Projo Sports Blog

By Nick Cafardo
The Boston Globe

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Attaboy, Scott Kazmir.

Great way to set the tone for your team.

Nine straight balls, resulting in two walks, and a three-run jack by David Ortiz. A one-out solo shot by Mike Lowell (yeah, that hip is really bugging him).

In the first inning at Tropicana Field - where they had lost six straight games this season - the Red Sox sent an emphatic message to the Rays and their supposed ace: We can beat you, and we can beat you in your home ballpark, too.

Kazmir, who has never lived up to his billing (can we agree that Jon Lester is a far better lefthanded starter?), settled down for a while, but the damage was done. And when the Rays got a run on Akinori Iwamura's homer in the third off Daisuke Matsuzaka, what did Kazmir do? He immediately gave up a catwalk shot to Jason Bay in the fourth to make it a 5-1 game. And then came more insult to injury when Jason Varitek struck for a two-run blast.

Though he was beaten up last night, let's give Kazmir his due. He is only 24 years old and he has tremendous talent. He entered last night's game with an 11-6 record and a 2.99 ERA. But he's one of those high pitch-count guys who can't seem to get you into the seventh often enough.

In his last 10 starts, including last night's debacle, he was not able to get past six innings. He remains as much of an enigma as the guy he was pitching against, though Matsuzaka could have sat on a rocking chair and won his 17th game last night.

The Red Sox teed off not only on Kazmir, but Tampa Bay's bullpen as well. It was almost as if they were making up for lost opportunities at this ballpark and they let out all of their frustrations.

The 13-5 beating was one of the Rays' worst of the year. On a night when Kazmir pitches, that's not supposed to happen. Was there something wrong with the oft-injured lefty? Or did the situation simply get the better of him?

If Kazmir was tight as a drum, the Sox were far from it. They have been saying the past few days that they are really aiming to win the division. Now it's well within their reach, especially with the advantage of their experience in winning big games down the stretch and into the playoffs. That's something Tampa Bay is going through for the first time.

In this day and age when making the wild card is often good enough, it speaks well for the Sox that being No. 1 still means something to them.

Which is why after a blowout, tonight's game will be equally important. A win would give them outright possession of first place, but it's also the first time since Josh Beckett's elbow injury that he'll be unleashed.

After Beckett returned from his three-week absence, he beat Texas Sept. 5, allowing no runs over five innings with seven strikeouts and 80 pitches. Then he lost to the Rays last Tuesday at Fenway, 4-2, allowing one earned run over six innings, throwing 84 pitches. It would stand to reason Beckett is now able to get up to 100 or more pitches.

"I think the restrictions will be based on what happens in the game," said pitching coach John Farrell. "We'll get a read on him while he's out there, as we do every time one of our starters goes out there.

Farrell is one who believes the team's mind-set is to win the division. Which is why he would not hear any talk of whether Lester or Beckett will start Game 1 of a playoff series. "We haven't even discussed that," he claimed. "That would be way premature and presumptuous of us to do that at this stage."

Matsuzaka was leading, 12-1, in the fifth when he walked leadoff hitter Gabe Gross, which call for a fine of some sort. If only he could stop his nibbling and throw strikes, it may make a lot of people more confident that he will be an effective third starter in the playoffs. Nitpicking? Perhaps. But it's the little things that go a long way once crunch time comes.

The other issue for the Rays is that they can't seem to win over their fans.

Even with the Sox in town, there were empty seats along the foul lines. Even in the better seats, there was a smattering of empties. After the Sox had scored 12 runs through five, people were leaving the stadium. The Rays have been exciting, but performances like Kazmir's last night aren't going to win many new fans or keep the casual fans interested.

It was a game in which the Rays could have come out and made a statement - that they're going to keep their foot on the Red Sox' throat, especially at their home ballpark. But no such statement was made. Almost 180 degrees the other way, in fact.

Was it one of those things? Or was it a sign that the Rays might finally fade at the most inopportune time?

Last night, one thing was crystal clear. Kazmir was not the stopper he needed to be. And so the Rays, in first place for the last 59 days, are in danger of falling to the wild-card spot, which would still be a major accomplishment. But for a team that had first place so firmly in its grasp, it could be that some of the magic they used to get there might be turning to dust.

 Tags  Boston Red Sox Tampa Bay Rays

---