Holding on with a little help from their friends

Three out of four in Baltimore isn’t bad, right? I mean, when you go on the road, anytime you take three out of four is good, right?

Another strong Josh Beckett start was among the positives the Sox could take away from Maryland.

Normally that’s the case. And to a large extent it’s the case here, too. But with the fiery implosion of Daisuke Matsuzaka Saturday night, taking three out of four in Baltisnore, losing a half game on the lead over the surging Yanks in the process, almost felt like slipping slowly under while treading water.

And anytime you’re holding steady in the best circumstances, falling under in the worst, that’s not a good thing.

Nonetheless, there was plenty of good that came out of the Baltimore bake job. So let’s look at the positives:

1) Josh Beckett had a second-straight start back on the straight and narrow. After a solid outing marred mostly by a single bad pitch, Beckett cruised in Baltimore, getting his 18th win in the process. Not a bad bounce back season, eh?

2) The Jacoby Ellsbury experiment continued to thrive, with the outfielder coming through with a handful of terrific plays in the field, launching a passel of hits and seemingly taking a firm hold of the lead-off spot in the process. Obviously that last claim is apt to be revised depending on Terry Francona’s mental stability and the sensitivity of other Red Sox - because we all know Tito’s big on holding players’ hands - but Ellsbury has been nothing short of a revelation in his first week.

3) Clay Buchholz in relief? Looks like a good fit. We know that he can’t start because of the preseason prescribed 155-inning limit on his pitching work. But if Buchholz can be effective in two and three inning spurts, that’s another weapon in the bullpen, which with the sudden moderate ineffectiveness of Hideki Okajima and the extended injury of Eric Gagne, is a big help.

It wasn’t a no-hitter, but Buchholz’s three innings of relief on Thursday were still dazzling.

4) Big Papi finally looks like Big Papi. He was crushing balls all over Camden Yards, which was a reassuring sight, particularly with the absence of Manny Ramirez. The Sox need the power, and that takes a huge burden off of Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis, who are finally hitting simultaneously, which makes the lineup turn over a lot better, to say the least.

And now, of course, the Sox get Tampa Bay, which should be patsy No. 2 on the radar. But outside of Tim Wakefield, whose success against the Rays is more than legendary, no other games should be a lock. Carlos Pena is hitting like a machine, the young Tampa pitching staff is finally starting to click a bit, and there’s plenty of reason for the Florida flounders to be optimisitc; they’ve won five of their last six series, after all.

Does that mean that Tampa will hold off the Sox tonight? Hardly. But it does add intrigue to a matchup that’s lacked it for quite some time, doesn’t it?

We certainly think so. And that gives us more than enough reason to tune in.

– Cameron Smith