Ever since steroids first rose to the surface of Major League Baseball, everyone has found some way to use them as an excuse for some problem in baseball, especially those who don’t know the first thing about the game. These people hear about the steroid scandal and think they know the reason for every slump in baseball.

They claim that, “he’s off the juice” and “his career’s over,” but a true baseball fan knows that slumps happen to everyone and it’s nothing that the sacrifice of the chicken or a prayer to the baseball gods won’t push in the right direction. Continue reading David Ortiz and Steroids? A Firm No »

Just like they had to do last season, the Red Sox must find a way to replace Mike Lowell. He was placed on the 15-day DL, but his stay should not be too long. After missing the entire 2008 postseason, Mike Lowell had off-season hip surgery, and it seemed like Lowell had recovered just fine. The 35-year-old has played in 66 of Boston’s 77 games thus far, hitting .282 with 10 homers and 41 RBI. Plus, Lowell is playing his usual above average defense.

With Lowell’s age and recent injuries, it may be time to think about a replacement for this season and beyond. Tuesday, ESPN’s Peter Gammons said that the Red Sox need to find another bat, mentioning both Garrett Atkins and Nick Johnson as potential replacements. Does Mike Lowell need a replacement? Can a 35-year-old third baseman keep recovering from these injuries? These are the questions that Red Sox GM Theo Epstein must answer. Continue reading Do The Red Sox Need To Replace Mike Lowell? »

After Tuesday night’s unbelievable 11-10 loss to the Orioles, which featured the best bullpen in baseball surrendering an astounding 13 hits and 10 runs in two innings, the Sox needed, above all, a stout performance by staff ace Josh Beckett. Depended upon to play the role of stopper, Beckett was hit hard, giving up five earned runs—including two homers—in seven less than spectacular innings.

I, for one, expected more. But, then again, I always have. Continue reading Is Josh Beckett an Ace? »

The hangover from Tuesday’s heartbreaking 11-10 loss to the Orioles, in which the Red Sox blew a nine — yes, nine — run lead, lasted about halfway into Wednesday’s thrilling 6-5 comeback victory to take the series and head back to Boston with the gleam of victory upon them.

At the outset, it was clear that the Red Sox had not put the previous day’s loss behind them, as starter Josh Beckett looked uncharacteristically shaky after his last few superb outings.  The Boston ace gave up at least a run in each of the first four innings, but pitched brilliantly in the fifth, sixth and seventh — he needed exactly seven pitches to finish off the O’s in the sixth — and kept the game within striking distance.  But when would the comatose bats wake up? Continue reading Sox Prove Stupid Saying About Geese and Ganders, Beat Orioles 6-5 »

Mike Lowell went ahead with the Synvisc shot on Monday in order to help alleviate the pain in his hip, a leftover side effect from the surgery he had last October.  Although the procedure went well, and doctors additionally removed 15 cc’s of fluid from the area, it’s still unclear whether that may be enough.

Lowell was placed on the 15-day disabled list yesterday, according to the Boston Herald.  Although Lowell said he was feeling well enough to play a few games, Terry Francona felt it was best to put Lowell on the DL, to try and guarantee that this time when he comes back, he’ll be feeling 100%.

At this point, I really can’t be sure how much of this is just Francona and Lowell being “extra careful,” or if they’re trying to mask the seriousness of the situation. Continue reading Mike Lowell on the DL, Time to Panic? »