The Red Sox are clicking on almost all cylinders. Every hitter, bench included, can put up a multi-hit effort every game, the rotation is strong, the bullpen is dominating, and the manager is a genius. But there is one glaring weakness, the big guy. David Ortiz was a dominating hitter before an injury in 2008. While the Red Sox insist he is healthy, Big Papi has just one home run and sports a sub-.200 batting average and it’s already late May.

At this point, the general idea is that it’s more mental than physical. Many people have been calling for him to be dropped in the order, but that isn’t going to help things too much. It would most likely do more harm than good. The guy’s confidence is already way down, and taking away an at-bat or two per game an limiting his opportunities is going to drop it even further.

I see two solutions that would benefit both the Red Sox and Ortiz:

1. Move him up, not down, in the order. Putting him in the 2nd spot in the lineup occasionally will give Ortiz more fastballs to hit, it won’t take away from his at-bats, andthere won’t be as many situations with runners on base, andpitchers will be too caught up with the speed of Ellsbury at 1st base occasionally.
2. Give him some games at 1st base. Not just in National League games but whenever Mike Lowell or Kevin Youkillis needs a day off. It gets an extra fielder out there, and it also gives Francona the option to put Jeff Bailey in the outfield if the Sox need a 5th outfielder. Having to go out there and field will take Ortiz’ mind off hitting for a while.

While the secondoption is unlikely to happen, moving Ortiz up in the order is a possibility. We’ll find out if Ortiz will be moved in the lineup when the Red Sox play in Minnesota at 7:10 EDT.

UPDATE: Ortiz will be batting 6th tonight against the Minnesota Twins.

Big Papi had not hit a home run since last September. He changed that with his first big fly of the season, an absolute shot to center field. He also added a wall-ball double to show the world he’s back.

The Red Sox also played Home Run Derby in the 5th inning, started off by Papi’s shot. Jason Bay, Mike Lowell, and Jason Varitek also homered in that inning, Tek’s also being his second home run of the game. Put that offense with 6.2 innings of pitching by Brad Penny and 12 outfield putouts by Jacoby Ellsbury, tying a Major League record, and you’ve got a 8-3 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Red Sox and Jon Lester will look to sweep the first place Blue Jays tonight at 7:05. A win would put them within a half game of the Jays.

I sit here writing, heartbroken, discouraged, stunned, and a little pissed off, about a tough day in Beantown. The Celtics got beaten by the Orlando Magic, the Red Sox lost in extra innings to the Angels, and let’s not forget about the Bruins saddening Game 7 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in OT. But it’s the Sox’ (and David Ortiz’) struggles that I will be writing about today.

David Ortiz had zero hits in seven chances, three strikeouts, and he left twelve (12!?) runners on base. The Red Sox left a total of 34 men on base during the game that overshadowed a brilliant effort by the bullpen in relief of Brad Penny.

Despite the struggles by most of the lineup, Dustin Pedroia returned to game action and banged out four hits, while Julio Lugo went 5 for 6 from the nine spot in the lineup.

The Red Sox have already wrapped up their games in California and will head to Seattle for a three game series that will wrap up their final west coast road trip of the year.

Now that the Bruins are done, the only thing that will delay my posts will be the Celtics, who hopefully will be playing through June. I would like to thank and congratulate the Bruins for a spectacular 2008-2009 season that Scott Walker (Scott Bleeping Walker, of all people) abruptly ended. Can’t wait for next year.

The Red Sox lost one of their former greats today. Dominic Dimaggio, Joe’s younger brother, died today at around 1 a.m. Dom was one of Boston’s top players during the 1940s and was a key part in the 1946 team that made it to the World Series. He played 10 seasons that were split up by his military service in World War II.

Dom died in his Massachusetts home while watching the repeat of the Red Sox game from that night. His son said Dom “was in and out of consciousness, but he was acknowledging it. He was a Red Sox fan until the end.”

DiMaggio’s legacy with the Red Sox includes a Red Sox record 34 game hit streak in 1949, an impressive Game 7 in the 1946 World Series, straining his hamstring in that same game that ultimately was a factor in Boston’s loss, and being one of baseball’s top team players. He was also a founding member of the Boston Patriots, now the New England Patriots.

“He was a great player, and most of all, a great friend,” Former teammate Johnny Pesky said. “I will miss him terribly.” Red Sox principal owner John Henry also made a statement concerning Dom, saying “his loss saddens us all, but his contributions to the glory and tradition of our ballclub will forever be etched in the annals of Red Sox history.”

Manny Ramirez, one of baseball’s best right handed hitters, is going to be sitting out for the next 50 games. Major League Baseball has suspended the Dodgers slugger for violating their drug policy. The league has officially said the suspension is for Performance Enhancing Drugs, but the drug in question is actually an over-the-counter medicine prescribed by a non-MLB authorized doctor.

Manny released the following statement through the MLB Player’s Association:

“Recently I saw a physician for a personal health issue. He gave me a medication, not a steroid, which he thought was okay to give me. Unfortunately, the medication was banned under our drug policy. Under the policy that mistake is now my responsibility. I have been advised not to say anything more for now. I do want to say one other thing; I’ve taken and passed about 15 drug tests over the past five seasons.

I want to apologize to Mr. McCourt, Mrs. McCourt, Mr. Torre, my teammates, the Dodger organization, and to the Dodger fans. LA is a special place to me and I know everybody is disappointed. So am I. I’m sorry about this whole situation.”

This doesn’t sound like vintage Manny to me. My guess is that he had somebody else write this for him.

Several of Manny’s friends say he has been taking the drug to increase his sex drive, while it has also been made public that the drug is actually a women’s fertility drug that has also been used to boost the natural testosterone production of a person coming off of a steroid cycle. Could this just be a coincidence? Most likely, the answer is no.

Ramirez has been one of the most controversial players during his career, but for subtle things and not for PEDs. This comes as a surprise to me, as I never figured such a carefree guy like Manny ever resorting to this. This could put a large asterisk on Manny’s incredible career in much the same ways as it has with other sluggers like Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez.

Manny had a few options for dealing with this:

1. He could have denied it like almost everyone else caught.
2. He could have challenged the suspension since he did not get caught for a PED.
3. He could have come clean and start another emotional press conference.

However, he did none of these options. He decided to accept the suspension and go quietly, almost like he wants it to go away quickly. This may be an attempt to keep anybody from going digging for anything else that could potentially damage his reputation.

Mannywood? Or Mannyroids?

Then again, we don’t know exactly what happened. He could have taken steroids for years, he could have tried it once and stopped, or he might be completely innocent and has personal reasons for taking the drug. Unless more details become available, all we can do is assume things and create our own conclusions. We may never know what really did happen, and it may be for the better. Why throw anybody under the bus when there could be others who are getting away with these things? I say all we can do is realize that this is the Steroid Era, everybody is trying to get an edge, and the overall competition is still on an even playing field.

That Michael Bowdin, Chris Carter, Nick Green, Gil Velazquez, Jonathan Van Every, Jeff Bailey, and Hunter Jones would all have time in the Major Leagues so far, Justin Masterson was starting for Daisuke Matsuzaka, Jed Lowrie was injured, and David Ortiz is still looking for his first home run, but the Sox were 5-0 against the Yankees and second place behind the Blue Jays, how many of you would believe me?

All of those scenarios have turned out to be true, the mighty Yankees and Rays are struggling to keep pace, and the Toronto Blue Jays hold a one game lead over the Red Sox. It is still early and the Bule Jays are not as deep as last year’s Rays were, so the current standings are likely to shift come September, but for the moment Toronto is the top dog in the powerhouse that is the American League East.

The Red Sox, for the most part, are flying under the radar here in New England thanks to the defending champion Boston Celtics playing an epic seven-game series with the Chicago Bulls, and let’s not forget the Boston Bruins, who went from 8thplace last year to the best team team in the history of the Eastern Conference. With the Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes playing hockey, the Celtics and Orlando Magic playing basketball, and the Red Sox taking on the Cleveland Indians, you can be sure the Boston talk shows will have a lot of topics in the morning.

The Red Sox’ strong first month, despite fielding the kind of ballclubyou would expect in September, shows the kind of depth and management the Red Sox have. One recurring theme on the Yankees posts by the Gormans about Joe Girardi’s inability to manage a successful ballclub has me realizing how lucky us fans in Boston are to have the genius of a manager we do in Terry Francona. Tito is the cog that makes this ballclub go, and you have to believe that without him running the show we may still be waiting for our first championship since 1918. Red Sox management should do what ever they can to keep this guy around for the next, oh say 15 years.

Jonathan Van Every has had one of the most unique weeks in baseball. He came off the DL and placed on a team right in the middle of an 11-game winning streak. The game following their first loss, Van Every was the hero with a diving catch and a 10th inning home run that won the game for Boston. Last night in a 13-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays Sox manager Terry Francona decided against using anymore pitchers. Van Every swapped positions with Javier Lopez, who went to right field, and pitched 2/3 of an inning, giving up no runs.

Van Every is the 2nd position player to pitch this season, the first being Nick Swisher who did it a few weeks ago when Tampa was blowing out the New York Yankees. Van Every is the first position player since David McCarty to pitch for the Red Sox. McCarty pitched in 2004.

Fresh off a three game sweep of the Bronx Bombers, the Red Sox took to Progressive Field to extend their winning streak. Jason Bay hit a 9th inning 3-run home run to finally crack the scoreboard. The Indians got a run back off closer Jonathan Papelbon, but Cinco Ocho held on for the save.

Tim Wakefield pitched a jem for the Sox, lasting seven innings giving up just one hit. Cliff Lee almost matched him by going eight innings giving up five hits. The bullpens ultimately picked up the decisions, with Manny Delcarmen picking up the win and Kerry Wood taking the loss.

Julio Lugo returned to the team after his stint on the disabled list but did not play. The two teams are back in action tomorrow night at 7:05. Brad Penny will pitch for the Red Sox and Anthony Reyes will take the ball for the Tribe.

The phrase has been used all around Boston for a few days, mostly as a tribute to the Bruins sweeping the Montreal Canadiens in the playoffs. Now, it can also be linked to the three game series that was recently played between the Red Sox and Yankees.

After two straight games lasting at least four hours each, it’s nice to see them actually play a game closer to three hours in length. The game was all Red Sox for most of the game. New York struck for a run in the 3rd, after which the Sox immediately answered. In the 5th, the Red Soxgot RBIs from David Ortiz and JD Drew, with one more run coming off a steal of home by Jacoby Ellsbury.

Justin Masterson pitched well, in 5.1 innings, surrendering just the one New York run. Michael Bowdin, who was called up for the game, pitched two scoreless innings, paving the way for Takashi Saito, who picked up the save in the absence of Jonathan Papelbon.

Tim Wakefield gets the ball in tonight’s game as he opposes the defending Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee and the Indians. Micahel Bowdin, who pitched well against the Yankees, will head back to Triple-A Pawtucket to free up roster space for shortstop Julio Lugo, who is returning from an injury.

The Red Sox have really impressed me over the past two games. My biggest question about the ‘09 Sox was what kind of effort they would give when they are down big or down late. On Friday, they showed me they wouldn’t quit when they were down, and today they showed me they wouldn’t quit when they were down big.

A pair of runs in the 1st, 3rd, and 4th innings put Boston down 6-0 heading into the bottom of the 4th. Jason Bay, one of last night’s heroes, singled in a run and Jason Varitek it a Grand Slam to draw the Red Sox within one run. A back-and-forth battle ensued, until a four run 8th inning for the Red Sox put them ahead 16-11. New York battled in the 9th but couldn’t score off Jonathan Papelbon, who closed the game out despite not being in a save situation. The top of the 9th was the first scoreless half-inning since the top of the 5th.

Josh Beckett had early struggles but he calmed down later in the game while AJ Burnett was cruising. As Beckett settled down, Burnett began to unravel. Both Jonathan Albaladejo and Hideki Okajima picked up blown saves, while Okajimapicked up the win in relief with Albaladejo took the loss.

The game was nerve-racking all the way through, and definitely tough on the managers. This was one of the best examples of the large difference between the two managers of the teams. Terry Francona managed the game well, using just four of his relief pitchers compared to the six burned out by Joe Girardi. He also kept the bench deep for a potential extra-inning game, while New York utilized every one of their players except Jose Molina. The Red Sox appear poised for the sweep due to a surplus of fresh players while the Yankees most likely feel slightly more sluggish.

Red Sox Notes

Mike Lowell had a big game offensively, driving in six runs on a home run and a double. Jason Varitek will most likely sit tomorrow after having to catch two straight games lasting about 4 1/2 hours each. Jonathan Papelbon is expected to be unavailable after pitching in back-to-back games. Takashi Saito will most likely close the game if there is a save situation. Justin Masterson will make his second start of the season against Andy Pettitte. The game will be telivised on ESPN, a big step up from the senseless rambling of Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.