring a little positivity back to China Basin.

Buster Posey is hurt. Naturally I see the glass half empty

I already talked about this today.
When I talked about Pedroia and the Red Sox, I said that I always expect the worst news.
And almost always the player comes right back.

So now I see Buster Posey, a player the Giants can't survive without, being carried off of the field.
And my first thought is "Man, such a promising career has been cut short."

He'll probably play on Friday.

So I take it Pedroia is OK

I am such a pessimist when it comes to injuries.

Whenever I see someone carried off the field, I automatically think "Oh no... their career might be over."

I know that was what I thought about Dustin Pedroia, especially after all the time he missed LAST year.

Well, I guess I was off. Instead of missing the rest of his career, he missed one game and homered in his first at bat back.

I guess people should be glad I am not in the medical field.

Either way, anytime my team can go into the home of the team with the best record in the league and take 2 of 3 (especially after losing the first one in teeth grinding fashion) I am fine with it.

And living in California made it especially sweet. With the Red Sox first inning explosion, I saw my team were up 7-0 before it was 9:15 AM. Not a bad cup of joe.

The Sox are 1 game back in the loss column from the Yankees.
Let's hope they can get into first by June.

And let's not have any more career threatening injuries.

Victor hurt again? Why not?

When it looked like Victor Martinez was going to be taken out of the game last night during that grotesque 10th inning, I thought "Why not?"

Seriously... after seeing the stat that among the 19 players put on the Red Sox DL, there were 6 players on the Red Sox opening day starting line up and 9 either former or current All Stars.

Victor Martinez was one of the 19, one of the 6 and one of the 9... and it was appropriate that as the Red Sox season slipped away that an injury was in the middle of it.

I hope Francona either sits him or gives him some first base time as the games in Chicago take a turn to Meaninglessville.

Of course that would mean Varitek would get the bulk of the catching duties (38 years old and has been injured most of the year) or maybe give Kevin Cash some more time (a man whose hitting I have compared to Elmo creator Kevin Clash.)

Someone pointed out that Jarrod Saltalamacchia is hurt and out for the year, making it #20.

Sadly we both forgot that when the rosters expand, there's no need to put someone on the disabled list.

Too bad.

20 would have been so symmetrical.

Hey look at that! the Red Sox won a game!

So the Sox didn't get swept by the Orioles. It's been that kind of stretch run where THAT is the branch I cling to so I can feel better.

A nice good old fashioned not close win. A few homers. Some nice pitching from Lackey. Boom! A win.

There are 10 games left including 6 with the Yankees that, barring one of the most staggering collapses in baseball history, will be meaningless.

Here's all I want from the Sox for the rest of the year.

6 wins.
If they go 6-4 I can feel OK.

Naturally I don't feel great about this season that has fallen short. But with all the injuries and disappointments and slumped shoulders and staying home in October... to end up with 90 wins will feel pretty good in terms of looking forward to 2011.

Ahhh how our expectations lower in a disappointing year.

Oh for Christsake, just shut Dustin Pedroia down for the year

Seriously... we all are impressed by how fast Pedroia came back. He's a gamer. We love him. He's our guy.

Now take away his spikes and say "See you in spring training."

He's back on the Disabled List after 2 games off of it.

And yes, it is because the same foot is hurt.

This is nuts. Why risk injuring our MVP any further?

2010 is a lost cause. Even if the Sox play better than their current pace and win 92 or 93 games, they are still playing golf on the first full week of October.

As I wrote before, 2011 looks promising provided Pedroia and Youk is healthy, Beckett pitches well and they let some of the kids play and fill some holes.

Let's see what this kid Yamaico Navarro can do in the infield. He's supposedly a dynamic fielder. Let's see his do his thing in the show.

He's already the greatest Red Sox player named Yamaico.

So Dustin... nobody is questioning your heart. We're questioning your foot.

And if the Red Sox don't shut him down, I'll be questioning their sanity!

"Hey Reggie... there's room in the Sox line up for you!"

Why not Reggie?

Have him suit up in a Sox uniform and DH a few times a week!

How is that any less likely than Darnell McDonald hitting a homer in his first Red Sox at bat?

Ryan! You don't get hurt AFTER the Trade Deadline!!

Seriously... if you are going to go on the DL, make sure it is on July 30th or before. What good does it do on August 1st?

Anytime between opening day and July 31st, the Phillies can easily make a deal and BOOM! They have another star first baseman.

But now the Phillies are without their big guy in the middle of their lineup and the immortal Ross Gload will be starting at first base.

If Howard had done this a few days earlier, maybe Lance Berkman would be there... or maybe the guy covering first base on the play that sidelined Howard, Adam Dunn.

But noooooo....

Just remember people: TIME YOUR INJURIES!

If the Red Sox have any more injuries, it might be time to thaw out Ted's head

I mean we have access to Ted's head, don't we?

He's a lifelong Red Sox and the Sox drafted his wacko son.

Seriously, Bill Hall can't play EVERY position. We could have a cloned Splendid Splinter out in right field.

(Keep in mind everything I know about cloning I learned from the Michael Keaton film Multiplicity.)

VIVA FABIO CASTRO!

When it looked like Clay Buchholz was going to go on the DL, the Red Sox summoned Fabio Castro from Pawtucket to help out the bullpen.

But when it was clear they needed more infield depth with Pedroia going down, Theo pulled off a deal with the A's to bring in utility man Eric Patterson and Castro was designated for assignment without appearing in a game.

How could you do it, Tito?
How could you NOT bring in Fabio Castro?

You have the ability to have the P.A. announcer say "Now pitching... FABIO CASTRO!"

And you passed that up?
For what? For Manny DelCarmen to get another appearance?

I hope nobody claims him... I have no idea if he sucks or not. I just want to hear the words "Fabio Castro gets the out."

And be honest with me... you do too.

We'll take the ugly wins

Oh the Red Sox bullpen WANTED to make this interesting. Oh they tried to let Tampa back in this one... but I can't call it a dodged bullet. Even when they brought in Papelbon, I never thought this game was in real danger of going in the L column.

It's a big one.

With all the injuries on this squad, they have to hold their own until everyone is done mending.
Win one of the next two games and we've got a series win against a top team with a depleted staff.

The thing that was most startling about this win was reading the box score. Lackey is 9-3? Doesn't it feel like he's been mediocre this year? And yet he'll wind up a 15-17 game winner by the time the year is done.

Go figure.
I'll take the W.