North of the border, a roller coaster win for Red Sox

Source

When Clay Buchholz gave up three runs in the bottom of the first inning yesterday at Rogers Centre, all I could think was, Here we go again.

But Buchholz got himself out of the inning - and through six more without giving up another run. It's a testament to Buchholz that he didn't melt down completely, even though it was clear early on that he didn't have his best stuff.

It certainly helped that Buchholz's teammates regained the lead for him in the top of the third, led by a grad slam by the often-frustrating A.J. Pierzynski, and a solo home run by prodigal son Will Middlebrooks.

Interestingly enough, it was only after Buchholz left the game that things got tense. The bullpen has so far been the most reliable part of the Red Sox season, but yesterday was an exception. Junichi Tazawa came in for the eighth inning, and promptly gave up a home run.

Traditionally, Tazawa has not pitched well at Rogers Centre (his ERA in Canada is 9.00 - the second worst of anywhere he's pitched after the 27.00 ERA he put up in the third of an inning he pitched at Dodger Stadium).

After Tazawa gave up his second run, John Farrell called out to the bullpen for Chris Capuano, who managed a strikeout and a walk before being replaced by Koji Uehara. The ever-reliable Uehara got the final out in the eighth, and then closed out the ninth - albeit with the slight hiccup of giving a home run to Jose Bautista.

It was a wild ride from start to finish - but even the ugly wins count. Jon Lester takes the mound tonight against knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, giving the Red Sox a chance to sweep the series and get back to .500 on the season.

Red Sox crush Blue Jays

Source

Last night's Red Sox looked like an entirely different team than the one that got demolished by the Yankees on Thursday. Will Middlebrooks and Shane Victorino are back in action, and their presence helped the offense score eight runs on the hapless Blue Jays.

Jake Peavy pitched seven innings and gave up just a single run, then Chris Capuano and Andrew Miller each pitched a scoreless frame to finish out the contest.

Every Red Sox batter had at least one hit - and the seemingly hopeless A.J. Pierzynski had three. It was a game that triggered pleasant memories of last season, a fantastic romp through Rogers Centre that was almost enough to wipe away the rotten taste from the loss to the Yankees the night before.

Was yesterday's game the harbinger of things to come? Have the Red Sox turned the corner on their horrible start? The return of Middlebrooks and Victorino certainly won't hurt - and now that we know about secret knuckleballer Mike Carp, things are looking up.

2014 Bill James Projections - A.J. Pierzynski

Source

2011: 129 games, .287 BA, .323 OBP, .405 SLG, 8 HR, 48 RBI
2012 projection: 116 games, .277 BA, .317 OBP, .394 SLG, 9 HR, 48 RBI
2012: 135 games, .278 BA, .326 OBP, .501 SLG, 27 HR, 77 RBI
2013 projection: 137 games, .269 BA, .310 OBP, .422 SLG, 17 HR, 61 RBI
2013: 134 games, .272 BA, .297 OBP, .425 SLG, 17 HR, 70 RBI
2014 projection: 128 games, .266 BA, .303 OBP, .407 SLG, 14 HR, 56 RBI

I'll admit to being a little skeptical about A.J. Pierzynski at first: he's hardly the most popular man in the league, but apparently he's the type of player that everyone loves more in their own clubhouse than as an opponent.

The Red Sox have had their share of those types over the years (I'm looking at you, Kevin Youkilis), and if the front office folks who assembled the 2013 chemistry dream team think Pierzynski will be a good fit, I'm behind them.

Though James projects Pierzynski to play around 130 games, it's possible that he'll be behind the plate for fewer - especially if backup catcher David Ross can stay concussion free in 2014.

Somehow Pierzynski has never hit a home run at Fenway Park, but as a lefthanded batter who tends to pull his homers out of right field, I'd hazard a guess that his drought will end early in 2014.