Sox Finish Off Royals

So I guess I was a bit of a drama queen in my last post. The Sox bats came alive and scored eight runs in each of the last two games to take two of three from the Royals. They even got to Zack Greinke yesterday. Of course the bullpen nearly blew it again today, but Ramon Ramirez got yanked before he could give up the lead entirely. Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon made up for previous transgressions by making the remainder of the eighth and ninth uneventful.

It was very good to see the new bats make their presences known. Jeremy Hermida and Adrian Beltre had multiple RBI in the series. It was also very good to see that Jason Varitek and Mike Lowell aren't ready for their AARP cards yet. (Although that might not be to far off for Lowell. More later.) 'Tek had two home runs in his first action of the year yesterday. Who knows, he may not hit another one the rest of the year, but it's good for him to get something positive at the plate early. Lowell had a single in four a bats and a couple of nifty defensive plays in Saturday's contest as well.

Though neither may be happy or accustomed to coming off the bench, the extra rest will likely help Varitek or Lowell be all the more productive when they are in the lineup. As I said before, it has been reported that Mike Lowell will probably retire at the end of the year. Can't say that I blame him. He's survived cancer, earned two rings and a World Series MVP. His body is falling apart, and he has young kids at home. At 36, it sounds like pretty good timing to me.