Let's face it folks, we've got a full month of baseball to go, so rather than focus of the lost 2010 season, I'm going to do my best to blog about the positive and prepare for 2011...

... starting with Jon Lester.

Lester is 14-8 with a 3.12 ERA this season. He's coming off of one of his best starts of the season in which he held the Ray to 2 hits and one run (unearned) through 7 innings while striking out 10 batters. Lester had a disastrous start against the Jays before that, but I blame the heat from his 8-inning performance in Texas for that. He blanked the Rangers through 8 in that game and Yankees through 6+ the starts before that. In short, he's been dominant as of late and history tells us that he should dominate again tonight...

Lester is 12-0 with a 2.00 ERA in 15 starts against the Orioles. The last time he faced them was July 3rd and he held the to 1 run though 7 and fanned 7 batters. He's even better at Camden Yards, posting a 5-0 record and a 1.83 ERA in 7 career starts there.

The odds are stacked in our favor tonight folks. Plain and simple. The O's will be countering with Jake Arrieta (4-6, 5.10). The kid has lost his last three starts and the only thing going for him tonight is the fact that the Sox sometimes struggle with pitchers they haven't seen before.

Bottom Line: This has gotta be a win. No excuses.

Red Sox tweeters are reporting that the Red Sox have traded Manny Delcarmen to the Rockies for pitcher Chris Balcom-Miller.

Miller is 21 and started 19 games for Single A Ashville of the South Atlantic League this year. He went 6-7 with a 3.31 ERA though 108+ innings and tallied 117 Ks and just 19 walks.

For comparison, Casey Kelly (also 21) went 14-10 with a 2.09 ERA through three levels of Single A ball last year. He fanned 148 through 189 innings and walked 32 batters. This year, Kelly struggled in Double A Portland, going 3-5 with a 5.31 ERA while posting an 81/35 K/BB split through 95 innings, so we'll have to wait and see how Miller does moving forward.

Delcarmen was 3-2 with a 4.70 ERA and a .204 BAA in 48 appearances with Boston this year. Manny never really put a full season together here in Boston. There were often glimmers of hope, but inevitably, he'd implode during a close game - often via the long ball.

Bottom Line: MDC is a local boy, so I always rooted for him, but he never really developed into the solid 7th inning guy we needed him to be. This move does raise some questions though...

1. Why didn't Theo trade Delcarmen back in June? The bullpen was just as unreliable as it is now and we might have been able to secure a player that would have helped us keep things closer down the stretch. Now it just looks like Theo is making room for the September call-ups...

2. Is this another sign that the Front Office feels that 2010 is over and that it's time to start preparing for 2011? Wonder how the players feel about it...

After back-to-back losses in Tampa, the Sox are still mathematically in the playoff race, but Red Sox Nation seems to be coming to grips with the fact that 2010 was just not Boston's year. The players, for the most part, are saying all the right things, but starting on Tuesday, the Red Sox will likley begin preparing for the 2011 season.

Josh Beckett will get the start and after losing most of 2010 to injury, he'll be looking to find his groove and carry that into next season. Last time out, Beckett held the Mariners to just one hit through 6 innings, but coughed up three runs in the 7th, giving way to Daniel Bard. It was good to see Beckett looking sharp, but he continues to struggle after 90 pitches. He'll get a shot at another weak lineup in Baltimore. The O's rank 27th in runs scored with 482, and with a 6-2 record and a 3.61 ERA against them in 13 career starts, you'd like to think he will win this game. Beckett did face the Orioles this season, holding them to 2 runs through 7 innings while fanning 6... but that was on May 2nd.

The O's will counter with Brian Matusz (6-12, 4.79). Matusz is coming off back-to-back strong outings, holidng the White Sox to one run and three hits through seven innings and blanking the Rangers through eight, the start before that. He's actually  3-1 with a 2.32 ERA in his last five starts, so the Sox are catching him at the wrong time. The lefty youngster had one of his best starts of the year the last time he faced Boston, fanning 8 and hold the Sox to 2 hits and zero runs. Overall, he's 1-0 with a 2.41 ERA against the Red Sox.

Key Matchups

Victor Martinez kills lefties, is red hot right now and is 2 for 5 with a ding dong against Matusz.

Ty Wiggington is 9 for 29 (.310) with 4 homers and 3 doubles against Beckett, but he's been a funk lately. Luke Scott may be the other guy to watch out for: 8 for 18 (.444) 2 HR.

The Bottom Line is proud to be part of Boston Sports Bloagapalooza II, set for November 6th at The Baseball Tavern in Boston.

If you don't know what Blogapalooza is, here's the skinny:

We bring bloggers, media members, vendors and fans from the Boston sports scene together under one roof to network, exchange ideas and talk sports. This year's event will feature more networking opportunities, but we'll still have plenty of time for fun and entertainment as well.

Bottom Line Apparel is an official sponsor of Blogapalooza and we will be selling all of our Boston t-shirts at the event. You can also help us raise money for Kevin Youkilis Hits For Kids, by purchasing the "Yooook!" t-shirt and/or a Blogapalooza t-shir tat the event.

Visit the Blogapalooza homepage to register for the event and all the latest news.

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The Red Sox dropped 2 of 3 in Tampa Bay this weekend, putting the final nail in the coffin that is the 2010 baseball season.

Jon Lester gave us hope, out-pitching David Price on Friday. And Clay Buchholz looked sharp on Saturday, but bad decisions by the pitcher and Francona led to a heart-breaking loss. Then John Lackey did what he does best: pitch a mediocre game and then give us quotes like this:

"I'm still trying to figure it out, for sure," said Lackey. "I mean, I felt way too good to give up five runs."

The Red Sox are 14-13 when he starts. Lackey is now 12-8 with a 4.60 ERA through 27 starts. His OPS against is .791, ranking him 44th out of 54 starters with at least 120 innings pitched and he leads the AL in hits allowed with 201.

Bottom Line: We've got four more years of this crap. Sweet.

Jon Lester and Victor Martinez combined to beat David Price and the Rays yesterday.

Tonight, the quest for a playoff spot continues with Clay Buchholz (15-5, 2.26) taking on Matt Garza (13-7, 3.26).

Garza is 7-3 with a 3.64 ERA in 16 starts against Boston. In the past he's killed the Red Sox, but we've seen many different versions of Garza through five appearances this year.

In April, he blanked the Sox through 8, allowing just 4 hits and fanning 5. In May, he coughed up 6 run on 5 hits (3 HR) and was pulled after 5 innings. In June, he buckled own and held the Sox to 3 runs through 7, earning the win after a Delcarmen implosion. In July, he allowed 4 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks through just 3 innings, but the Rays battled back for the win. Two days later, Joe Maddon asked him to save a tight game in the same series and he did.

So what can we expect from "The Spitting Llama" tonight? Well... he's 2-0 with a 0.63 ERA and 13 Ks in his last two starts - 7+ IP in each. He's also 7-2 wit ha 3.42 ERA at home this year... I'd say we should expect a string start.

Thankfully, we have Buchholz on the mound for us. Buchhy is 3-2 with a 1.93 ERA in 6 starts against the Rays. The last time he faced them, he went 6 strong, allowing 1 run and striking out 8. He's won his last four starts, pitching shutouts in his last three outings and is 4-0 with a 0.99 ERA and 23 Ks in 5 August starts. After spending some time on the DL, Buchholz has been locked in and with just 139 innings on the books, he's fresh and ready to dominate.

Key Matchups

BJ Upton is 3 for 7 (.429) against Buchholz... the rest of the Rays haven't touched him.

Adrian Beltre has been a rock all season. He's also got the best numbers of any Red Sox player against Garza - 9 for 21 (.429) with two ding dongs.

I wanted to come up with a clever title for this post, but after finally seeing Inception last night, my brain feels like it's still in the third layer of Leo's subconscious.

Lester out-pitched Price last night, despite a couple of wild pitches, and earned a huge win for the Sox. Lester tallied 10 Ks and allowed just 2 hits through seven while Price coughed up 10 hits and 3 runs in his 7 innings of work. V-Mart has crushed lefties all season and added two ding dongs last night - giving the Sox just enough offense for the win.

Bottom Line: The Yankees lost as well, so the Red Sox now sit at 4.5 games back. Despite watching Ellsbury, Pedroia, Youkilis, Martinez, Cameron, Varitek, Beckett, Buchholz and Matsuzaka all spend time on the DL this season, the Red Sox still have a shot at winning the AL East and/or making the playoffs - possibly with the best record in baseball.

I have to be dreaming... right?

This weekend the Red Sox will attempt to climb back into the playoff hunt with a 3-game set against the Rays in Tampa Bay. A sweep would put them 2.5 games behind the Rays and potentially the Yankees as well. Anything less than two wins in the series and Red Sox Nation is likely to turn their attention to the upcoming football season.

Tonight, we get the first of three great pitching matchups: Jon Lester (13-8, 3.26) vs David Price (15.5, 2.97).

Lester is coming off of his worst start of the season. After pitching 8 shutout innings in 120 degree weather in Texas, Lester struggled with his command against the Blue Jays and coughed up 9 runs on 8 hits (2 HR) and 3 walks, and was pulled after 2 innings of work. Lester is pitching today because Matsuzaka's back is sore, but the extra rest should actually benefit Lester...

Lester is 7-3 with a 4.18 ERA in 14 starts against the Rays. On May 25th, he threw 6 shutout innings and fanned 9 in a win over the Rays. He held them to one hit, but walked 5 in that game. On April 18th, he had his second worst game of the 2010 season, allowing 7 runs on 7 hits and 3 walks... but his Aprils are often messy.

Price is 2-1 with a 3.79 ERA in three starts against Boston. He's been solid all season, but his last start was a mediocre one: 6.0 IP, 4 ER, 6 H, 5 K, ND vs Oakland.

On July 7th, Price was brilliant in a start against Boston, throwing 7 2/3 innings and holding the Red Sox to 2 runs. He did allow 8 hits along the way, but he also struck out 10. Price is 7-1 with a 2.81 at home this season, so that will only make things harder on the Sox...

Both Price and Lester are lefties, so here's a look at how the Sox and Rays handle southpaws:

Boston: .270 BA (6th), .806 OPS (T-1st), 179 R (5th)

Tampa: .252 BA (19th), .745 OPS (11th), 206 R (2nd)

Key Matchups

Unfortunately, Kevin Youkilis is our best player against lefties (.404 BA) and against Price (4-10, 2 2B)... so I'm going with Victor Martinez. V-Mart is hitting .402 against southpaws with 14 doubles and 6 ding dongs. He's just 2 for 8 against Price, but one of those hits was a homer.

Also... Adrian Beltre is hitting .395 with 4 doubles, a triple and 2 homers in 43 at-bats against the Rays this year.

Evan Longoria is hitting .331 with 23 doubles and 5 dingers against lefties this season. He's also 7 from 25 (.280) against Lester, but more importantly... he's a .289 hitter against Boston with 11 home runs in 45 games.

The Sox settled for a split of the double-header with the Mariners yesterday.

Josh Beckett was string through 6 and struggled in the 7th, but earned the win in Game 1. Then wackiness ensued and a series sweep seemed doubtful - even if it was against the Mariners.

1. Matsuzaka can't finish his bullpen session in preparation for his start on Friday due to soreness in his back.

2. Jon Lester is bumped from starting Game 2 of the doubleheader and is scheduled to start in Dice-K's place on Friday against the Rays.

3. Around 4PM, Tim Wakefield (43) is asked to prepare to start in Lester's place, giving him roughly three hours to get loose. He struggles early and the Mariners take a 3-0 lead after three innings.

4. Felix Hernandez is starting for the Ms... meaning this game would have been tough to win even if Lester has pitched. Felix entered the game with a 2.51 ERA (2nd), 183 Ks (2nd) and 197 IPs (1st). If he had any run support, he's be leading the CY Young race.

5. Due to injuries and the double-header, the Sox were already playing Game 2 with a patchwork lineup... then rookie umpire Dan Bellino mistakingly ejected Adrian Beltre for talking smack, when he was really talking to smack to former teammate Felix Hernandez.

“I was looking at him and we were talking (trash),” Beltre said. “He said he was gonna strike me out and I said I was gonna take him deep.”

Bellino then asked Beltre what he was up to and Beltre said, “I'm talking to (Hernandez). Then I get (the ejection signal).”

Hernandez was in command all night, but Beltre's bat might have helped the Sox get back in the game. JD Drew made it 4-2 in the 6th with a solo shot, but after Martinez singled, Ortiz K'd and Navarro grounded out to end the threat. The Sox put two runners on in the 8t has well, but Martinez grounded out and Ortiz lined out.

Bottom Line: The Sox had a chance to steal a game on the Rays before the weekend after the Angels pounded them 12-3, but nothing went right for them in Game 2. Now they'll need to sweep the Rays just to get within 1.5 games of them in the wild card race.

Two wins will keep them in the hunt with three more games against them two weeks from now and 6 games left against the Yankees... but a sweep of the Mariners would have been alot easier.

Amalie Benjamin and other Sox sources are reporting that Jon Lester will throw a side seassion today and pitch on Friday in Tampa Bay. Tim Wakefield will start in his place tonight against the Mariners.

Reports are saying that the main reason for the move is that Daisuke Matsuzaka, who was set to start Friday, is having issues with his back.

The Red Sox could have simply used Wakefield on Friday, but bumoing Lester seems to indicate that management is taking this 3-game set with the Rays seriously. With two wins today (yes, I know, that means Wake has to beat Felix Hernandez...) and the Rays losing big to the Angels (currently 12-3 in the 7th) the Red Sox would be 4.5 games back come Friday night.

A sweep would but them just 1.5 back in the wild card race. Even two wins, would make things interesting with a full month left in the season.

Here's hoping Wake can rise to the occasion. The rain is supposed to stop, but I might actually welcome it at this point... it would level the playing field with Felix on the hill.