Sox Destroy Rays

Boy was I wrong. Last night's 11-3 drubbing in Tampa completed the Sox three game sweep of the Rays. The Sox touched up nemesis Matt Garza for 6 runs in 5 innings. And who wants to trade David Ortiz now after hitting his 10th HR of the season? Adrian Beltre also had a small contribution...with 6 RBI!

This is just a drop in the bucket as far as the division and Wild Card are concerned, but these wins provided a shred of hope. Of course, you can't have disappointment without hope either. For the time being I'm going to relish the smack down of Matt Garza. Take that Lizard Boy!

Naturally all of this junk I'm talking with probably lead to a woeful performance against KC in the coming days. But for now, I'm going to bask in this win.

Lowell Out, Beltre In?

The Boston Herald, among others, reports that the Sox are close to dealing Mike Lowell to the Texas Rangers for a minor league catcher. This would free up some cash and roster space for Adrian Beltre, in whom Theo Epstein is apparently very interested. I can understand wanting to deal Lowell. He is getting a bit long in the tooth and has been slowed by injuries the past two seasons. Dumping all or part of his salary would also be helpful.

The interest in Beltre, however, is very puzzling to me. One great season parlayed a giant contract. He came crashing down to earth after that and has been a major disappointment in Seattle. Lowell out performed Beltre in every major way last eason. In only eight more games, Lowell bested Beltre in RBI (75 to 44), Avg. (.290 to .265), HR (17 to 8) and OPS (.811 to .683). Not only that, but Beltre's career OBP is a paltry .324. Of course Lowell will continue to decline, but is Beltre really the answer?

If this is the last round up for Lowell, I bid him a fond farewell. I loved the way he used to make teams pay for pitching around Ramirez and Ortiz in 2007. He will be missed, but it's probably time.