Blue Jays vs Red Sox (9/17-9/19)

Game 1: Tim Wakefield failed to give the Red Sox a quality start when they needed it once again. Wakefield did last for 6 innings but he allowed the Blue Jays to score 4 runs.

Unfortunately, Boston's offensive lineup was below par on Monday night and they were only able to put across one run. Kevin Youkilis, Manny Ramirez, Julio Lugo, and Jason Varitek were all on the bench for the game as Dustin McGowan blew through the Red Sox lineup.

McGowan pitched a complete game for the Blue Jays allowing only 5 hits and 1 run while striking out 9.

The Yankees also won tonight which brings the Red Sox lead down to 3.5 games in the AL East.

Game 2: Terry Francona is starting to show just how terrible he really is at managing a bullpen. After Jon Lester gave the Red Sox the start that they needed, the Red Sox found themselves ahead of the Blue Jays 2-1.

Manny Delcarmen got 1 out to end the 7th before he was removed by Francona to start the 8th inning. Why? Who knows. To make things better, Francona replaced Delcarmen with Eric Gagne. Gagne got 2 quick outs before allowing a hit and 3 consecutive walks. The game was now tied and it apparently wasnt enough for Francona who still refused to bring in Papelbon who had been warming in the bullpen. Gagne then allowed a 2-run double to right field, just over the glove of JD Drew. This gave the Blue Jays a 4-2 lead. The only reason Gagne got out of the inning was because the Red Sox threw out a Blue Jays baserunner at the plate.

Francona's decision looked awful tonight, but the follow-up decision that he made on Wednesday night made it look even worse.

Julio Lugo ended up hitting a solo homer in the 9th inning for the Red Sox before they were retired. The Red Sox lost by the score of 4-3. The Yankees won again so they pull to within 2.5 games of the AL East leading Red Sox.

Game 3: I've said it before and I'll say it again. Terry Francona is very good at managing players, however he is extremely inept when it comes to game management and bullpen management and that has been extremely obvious over the past few days.

The Red Sox lost another tought game on Wednesday night to the Blue Jays. They took an early 1-0 lead on a rare homer by JD Drew, but that was all the scoring they would get for the night.

The Red Sox remained close, even after Clay Buchholz allowed 2 runs (one of which was earned). The bullpen held the Blue Jays close until the bottom of the 8th inning when Mike Timlin took over. Timlin allowed runners to get to 2nd and 3rd with one outs and was replaced by Jonathan Papelbon. A move that was a real headscratcher to me. Terry Francona refused to use Papelbon the night before, when the Red Sox were winning despite the fact that Papelbon was rested. So why use Papelbon when down by a run the following day? There's only one good explanation: Terry Francona is a moron and is costing the Red Sox a division title as we speak.

It is also slightly maddening that Francona is resting all of his players, while the ones who are playing are playing poorly. On one hand this makes sense: The Red Sox should be rested and healthy when the playoffs finally do start. However, this has to hurt the confidence of the team and it could be costing them homefield advantage throughout the playoffs as well.

Whatever happens, the Red Sox will be in the playoffs barring a MAJOR collapse coupled with a MAJOR hot streak by the Detroit Tigers. However, it is still unknown whether it will be as a wild card team or a division winner.

The Red Sox lost the game to Toronto on Wednesday by the score of 6-2 and the Yankees beat Baltimore by the score of 2-1. These events have moved the Yankees to within 1.5 games of the division lead (only one behind in the loss column).

Terry Francona and the rest of his team need to go back to playing the kind of baseball that they have played all year. Solid hitting combined with very good starting pitching and a great bullpen. If this doesn't happen soon, there will be no World Championship for the Red Sox in 2007, a year that they clearly had all of the tools to bring one back to Boston.

On Deck: The Red Sox will begin a 3-game series against the Devil Rays on Friday. Scott Kazmir will start the opener for the Devil Rays (when it rains, it pours). Fortunately, the Red Sox will counter Kazmir with an ace of their own, Josh Beckett.