Red Sox Stumble Their Way Out Of The Windy City...Chicago 5 Boston 1

Boy, it seems that the only games the Boston Red Sox win consistantly are those started by lefty Jon Lester. Sunday afternoon in Chicago, it was the slumping Josh Beckett's turn to take the hill and though he looked MUCH better, giving up three runs and allowing only six hits and NO home runs in 7 innings, the Sox could not solve the offerings of Mark Buehrle. They only scored a single run all day long in a 5-1 White Sox win. The White Sox? My goodness, at times this year Boston has made mediocre teams look like worldbeaters. But they've been playing great at home, as usual, and there are only 10 (!!) road games left before the postseason. 7 of those are against 2 of the 3 worst teams in the American League...must win games, dammit! Leftfielder Jason Bay had this to say of his team's road woes...

“I don’t think it’s that concerning, given the position we’re in,” left fielder Jason Bay said. “If we were looking up at some teams and had to make up some ground, yes. But we’re just kind of treading water on the road (34-37) and playing well at home (45-21). The position we’re in, most teams will take that.”

And Mike Lowell continued on the same theme...

“We were so encouraged by the last road trip (when the Sox went 4-2 against Texas and Toronto),” third baseman Mike Lowell said. “We felt good coming into today that we could at least finish on a good note. We’re disappointed, but it’s not the end of the world.”

It's back home to Fenway for an eight game homestand starting with two against the Orioles tonight and tomorrow night. An off day Thursday will be followed by a three game set with the Tampa Bay Rays. There's another off day on Monday...more needed rest for the weary. Here are the pitching matchups for the Birdie series...

9/8/2009 Bal 7:10 PM ET NESN Buchholz (4-3) vs. Hernandez (4-6)
9/9/2009 Bal 7:10 PM ET NESN Byrd (1-1) vs. Berken (4-11)

Oh, one other Sox note. After watching Tim Wakefield hobble to cover first base in his last start a few days ago, Terry Francona has decided to skip him entirely for the forseeable future, at least this entire homestand. That's too bad.

I hope every one of you had a terrific Labor Day weekend. It zipped by, didn't it? You can click on this post's title for more Red Sox news and as always, BE WELL. Your comments, every one of 'em, will be answered as promptly as I can. Thanks for being here.