By: Dan Podheiser, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
I pulled off the impossible Friday night.
My girlfriend is the biggest Red Sox fan I’ve ever met. She worships Bill Mueller, owns about 37 different Sox “player T’s” and even has a Dice-K poster that reads “The Gun from the Rising Sun.” She’s dedicated.
But like anyone who has followed the Red Sox this year, she has absolutely no confidence in their bullpen.
And on Friday night, with Boston leading 2-1 heading into the ninth inning and Jonathan Papelbon on his way into the game, something very weird happened.
Her: “I bet you [Papelbon] blows it.”
Me: “OK, you’re on. Loser buys a six-pack.”
Her: “Deal. Get ready to pay up.”
I actually got my girlfriend to root against the Red Sox — with beer on the line.
But can you really blame her? After all, once you get past Daniel Bard — who has 21 holds and a 1.71 ERA — in the Sox bullpen, the game essentially becomes a free-for-all.
Thursday night was the perfect example.
John Lackey was pitching his best game of the season, and one of the best of his career. He had a no-hitter through seven and two-thirds, and left the game after eight innings with a 6-1 [...]

By: Ian Tasso, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
Spring Training is finally upon us.
And what does that mean? Plenty of excitement, plenty of worried Sox fans and plenty of questions.
Only this time, it also means plenty of answers.
And that’s because of the 50-some-odd questions I’ve been emailed, texted, sexted, facebooked, i-chatted (and every other form of communication you can think of) over the past week, I’ve taken the top 20 and thrown them all down here.
Ranked bottom to top, here are the top 20 things, you, the fans, want to know as we roll our calendars into April.
So here goes: the first five, starting with 20, counting down to 16 heading into the 2010 season. The rest will be about shortly, don’t you worry. But in the meantime, you can rest easy knowing that at least these five worries have been addressed. We don’t want to overwhelm you with all the answers at once (still a couple weeks ’til opening day). It’s the least I can do.
20. Did Boston win or lose this offseason? (Ben; Tyngsboro, MA)
Considering what their options were, I’d say they won out. There really weren’t any big shiny names out there, aside from Jason Bay and Matt Holliday, both [...]

By: Ian Tasso, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
Spring is a time of new beginnings: the temperatures are on the rise, the sun is back out and the flowers are in bloom.
But most importantly, the cleats are back on.
Yes, for many, the most important thing about the calendar flipping to March is the dawning of baseball, the smearing of pine tar and the popping sound of twine colliding with maple.
Each new baseball season brings in tow plenty of new storylines; some more impressive than others. Whether it be a highly-touted free-agent making his debut in fresh colors, a young gun cracking the lineup or even a returning veteran trying to shed some cobwebs, Spring Training always arrives in March with its fair share of headlines.
And for the 2010 Boston Red Sox, this season is no exception. Josh Beckett’s contract situation and the questionable Boston offense headline a Spring Training that brings plenty of concerns to the table.
But none are more impeding than the suspense surrounding David Ortiz and his mysterious decline of 2009. Will the slugger bounce back to 2004 form? Will he continue to slide?
Only time will tell. But until then, let’s take a look at some of the most anticipated Spring [...]

By: Jess Lander, YawkeyTalkies Editor
I feel like there has been some dishonesty circling Red Sox Nation. As a fan, this worries me, and I feel somewhat betrayed. Here are a few lies, already surfaced.
Jason Bay deal is off: Jason Bay wanted more money. Or, at least that’s what we were told. Bay ultimately signed with the Mets for $6 million more than the Red Sox offered him. But, Bay came out to WEEI this week stating that he had in fact originally accepted the Sox’ offer. However, the Red Sox pulled it off the table due to health concerns, and would only offer Bay a deal that included mandatory knee surgery and two of the years only guaranteed if his health was in good condition. However, two doctors, and then the Mets doctor later confirmed that Bay was in fine health and did not need knee surgery, not a shocker since Bay was never on the DL this season. All Bay really wanted to sign was a contract that didn’t include health restrictions, since he didn’t have any health problems. So, the Red Sox could have kept one of our only decent bats after all.
Dice-K Hurts Shoulder: Dice-K had a [...]

By Phil Shore, YawkeyTalkies Correspondent
The Red Sox had a golden opportunity. Coming into the week, the Red Sox narrowed the gap between them and AL East leading New York Yankees. Before the three-game series that starts tonight, the Sox had four against the struggling Kansas City Royals, while New York faced off against the AL West leading Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The Sox could’ve put themselves in a position to overtake the division lead with a good series against the Yanks.
Instead, they lost the first two games of the Royals series—both games by at least three runs—and now sit six games behind New York.
While there is still mathematically a chance to catch them, it looks like Boston will have to settle for the Wild Card.
But perhaps more importantly then the standings, a good series for either team could provide a huge psychological boost of confidence heading into October,.
The Red Sox started off the year with a huge mental edge against the Yankees, winning all eight games in the first half of the season, taking home three brooms to sweep up what was left of Yankee trash.
But, tables turned after the All-Star break, and the [...]

 
By Kevin Hassett, YawkeyTalkies Staff Writer
I may not be our beloved Red Sox Nation President, Jerry Remy, but I figured I would address you all anyway on where are pitching rotation is at as we head toward October, where it counts, because we all know it has been anything but consistent this season.
Despite our two-game lead in the wildcard coming into this weekend, I was a bit worried about our rotation.  A month ago, I would’ve said a three-game sweep of the Rays, giving up just two runs in the process, would’ve been incredible. Not to mention our lead over the Rangers doubling to four games, and and still growing to 5-1/2 today.
These are not the same feared Rays, however, as the defending AL champs have all but packed their golf clubs for the winter. Following the series, Tampa Bay was a dismal 1-12 for September and in a severe offensive drought, having only scored two runs or less in seven games and batting just .207 for the month. Therefore, I have to remain cautiously optimistic about our pitching performance this past weekend.
Our pitchers have proven themselves this time of year before, however, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to [...]