The A's go into the All Star Break with a winning record: 43-43... a Bleacher Report Article

The A's have a .500 record. So do the Red Sox. But even though their records are identical, they don't mean the same thing.

In my latest for Bleacher Report, I write how the Athletics should consider their 43-43 record a winning one.

You can read the entire article HERE.

Red Sox fans... we're not contenders

I wrote a piece for Bleacher Report about why the Red Sox need to deal Josh Beckett. And I got a lot of flack from readers who did not agree with my assessment of the team.

I claimed the Red Sox are not legit contenders in 2012.
For some reason a lot of people disagreed with me.

Well tonight illustrated yet another example of why the Sox are not contenders. Going into the season, Jon Lester was the only pitcher I had any faith in.

He lost... again. And his ERA is 4.72.
That's not good. It is barely mediocre. And we are past the 1/4 mark of the season. The whole "It's early" excuse is getting flimsy.

The Sox lost to the Rays. Never good. This is a team the Red Sox are supposedly chasing.

But here is the most convincing stat I can give anyone to make my case that this Red Sox team is not a contender. In the Schedule and Results section of Baseball Reference, they break down the games, head to head match ups and amount of time in first place among other details of the season.

Here's the entry for the 2012 Red Sox in terms of "Most Games Above .500" for 2012.

NEVER!

They haven't been above .500 once all season.

We're almost in freaking June and they haven't been in the black for a day.
So yeah, the Red Sox should listen to offers for Kevin Youkilis, Kelly Shoppach AND Josh Beckett.

That's not blowing up the team. That's making some changes based upon moving some players who might help another club in 2012 and won't make much a difference in 2013.

But please. Don't call this team a contending team.
Contending teams have winning records.

   

The Red Sox are as good as the Yankees this year

Yankee fans, I don't want to hear anyone talking smack against the Red Sox.
Yeah the Yankees were in first place a month ago. Yeah they were 5 games over .500 on May 14.

Yeah the Red Sox started the season 1-5 and were 5-10 at one point. Yeah the Red Sox were the laughing stock of baseball.

Well guess what?
They have identical records now.

The Yankees and Red Sox are equals in terms of being over paid, over hyped, under achieving embarrassments.

Neither have anything to crow about.
Neither team can brag.

It's 42 games into the season, just about 1/4 of the season has passed, and both teams are .500.

So I hope Yankee fans didn't think the Red Sox start was too horrible.
Because the Yankee start was just as rotten.

I have the numbers to prove it.


  

I like THIS Red Sox team

This team is playing hard.
Pitching well.
Making the plays.
Jon Lester out pitched Jake Peavy (who suddenly is pitching like a Cy Young contender again.)

 They have won the first 6 games of the 7 game road trip and climbed back to .500.

The last time they played in Fenway it was the massacre against the Yankees.

If they win tomorrow, they could return as a team above .500.

Should I put today's "1-0" win in the "Dodged Bullet" tally?

Nope.

I need to see the Red Sox in first place and beating good teams before I call them a contender.

I'd LOVE to be proven wrong on this... but I'm still not there yet.

.500!

OK Pirate fans... I did a reverse curse.

I questioned the move of taking James McDonald out and lookie here! Doumit homers and the Pirates are a .500 team.

Yeah it is early but this is the first time since 2004 that they were a .500 team this late.

Can they play above .500 for 128 games?

(I'll get blamed if they go on a losing streak won't I?)

Enjoy the curtain calls, Ryan Doumit!

Burnt to a Coco Crisp

Our old friend Coco Crisp did us in tonight.

Going 3 for 3 and stealing a homer?
How could you Coco?
Don't you have any sentimentality?

The Sox were done early tonight and the people of Alderaan put up more of a fight than my boys did.

And Trevor Cahill moved closer to 20 wins as Clay Buchholz stays stuck on 15.

Cahill will probably start 4 more times in the A's final 22 games this year. If he goes 4-0, then he'll be a 20 game winner and probably get some Cy Young Votes.

While the A's climbed back to .500, the Sox are now 10 games out of first place with 21 left to play. And 8 games back in the loss column with 21 left to play for the Wild Card thanks to the Rays bizarre blown lead yet still winning the game victory in Toronto.

I'm not saying they are dead, but let's just say their kids are making arrangements.

I wasn't wrong about the Rangers

Back on June 21, I wrote that I wasn't buying the Rangers.

I had seen this story before... the Rangers get off to an amazing start, everyone starts thinking they are for real. Then the summer kicks in and they wilt away.

In late June as the Rangers finished an 11 game winning streak (and won 14 out of 15) they opened up a 4 1/2 game lead over the Angels and looked for real.

Since then they've had a losing record (23-25) and in August they've lost 10 of 16 games and 8 of their last 11 games... just as they've ALWAYS done in August.

They've lost 4 straight (including a sweep by the Rays) and it's been nearly 2 weeks since they've won 2 in a row.

In other words my prediction was right.

Here's what I DIDN'T predict... the rest of the Division would be such garbage.

Actually the A's have been good. They've played 6 games over .500 since the Rangers winning streak.

Here's the problem... they were 6 games UNDER .500 then.

Meanwhile the Angels have collapsed to a 20-27 record since and the Mariners? Yikes... they are just 18-31 (and a fired manager) since.

It helps to win a Division when the rest of the teams have to have winning streaks to reach break even.

There's about 3 more weeks until Labor Day.

Can the Rangers blow a 7 game lead? Just ask the Mets if that is possible.

It's still hot in Texas, and I haven't been wrong yet.

I'm glad another perennial playoff team is struggling too

Nothing is a bigger boost to your own self esteem than someone else's misery.

And with the Red Sox's playoff hopes teetering, they can at least take solace that they are not that team the Sox always matches up with in the post season.

The Angels needed bullpen help and another bat.

Naturally they got a starting pitcher... and Dan Haren lasted almost 5 innings before he got hit with a line drive.

And today, once again their line up flaws and rotten bullpen were exposed by a Sox team that isn't exactly a world beater.

Another day another great start. And while the Sox didn't gain ground on the Rays, they did pick one up on the Yankees.

It's too early to get excited, but at least there is a glimmer of hope... at the expense of the Angels.

Let's update the tally.

DODGED A BULLET GAMES - 32

April 4 - 9-7 win against Yankees (On Opening Night, the Red Sox overcome a 5-1 Yankee lead with a game tying HR by Pedroia and a go ahead passed ball.)
April 10 - 8-3 win against Kansas City (Beckett out pitches Zack Greinke and nearly gets decapitated by a line drive.)
April 14 - 6-3 win in Minnesota. (Okajima gets Morneau to pop up with the bases loaded in the 7th and Papelbon wiggled out of a 9th inning jam.)
April 20 - 7-6 win against Texas. (Darnell McDonald introduces himself to Boston with an 8th inning game tying homer and a walk off hit in the 9th.)
April 21 - 8-7 win against Texas. (The Red Sox were down 4-0 early only to win it on Youk's 2 out 11th inning double.)
April 23 - 4-3 win against Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 3-0 lead but win it on Adrian Beltre's bases loaded walk.)

April 24 - 7-6 win against Baltimore. (The Red Sox score 6 in the 7th and hold off a late Baltimore comeback attempt.)
April 26 - 13-12 win at Toronto. (The Sox blow an early 5-0 lead but hang on for dear life in a slugfest.)
April 27 - 2-1 win at Toronto. (Buchholz holds the Jays down for 8 but it takes a bases loaded walk in the 8th to go ahead.)
April 28 - 2-0 win at Toronto. (Daniel Bard wiggles out of trouble in the 8th to help Lester shut down the Blue Jays and finish the sweep.)
May 4 - 5-1 win against the Angels. (Juan Rivera misplays Jeremy Hermedia's 2 out flyball into a 3 run game winning double)
May 5 - 3-1 win against the Angels. (Papi and Beltre homer and the Sox hang on despite squandering many potential rallies.)
May 6 - 11-6 win against the Angels. (Dice-K puts the Red Sox in a 4-0 hole before they even bat. The Sox bats respond.)
May 10 - 7-6 win against the Blue Jays. (Sox blow an early 2-0 lead, take advantage of some errors and hang on.)
May 18 - 7-5 win in New York. (Sox climb back from a 5-1 hole. A day after hitting a walk off homer, Marcus Thames drops a fly ball to start the winning rally for the Sox.)
May 25 - 2-0 win in Tampa. (Big Papi supplies all the offense as Papelbon wiggles out of a 9th inning jam.)
May 29 - 1-0 win against Kansas City. (Zack Greinke holds the Sox to one run, but they make it stick)

June 1 - 9-4 win against Oakland. (Lackey puts the Sox in a 4-0 hole but Victor Martinez goes 5-5 and the Sox score 9 runs late.)
June 2 - 6-4 win against Oakland. (Dice-K puts the Sox in a 3-0 hole before they come to bat, but come back thanks to Papi's homer.)

June 8 - 3-2 win at Cleveland. (With Papelbon unavailable, Okajima, Ramirez and Bard hang on to make a winner out of Wakefield.)

June 19 - 5-4 win against the Dodgers. (Sox make 4 errors, blow a late lead and let Manny homer, but they win it in the bottom of the 9th on a Pedroia single.)
June 20 - 2-0 win against the Dodgers. (Dodgers blow an early bases loaded scoring opportunity and allow Buchholz to settle down for the win.)

June 24 - 13-11 win in Colorado. (The bullpen lets up 9 runs in 5 innings, but Pedroia homers 3 times including with 2 outs in the 10th to win a wild and stupid game.)
June 26 - 4-2 win in San Francisco. (An injury running the bases takes Buchholz out in the second, but the bullpen and Mike Cameron's bat and glove win the game.)
July 2 - 3-2 win against the Orioles. (Wakefield gets the win and J.D. Drew homers twice, but it is Nava's 2 out 8th inning bloop that landed between three fielders that breaks the tie.)

July 11 - 3-2 win in Toronto. (Jesse Litch took a no hitter into the 6th but back to back homers by McDonald and Big Papi win the game.)
July 17 - 3-2 win against Texas. (Youk ties the game in the 9th off of Cliff Lee and wins it in the 11th with a sacrifuce fly)
July 19 - 2-1 win at Oakland. (Beltre homers and Dice-K holds on to the win.)
July 22 - 8-6 win at Seattle. (Lackey lost a no hit bid in the 8th and the Mariners scored 5 in the 9th to tie before the Sox won in 13)
July 23 - 2-1 win at Seattle. (Bill Hall's barely fair homer gives the Sox the win on Beckett's return.)

July 26 - 6-3 win in Anaheim. (Papi homers twice and Buccholz and Papelbon each wiggle out of jams to get the win.)
July 27 - 4-2 win in Anaheim. (Jed Lowrie's 2 run 7th inning double gives the Sox the lead and makes a winner out of John Lackey.

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 31

April 6 - 6-4 loss against the Yankees. (Scutaro's error leads to the winning run.)
April 7 - 3-1 loss against the Yankees. (Sox leave the winning run on in the 9th only to lose on Granderson's 10th inning homer)
April 9 - 4-3 loss in Kansas City. (Bard coughs up the lead, denying Wakefield a win.)
April 17 - 3-1 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Sox can't score with the bases loaded and nobody out in the 11th... lost it in the 12th.)
April 17 - 6-5 loss to Tampa Bay. (The Red Sox comeback falls a run short, leaving two on in the 8th)
April 25 - 7-6 loss to Baltimore. (The Sox blow a 4-1 lead, leave the winning run on second in the 9th, let up 3 in the 10th and could only score 2 in the bottom of the 10th)
April 30 - 5-4 loss in Baltimore. (Tejada ties the game with a 2 out 8th inning homer and wins it with a bloop in the 10th)
May 1 - 12-9 loss in Baltimore. (Dice-K and Wakes get pounded, wasting 2 homers from Ortiz and an early 4-1 lead.)
May 2 - 3-2 loss in Baltimore. (Varitek is thrown at home trying to score with 2 outs in the 8th. Sox get swept in the 10th.
May 12 - 3-2 loss against the Blue Jays. (The Sox rally in the 9th comes up a run short and Kevin Gregg gets an ugly save.)
May 15 - 7-6 loss in Detroit. (The Sox blow a 6-1 lead and lose it on a 2 out bases loaded walk in the 12th.)
May 17 - 11-9 loss in New York. (The Sox come all the way back from a 5-0 first inning hole to take a 9-7 lead in the 9th... but Papelbon lets up a 2 run game tying shot to A-Rod and a 2 run walk off shot to Marcus Thames.)
May 21 - 5-1 loss in Philadelphia. (Big Papi's bid for a game tying 9th inning grand slam is caught at the warning track.)
May 27 - 4-3 loss to Kansas City. (Dice-K walks the go ahead run in and lets another score on a wild pitch as the Royals no name bullpen shut down the Hot Sox.)
May 28 - 12-5 loss to Kansas City. (Sox blow a 3-0 first inning lead to be blown out in Fenway.)
June 3 - 9-8 loss to Oakland. (Sox lose a slugfest where two Boston runners are thrown out at home.)

June 6 - 4-3 loss in Baltimore. (Sox rally to tie the game in the 9th only to lose it on a small ball rally in the 11th.)
June 10 - 8-7 loss in Cleveland. (Sox blow an early 5-0 lead and then after rallying in the 9th to take the lead coughed it up with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th)
June 13 - 5-3 loss to Philadelphia. (Sox 9th inning rally comes up short)
June 22 - 2-1 loss in Colorado. (The Sox waste a solid Lester start and twice leave the bases loaded.)
June 23 - 8-6 loss in Colorado. (The Sox batter Ubaldo Jimenez around but Papelbon lets up 2 homers in the 9th to lose it.)
June 25 - 5-4 loss in San Francisco. (The Sox strand 11 runners in the last 4 innings wasting a solid Wakefield performance.)
July 5 - 6-5 loss in Tampa Bay. (Sox spoil a 5-1 lead and 2 homers by Eric Patterson when Dice-K and the bullpen couldn't hold down the Rays.)
July 6 - 3-2 loss in Tampa Bay. (Sox bats go dead and Kevin Youkilis goes down to injury.)
July 7 - 6-4 loss in Tampa Bay. (Matt Garza comes out of the pen, shuts down a late rally as the Rays sweep the Sox.)
July 10 - 9-5 loss in Toronto. (The Sox give Lackey an early 5-3 lead that he couldn't hold.)
July 18 - 4-2 loss to the Rangers. (Lester loses a rare game at home that included a Rangers steal of home.)

July 20 - 5-4 loss in Oakland. (The Sox go up 4-0 after 2 but don't score again and lose it in the 10th)
July 21 - 6-4 loss in Oakland. (Buchholz can't hold on to an early lead as the Sox lose the series.)
July 24 - 5-1 loss in Seattle. (Lester's perfect game is foiled and the Red Sox bats die.)
July 25 - 4-2 loss in Seattle. (Okajima misplays a sacrifice bunt and the Mariners rally in the 8th to win.)

Now back up to +1.

The Sox and Angels play tomorrow afternoon.
If the Sox win, the Angels will be a .500 team, 8 1/2 games back at the trade deadline.

It may not be a banner year for the Sox, but at least we're not staring down .500.