Any type of baseball game’s outcome in which the final tally compares to that of an NFL score is a thrilling game to watch — last night’s Red Sox/Rangers game lived up to it as the Sox edged the Texas bombers, 19-17.

The Red Sox exploded with a 10-run first inning, capped off by David Ortiz’ 2 HR’s and 6 RBI’s. I started to see remnants of the Red Sox/Marlins game back in ‘03 in Fenway. The Red Sox scored 14 runs in the first inning of the game off Carl Pavano, and Mike Lowell was on the other side of the spectrum, playing third base for the soon-to-be World Champion Florida Marlins team.

Only this time the Red Sox managed to blow their massive lead. Here’s an interesting fact from Yahoo Sports: The last time a team came back from a 10-run deficit was May 8, 2004, when the Rangers rallied from a 14-4 deficit to win 16-15 in 10 innings, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. I’m not sure what it is about Texas, but their teams have been notorious for being able to rake. We all remember this game from last year.

One might question Francona’s decision of leaving the rookie Charlie Zink in for too long. Quite honestly, Zink was pitching well up until the fourth — maybe Francona should have given the hook to Zink earlier in the 5th, but I don’t blame him for not.

What really makes Sox fans worry is the inconsistency of the middle relievers. Javier Lopez has been fairly solid throughout the year, so a shake-up from him here or there is bound to happen. I have to question whether or not David Aardsma is healthy. Last week we witnessed his resurgence back into the Boston bullpen from a DL stint, but, he hasn’t pitched too well since then.

As for Manny Delcarmen, his up-and-down struggles continued last night. It’s surprising to me because I honestly felt after last year’s performance, Delcarmen was set as a force and fixture in the 7th or 8th innings. It seems as though he’s taken a step back. Red Sox Nation has to hope he can regain his confidence and be the Delcarmen of ‘07.

All in all, the middle relief last night decided to take the day off, only they couldn’t weasel their way past Mr. Rooney & company.

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Three guys saved us last night — Okajima, Papelbon, and Youkilis. Youk’s quickly transforming into a power-hitter by our very eyes. Don’t be surprised to see Youkilis hit an average of around 25 HR for the next few years.

Oki, criticized for his inability to shut down inherited runners in 2008, pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless frames. After Youkilis launched his second HR of the night, Papelbon came in and closed the door.

It was entertaining, certainly not pretty, but the Red Sox managed to pick up the W — isn’t that all we can ask for?

*On a side note: Chris Davis of TEX is a beast. I have him on both of my fantasy squads and it has paid dividends. He’s only 22 and the kid can flat out hit. In 41 Major League games this year, he has walloped 11 HR and 32 RBI, while maintaining his average close to .300. In the minors he’s hit 74 HR in 275 games. This kid is for real*

While observing the 9th inning of last night’s game against the Royals, I noticed something with David Ortiz’ swing. The first pitch Ortiz saw in that at bat he looked like he was trying to smash the hell out of the ball, only 3/4 of the way through his swing it almost looked like he was trying to hold up.

I didn’t think anything of it, but later on it happened again when Ortiz fouled off another Joakim Soria pitch. It all came together this morning while listening to Felger & Bradford discuss the apparent injury on WEEI. Further more, Tony Massarotti reported the injury earlier this morning in the Herald.

Ortiz says he felt a “click” in the same injured wrist from earlier this season, leaving Red Sox Nation very concerned.

“My last at-bat, it kind of pulled back a little bit………you feel that click and you get a little concerned about it.”

Could it be possible that our once formidable 3-4 punch in Ramirez and Ortiz might now be a mixture of Drew/Lowell, Drew/Bay, Lowell/Bay? The thought of it is certainly no where near as intimidating if Ortiz was involved in the mix.

After the Manny deal, Ortiz has been marred in a 1-for-15 skid. Apparently, Ortiz’ clubhouse presence the past week hasn’t been the same. Either way, we hope this isn’t a big issue and Ortiz can battle through and give the Sox that much needed power bat in the middle of the lineup.

Last night was the start of David Ortiz’ last part of his journey back to the Majors, almost two months after going on the disabled list with a partially torn tendon sheath in his left wrist. Ortiz, sporting a Portland Sea Dogs uniform, went 2-3 with an RBI, R, and a BB. Although, unfortunately, he could not homer in this game.

Overall, however, Ortiz is 5-12 with 3 HR and 6 RBI’s in his rehab stint. Papi is expected to play two more games with Portland before finally arriving for his long awaited comeback to Fenway Park, a series in which the Red Sox will host three important games with the New York Yankees.

David Ortiz talked very positively about his rehab and return at the Boston Herald:

“I want to see pitches. I know my hand is fine right now. Everything is coming out pretty good,” Ortiz said. “When you see pitches, that’s when you really get your timing that you want to have.”

Ortiz’ comeback should spark a Red Sox team that has recently shown some holes in their lineup, especially on the road. The timely hits aren’t coming, the bullpen can’t get it done, and the Manny drama has put more of a damper on an already struggling road team.

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Things look to be changing as the Sox captured their first win post All Star break. Jon Lester once again dazzled for the Sox, striking out 6 while shutting out the Seattle Mariners in 7.1 innings of work at Safeco Field, a place in which the Sox usually struggle.

Jason Varitek hit a 2-run home run in the 5th inning, finally breaking out of his slump. Varitek burned the same team that drafted him in 1994 and is almost hitting above the Mendoza line. He’s currently at .218.

Jed Lowrie also contributed with a 2 run single in the 8th. (If Julio Lugo wasn’t making as much money as he is, the Red Sox could use Lowrie as their starting SS)

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The 10-1 Daisuke Matsuzaka starts for the Red Sox tonight against knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. If Dice-K doesn’t walk the house, the Sox should snatch another win and continue their surge back to Boston with Papi on board.

As the Boston Red Sox embark on their journey for a third championship in five years, many questions arise surrounding what needs have to be met in order to achieve the title, “2008 World Champions.” What do the Boston Red Sox have to address heading into tonight’s series against the Los Angeles Angles? We’ve compiled our top five list with the most important factors that will help the Red Sox reach another milestone.

5. Bullpen consistency…
The World Champion Red Sox of a year ago had a team bullpen ERA of 3.10 and compiled a .226 batting average against, 1st in all of baseball in 2007. Switch gears to 2008 and we can see that things have seriously changed. Hideki Okamjima hasn’t been the “Oki” of ‘07, Delcarmen and Hansen have experienced their ups and downs, Papelbon hasn’t been as dominating(we’re not knocking him, trust us), and Timlin’s ERA is through the roof. In order for the Sox to make a serious run in the postseason, an addition to the bullpen needs to be addressed. Recently, the Sox have been searching for what they hope to be an acquisition that will help benefit the bullpen’s recent lack of consistency. Names such as left-handers Brian Fuentes, Ron Mahay, and Demarso Marte have been in the mix.

4. Solidity at SS
When the Red Sox signed Julio Lugo just before the 2007 season, they were looking for an average defensive player but an above average bat. Granted, Julio Lugo has cut down the errors drastically from earlier in the season, but his bat hasn’t produced. $9 million dollars is a lot of money to be paying a mediocre shortstop who’s on pace to drive in less than 45 RBI’s. Has anyone forgotten that Lugo batted .237 last year? Jed Lowrie has stepped up to take Lugo’s spot as the veteran shortstop is on the disabled list with a strained left-quad. Lugo won’t be back for five-to-six weeks. Even if Lowrie shines in his place the next couple of months, it’s almost certain Lugo will take his spot back solely based on his contract and the amount of money the Sox have invested into him. Boston should be looking for a shortstop who plays above-average defense with an average bat. That’s all the Sox need from that position.

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This was Bartolo Colon’s big time to shine, a time to show the world what he can do at the plate, an opportunity to transfer his 245lbs frame(that’s what he’s listed as…I’ll take the over) into a home run hitting machine. At least that’s what Colon was out to try to do last night but failed miserably. Maybe he was trying to make up for his lackluster performance on the mound which included 4 earned runs and 2 walks in 4 innings of work. In any case he swung so hard it seemed like he was trying to send the ball to his native Altamira, Dominican Republic.

Sorry Altamira, your boy couldn’t pull it off. Colon took such violent swing at a Cole Hamels change up last night that his helmet fell off. It gave the Red Sox dugout quite a good laugh. It reminded me of the mid 90’s when we’d see Mo Vaughn pull it off on a consistent basis(he also fell down on swings a lot). It’s funny to see big guys like Vaughn, Colon, and David Ortiz swing so hard they end up embarrassing themselves on the national stage. But when violent swings lead to injury it’s not so funny anymore.

Bartolo was unable to come out for the fifth inning due to a stiff back, which he said he injured on that very swing. And although Colon said he didn’t expect to miss a start, you have to wonder how this big man’s body is holding up after recent arm issues and now the stiff back. What Bartolo needs to realize is he’s an AL pitcher not a hitter of any sorts. Either way, you got to give him a little credit for trying……but Bartolo, stick to your day job.

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