I want to preface this blog by saying I think John Farrell is a great pitching coach, and could easily be a successful manager, but…..

Sunday night, Sox are winning big.  Lester seems to be struggling through the 5th inning, especially after giving up a soft chopper down the third base line to Derek Jeter.  Bases now loaded with Bobby Abreau coming up.  But wait, John Farrell steps out of the dugout to talk to his left hander.  It must have been a great pep talk, because Lester went ahead and walked in a run with 5 pitches.  What could he have possibly said to mess up his control that bad?  Hold that thought…

Monday night, Sox are down one, looking to escape a big inning.  The Halos have men on first and third, I believe, and Dice-K is starting to get rocked.  The righty Justin Masterson is warming in the pen, but instead of Tito making his way out to replace the Dice Man, its Farrell again.  Pacing towards the mound to ’settle his pitcher down’… Three pitches later, Torii Hunter cracks a back breaking three run bomb that landed somewhere near the Boulevard in Lowell.

2 nights.  2 failed mound visits.  Luckily, Lester was able to calm himself down and get out of the inning, securing the win for the Lansdowne 9.  Dice K, on the other hand, was not so lucky.  He picked up the loss after getting pulled in favor of Masterson once Torii Hunter did his trademark bat flip and crossed home.

Here’s my question to you… What could Farrell possibly be saying to make matters worse on the mound for an already struggling pitcher?!!  Please leave your comments below….

The brooms are being prepped, the smell of dominance is in the air, and the Boston Red Sox are one win away from their first sweep against a road opponent since a brief two-game series with the Cleveland Indians, April 14-15.

Everybody knows the story about the Red Sox’ road woes this year. The good guys currently stand at 23-32 on the road. The only reason they’ve been so competitive in the AL East is the sheer supremacy at home. With a record of 36-11, the Red Sox easily have been the best team in the Majors at home. Yawkey Way certainly treats them well.

Dice-K put the Red Sox in a great position to not only take the series, but bring plenty of momentum to a team that lost much of it after the All Star break. It wasn’t until the 8th inning of last night’s game when Matsuzaka surrendered two runs on three hits. Before then, Matsuzaka was crusing along, keeping his pitch count at a minumum, something that has falted Dice-K all year.

(Check out this stat. Dice-K is 11-1 now, and 5-0 ON THE ROAD.)

Drew provided the first run of last night’s game with a home run to right. Ichiro Suzuki made a great attempt to bring the ball back into the yard, but J.D. Drew wasn’t having any of that. (I’m telling you, if Ichiro was two-feet to his left, that ball would of been robbed.) Mike Lowell and Jed Lowrie each contributed with an RBI.

What was the best part about last night’s game? It had to be Hideki Okajima coming in with inherited runners in the 8th. Ian from Sox and Dawgs mentioned Okajima’s astounding stats with runners on base when he enters the game. Before last night’s game, Oki has let 12 of the 17 inherited runners to score when he takes the mound. An unbelievable percentage of 70.5.

Last night was different, as Okajima entered the game with 2 runners on and quickly got 2 outs to end the 8th inning. Shades of the ‘07 Okajima flashed television screens and when Papelbon came in to close the door, remnants of the 2007 World Champion team engulfed our heads.

How many times have we seen Oki close the door in the 8th, followed by Paps ending it in the 9th? Not so much.

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Tonight’s game is sure to be up in the air, as Seattle ace Felix Hernandez takes the mound against Clay Buchholz. Hernandez has always pitched well against the Red Sox. Remember early last year when he threw a complete game, 1-hit shutout at Fenway Park?

Speaking of Clay, we’re still not sure whether or not this guy is here to stay and become a Cy Young pitcher in the next several years, or if he’ll drop off the radar in the next year or two. His inconsistency has befuddled Red Sox management. Buchholz still needs to work on his command, and if he can figure it out, look for things to turn around with the young pitcher.