5/22 Online Seats Game Thread: After a Rocky Start in Philly

The first game of interleague play didn't go as well as the Boston Red Sox had planned. But tonight, Daisuke Matsuzaka will welcome back some familiar faces from the DL to take on Kyle Kendrick in the second game against the Phillies.

5/17 Online Seats Game Thread: Boston is Bronx Bound

The Boston Red Sox took their lumps in Detroit, but Daisuke Matsuzaka will have to look sharp as Boston heads to the Bronx to begin a two game series against the New York Yankees.

5/11 Online Seats Game Thread: Winning Red Sox Start Shaky Dice-K

The Boston Red Sox have finally pushed themselves to a winning record, and they will look to carry that momentum into tonight's game, as Daisuke Matsuzaka teeters on the edge of a double digit ERA.

Drew Back on Track, A Thing or Two About Numbers, What is Fixable?

Drew Back on Track No Sox hitter in the past two weeks has been hotter than J.D. Drew. In Boston’s last ten games, he’s batted 17-for-36 with three homers. The eight Ks are a bit unfortunate, but nothing concerning. Not including last night, his first strike percentage is down to 63.4 from 72.7, his BABIP is up to .329 from .194. What is particularly exciting about Drew’s performance is the type of contact he’s making. Besides it being hard and consistent, he’s been doing an excellent job of sending the ball the other way on two strikes. According to MLB.com’s Fenway Park hit chart, Drew has four opposite field singles this season to go along with two doubles. In 2009, he had all of five singles (seven depending on how narrowly or widely you define the left field) and five doubles (up to nine for the width of left field). In particular, Drew has been serving these opposite field singles with two strikes. Keeping his hands back and serving outside pitches into right field means he’s timing the ball much better than he had been. Lots of hitters in slumps will get ahead of the pitch and roll the ball over to the pull side...

5/6 Online Seats Game Thread: Dice-K To Shake off A Dicey Start

The Boston Red Sox are riding the .500 line after taking three in a row off of the Los Angeles Angels. Now, Daisuke Matsuzaka will have to shake off the rust from his first start, in which he got tagged for six earned runs on seven hits against the Orioles, in order to complete the sweep of the Angels and give the Red Sox a winning record.

The Case For Optimism

Monday night, we got a glimpse of what this team could look like with things going right. Clay Buchholz put together another solid outing, further cementing himself as this season’s most reliable starter, and the offense put on a show — especially during a long 6th inning that saw seven Sox runners cross the plate. The question is this: was what we saw last night something we can expect to see again, or was it simply a reminder of how frustrating this season has become?

I was a huge fan of this particular iteration of the club going into 2010 — probably the most excited I’ve been about a Sox team since 2007. Unsurprisingly, the abysmal start has dampened my optimism pretty significantly, but it hasn’t yet killed it. I still think that by the end of the season we’ll see a team that more closely resembles the one that decimated the Angels than the one that lay down in front of the Orioles. Here’s why.

5/1 Online Seats Game Thread: Dice-K Back For Boston

After a brutal late game loss last night, Daisuke Matsuzaka will make his much anticipated return to the Boston Red Sox, squaring off against Brad Bergesen and the Baltimore Orioles.

Money in the margins

What is the first thing a server asks you when sit down at a table? “What can I get you to drink?” Why is the desert menu usually separate from the rest of the menu? Because flour, sugar, syrup and water are cheap and not labor intensive. The profit on that steak may be 40 to 50 percent after labor is included in its preparation but the soda you have been chugging down in the mean time nets a 98 percent gain.

Where Theo Epstein truly makes his money is with the players on the margins, the soda and German chocolate cakes players who propel an 81 win team to a 96 win team.

Daisuke Matsuzaka tosses five scoreless Triple-A innings

Boston Red Sox right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka spent more time on the sidelines during spring training than he did on the mound due to a combination of shoulder and neck injuries.

He took his first step toward a possible return to Boston by pitching five pain-free, scoreless innings Saturday against Rochester as he began a 30-day rehab assignment with Triple-A Pawtucket.

Pawtucket won the first game of a makeup doubleheader, 1-0.

Matsuzaka, who’s been on Boston’s disabled list since April 3 with a neck strain, walked one, struck out three and hit two batters.

Small samples and spring flings

Every spring, we get the March stars who try to earn a roster spot, but hopefully we all know by now that a month or so of at bats is not enough to tell anything.

Half the time, players are facing minor leaguers and the rest are players working on their approach. Any major league team who picks a player based on any statistic over another in March is only setting themselves up to be disappointed.

So far this spring, Josh Reddick has been tearing the cover off the ball with a .400/.429/.700 line in 40 ABs. That sure looks nice and Jeremy Hermedia is matching him with .400/.447/.571 -- but does anyone think either is a better option in right field than J.D. Drew who is currently hitting .154/.241/.231?

You might say that comparing them to an established player making $14 million this year is a silly comparison, but why would that be any different than saying Clay Buchholz is not ready to start this year based on 6.2 IP?