Manny's Number 498 In A Losing Cause...Twins 7 Red Sox 3

Two horrible starts in a row for the Boston rotation make for a glum morning. After Tim Wakefield had what might have been his worst start in a Boston uniform, Clay Buchholz, whose hold on the number five spot in the rotation seems to be slipping from his grasp, allowed seven runs in only four and two thirds innings. Eight hits and FIVE walks were also a part of his night. I watched every pitch he threw, and I wasn't happy. His fastball was uncontrollable so he had to rely on his off speed stuff. The change-up was continually high, out of the strike zone, hence the five walks. The curveball? Here's the man himself to tell you...

"I felt great in the pen, felt like the fastball was good," Buchholz said. "Then I got out there and the fastball wasn't as good as I thought it was. I tried to go to offspeed stuff like I have all year and they were all over it. It felt like they were sitting on every first-pitch changeup or curveball I threw. I know I threw too many offspeed pitches tonight. Nobody likes walking people. If you give people a free pass and they score, that's a big deal, pitching-wise. It doesn't get in my head, but it's frustrating."

Peter here, and every walk, every base hit, every non-strike "got in my head," that's for sure. The bullpen was near perfect, but the seven runs were too much to overcome. And those seven runs came after Clay was staked to a three zip lead. Oh well. Another page turned...I DO NOT want to run out of pages!

Bright spots were JD Drew with three hits, Cora with two and Manny with the same amount, one of which was his 498th career home run. Two to go, Sir Manny...I hope you can do it at home after the two game Baltimore series.

Summing up, it seems like Bartolo Colon, after two more starts with Pawtucket, will slip into the Boston rotation and allow Buchholz to get himself together in Triple A. Julian Tavarez, who saved our butts last year, was designated for assignment to make room for Sean Casey, who has been missed. When Buch can gain more confidence in ALL his pitches, starts like last night simply will not happen! We've seen him throw a couple gems already this year, but a healthy Colon, armwise and otherwise, would be a Godsend. After all, he is only two plus years away from his Cy Young Award year. Imagine that!

Here are the pitching matchups for the pair of contests at Camden Yards...

Josh Beckett (4-2, 3.70) vs. Jeremy Guthrie (1-3, 4.32) tonight
Jon Lester (2-2, 4.06) vs. Daniel Cabrera (3-1, 3.54) Wednesday

May the good guys win both! A Thursday off day before a Fenway series with the National League Milwaukee Brewers comes next. Enjoy your Tuesday if you can, and again, I thank you for stopping by. Comments are always great and will always be answered. That's my promise to you. And remember to never forget...BE WELL. Click on the title of this post for more Soxy stuff. Thanks.