There was a bit of a crazy game in the Metrodome last night between the Red Sox and the Twins. Jason Varitek homered twice to help lift the BoSox to victory. But in the 7th inning there was some insanity. First there was a close play at the plate in the top half of the inning. Redmond, the Twins catcher, believed he had made the tag just in time. He disputed the call and was tossed quickly. Then the coach Gardenhire got himself tossed from the game too. Then in the bottom half of the inning, there was a pitch that went right down the middle but was called a ball. Varitek jumped up and started arguing and was tossed. Then Francona came out to argue the tossing and was tossed himself. Got it? Incidentally, Francona was treated for some high blood pressure issues right after he left the game as well. He will be fine but it’s a surprise.

A quarter of the season is now past. And what do we know about the Red Sox this year? They are playing very well. The Toronto Blue Jays looked very good at the beginning of the season, but they are showing strong signs that they are slipping downwards now. When the Yankees and Rays finally hit their stride, it’s going to be kind of a problem for them. The Red Sox have had a lot of big problems over the course of the season so far, with injuries and personnel problems of various kinds. But they are now at first place right now. In fact, the first quarter has been downright overbearing for them. They are still in first place, so they will probably be in the driver’s seat for the rest of the season.

When you talk about John Smoltz, you think about his great pitching stats all this time and his long career of strength. This offseason, he had some major shoulder surgery and it’s going to take him awhile to get back from it. But now he’s on his way back, having made his first post-rehab start. He struck out two batters and threw almost 30 pitches, which is good for his first outing in almost a full year. The Boston Red Sox, who signed him during the offseason are looking forward to having him in their rotation or in their bullpen at some point in the next few months. He will probably be one of the best pitchers when he makes it back, but he will remain in rehab for the forseeable future.

The Boston Red Sox are having a bit of trouble this week on defense. Their shortstop position is still quite a bit weak, and yesterday it showed. They were tied going into the bottom of the 9th, and then SS Green made an error that set up the winning run for the Seattle Mariners. We would certainly have liked to see a win, because in the AL East you need all the wins you can get. These teams are so talented and they will not allow for any real mistakes along the way. Otherwise they’ve been playing pretty well, though they haven’t been perfect or anything. They are holding their own quite well in the division and will be right in the hunt for much of the season probably.

The Boston Red Sox were unable to win against the LA Angels of Anaheim yesterday, falling in 12 innings, 5-4. The Red Sox battled against the team hard but they didn’t make it. Why not? If you talk to the Red Sox and their coaches, it was poor umpiring. There were 9 BoSox called out on strikes as opposed to one of the Angels. Boston just had trouble getting themselves settled down and moving forward in that game. But everyday is a new game in this league and the Sox will be able to get the Angels back again. And Boston is doing quite well in the context of their division right now, even though they aren’t in the top spot, they are playing consistently, which no one expects that the Blue Jays, the current leaders, will be able to do this year.

The Red Sox are on their way to the west coast for their last western trip of the season. They are working hard and having a good time getting themselves into the top level of the AL East. They just took 2 out of 3 against Tampa Bay at the beginning of the week which puts them in a stronger position for the future of the game. We’re also looking forward to seeing this team do well on the west coast, which isn’t nearly as strong or difficult as the east. The Anaheim Angels aren’t nearly what they have been in the past, and against the Red Sox, they could get swept. Or else they might take a game or so. Nothing major, that’s the bottom line. The Red Sox are clearly superior and will do very well the next couple weeks.

Dom DiMaggio, the youngest of the DiMaggio brothers, passed away yesterday at the age of 92. The younger brother of Joe DiMaggio was also a talented player who had a 34 game hitting streak. This is a record for his team of Boston that remains to this day.  He was, of course, overshadowed by his brothers, but was a decent player of his own. He was known as the Professor, because he wore glasses and had a rather typical style body. He is considered one of Boston’s best players over the last many years and he’ll be honored at today’s Red Sox game with a moment of silence and maybe some short memories. The cause of death wasn’t released, but his family said that he’d been sick of late.

Josh Beckett is currently having some trouble nailing his starts right now but he’s hoping to take out the Yankees tonight. It’s going to be an exciting conclusion to a two game series at the new Yankees Stadium. Last night the Red Sox held on to a 6-4 win in a rain-delayed game that kept the BoSox on a great trajectory for this season. It’s going to be a big battle between these two teams this year, with each one waxing and waning this season. Get ready for an exciting season with these two teams. Beckett has struggled against the Yankees in the past, but he’s judging himself to be back on the upswing at the moment, so we’ll have to see.

The Red Sox are struggling even as they are quite successful. This team is playing high up in the AL East and are doing fairly successfully by that rubric. But when you look at the team’s starting lineups, they are really having a lot of trouble. Last night, they lost to the Rays of Tampa Bay 13-0, getting only 1 hit in that whole game. The game really wasn’t close at all and it’s an unfortunate game. The starters have an average ERA of about 5.50 and are really stuck in a rut right now. That isn’t to say that their relief is that good either. Usually they can rely on at least a decent bit of hitting to keep them ahead of the other team’s runs. They will have to get more consistent as the season moves on, because they can’t just count on the other teams being less than impressive right now.