Felix Doubront was taking the mound for the Sox and hoping to lead the team to their second win in a row.  Doubront has been nothing short of impressive this season and last night would be no different. 

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Michael Dwyer

Doubront seemed in control from the beginning of the game.  Doubront was throwing up zeroes on the scoreboard inning after inning.  The Indians weren't able to get anything from him until the 6th inning.  Doubront gave up an RBI single to Kipnis, but that would be it for the Tribe.  Doubront ended up throwing 109 pitches, 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BBs, 5 Ks.  It was a great performance for Doubront.  Andrew Miller came out in relief of Doubront and continued to look impressive.  Miller pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 7th.  Padilla pitched a scoreless 8th and then Aceves came on for the 9th.  Aceves pitched a 1-2-3 10 pitch inning.  The pitching last night looked like a team that might be able to do something.

The bats had a little bit going on too. In the 3rd, the Sox got on the board with RBI doubles from Pedey and Papi. Sox 2-0.  The Sox added a 3rd run in the 4th with a sac fly from Aviles.  Sox 3-0.  After the Indians scored a run in the 6th, the Sox immediately got that run back in the bottom of the 6th with a solo HR from Cody Ross over the Monster.  Sox 4-1.  That is all the Sox pitching would need. 

Game over.  Sox win.  Water Dirty. 

Red Sox 4  Indians 1  BOXSCORE

Sweeney CF
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Gonzalez 1B
Middlebrooks 3B
Nava LF
Ross RF
Saltalamacchia C
Aviles SS

Doubront SP

The Red Sox were coming off Golf Gate 2012 and a back breaking loss. Clay Buchholz and his 9.09 ERA was heading to the mound.  There was a lot of grumbling going on in Red Sox Nation.  Clay hoped to show his team and the fans the type of pitcher he could be. 

Photo Credit: Jim Rogash/Getty Images

All in all,  Clay had his best outing to date.  Clay gave up a single run in the 1st and then seemed to roll after that.  He seemed to have pretty good command and was locating his pitches.  Clay was throwing scoreless inning after inning until he hit the 7th.  Clay got one out and then seemed to hit a wall.  Clay gave up singles to Damon and Kipnis and then walked Cabrera to have the bases loaded.  Clay had thrown 111 pitches and it looked like he was done.  Rich Hill came in after Buchholz and unfortunately was not able to record an out.  Hill walked in a run and then another run scored on a fielding error from Will Middlebrooks.  Two out of three of Clay's inherited runners scored.  Bobby V came out and got Hill and replaced him with Andrew Miller.  I'll be honest that with the bases loaded I was a wee bit terrified.  Miller is known for walking everyone and their brother.  Miller got Choo to fly out and Nava made a great throw in to make sure the runner did not even try to score from 3rd.  Then Miller gave up a single to Brantley to score Clay's final runner.  The bases were still loaded and Kotchman was at the plate.  Miller got Kotch to ground out to end the inning.  Phew. That was scary for a wee bit.  Clay's line for the night was 111 pitches, 6.1 IP, 8 H, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BBs and 0 Ks.  I think the media stats said that this is the first time Buchholz hasn't had a K in an outing in 4 years.  Whatever it was, it worked.  That outing is definitely something for Clay to build on. 

The offense got Buchholz's back in the game as well.  Middlebrooks hit an RBI double in the 1st inning to score Pedey and Papi.  Sox 2-1.  Pedey hit an RBI double of his own in the 2nd to score Punto and Sweeney.  Sox 4-1.  In the 5th, Cody Ross hit an RBI double followed by a Sweeney RBI single and a Pedroia sac fly.  Sox 7-1. 

After the 7th and some woes from Clay and the bullpen, the Sox were clinging to a 7-4 lead.  Franklin Morales came out in the 8th.  He got an out, but also gave up a single and a walk.  Padilla came out and finished off the 8th inning with 2 quick outs.  Aceves was on the mound for the 9th and decided to make a 3 run save a little bit dramatic.  Aceves walked Santana and with one out gave up a single to Brantley to score Santana.  Sox 7-5.  Aceves got the final two outs though and the Red Sox won!

Photo Credit: AP Photo/Charles Krupa

Red Sox 7  Indians 5  BOXSCORE

WP: Buchholz (4-1)  LP: Jimenez (3-3)  SV: Aceves (6)

"I don’t want to be part of a reality show. If I wanted to be part of a reality show I would move to LA. That’s not what I’m here for. I’m here to win baseball games and we’re not doing a good job of that. Am I part of the solution or am I part of the problem? I want to part of the solution, not part of the problem."

-Josh Beckett on all the drama surrounding him lately. 

Here is tonight's lineup vs. the Indians:

Sweeney CF
Pedroia 2B
Ortiz DH
Gonzalez 1B
Middlebrooks 3B
Nava LF
Ross RF
Saltalamacchia C
Punto SS

Buchholz SP

Game time is 7:10pm EST. 

As Matt wrote earlier in his article about Josh Beckett and his media problem, he hasn't had the best few days on or off the mound.  Beckett got shelled on the mound last night only lasting into the 3rd inning.  He followed that up with a press conference where he was defiant with the media daring to question what he did on his off day aka Golf Gate 2012.  As a result, fans and media alike are saying that Beckett either is going to be traded or needs to be traded.   The Globe's Eric Wilbur said that Beckett needs to go "for the sake of the franchise."   Many people on twitter and on the internet are jumping to the same conclusion.

In my opinion, while it is understandable to be frustrated with Beckett as a fan or even someone covering them for the media, that's such a short sighted opinion.  First of all, Beckett is a 5/10 player so he can't be traded without his consent.  Additionally, he has a huge contract.  The Sox would either have to find a team willing to take on that salary or eat that salary.  That, in my opinion, does not make the Sox a better team.

Beckett has always had attitude or been defiant.  It used to be something he was given props for.  You see, when he is pitching well it is one of his strengths, but when he's being shelled and dares to not put his head down and submit to the Boston media, then he just "doesn't get it." 

In my opinion, I have no problem with Beckett not answering the media's questions about golf.  He owes them no answers.  If he owes anyone answers about golf and his off day, it is his manager, his teammates and the owners.  I am glad he told the media where to go and how on that question.

When it came to how Beckett did on the mound, he answered those questions and took responsibility.  While Beckett was prickly when it came to talking about his off day, he did not have that same level of aggression when talking about his performance on the mound.  He outright admitted he sucked and that he deserved to be boo'ed by the fans.  And in the moment when he seemed the most genuine and humble, he spoke about how he and the other starting pitchers need to stop putting such a tax on the bullpen.  He remarked how it is not good baseball and it is not fair.  That's Josh Beckett being accountability.  People say that Beckett is clearly showing he doesn't care with his disdain for the media and snark about golf.  His comments about how he pitched and how it put the team and the bullpen in a hole shows me otherwise.  He'll take responsibility on the mound every single time, however all that off the mound stuff...he'll happily tell you to F off.  I'll take that anyday and couldn't care less what he says about chicken or beer or golf.

Starting pitching is a problem for the Red Sox.  No doubt.  It's their biggest problem in a long list of problems this year.  However, Josh Beckett is just a piece of that problem and in my opinion trading him does nothing to solve that problem.   Beckett's ERA is 5.97 and that's horrible, however it is no different or much worse than most of the starting rotation.  Lester is currently leading the pack with a 4.29 ERA, Bard is right behind with a 4.83 ERA, then Doubront with a 5.01 ERA and Buchholz is taking the back seat with a staggeringly horrible 9.09 ERA.  That's dreadful.  That's unacceptable.  However, in my opinion trading Beckett does nothing to solve that.  The Big Three need to pitch better and in a Sox uniform. 

Yes, he played golf.  Yes, he was skipped a start.  Yes, it looked bad.  In reality, Aaron Cook needed to come up and since Beckett had a sore lat they decided to skip his start.  That was the easy choice to make.  Beckett didn't ask out of his start.  And on his off day, he played a round of golf.  If you think that round of golf is why he had he arse handed to him on the mound, I respectfully disagree. 

Beckett needs to pitch better, no doubt.  He's not a nice guy, no doubt.  However, I'll say that if the Red Sox are making a sound business decision and not reacting to knee jerk emotion, there is no way that Josh Beckett is on the trading block. 

Clearly, Josh Beckett is the current villian of the woes of the Red Sox.  Good news about that is that of all the members of the Sox, Beckett is a guy who can take it.  

After last season's epic collapse, Josh Beckett became the poster boy for underachieving players who cared more about lounging around eating fried chicken and drinking beer than they did about helping their team win.  While some of that elements of that storyline were partially true, the collapse should not be blamed on Beckett.  It was not until spring training that Beckett finally got around to addressing some of these issues and even then he seemed more concerned with clubhouse snitches than with owning up to some of his failures.  The fans and media wanted a scapegoat for the disastrous end to the season and Beckett was doing his part in playing the villain. 

Jump to the 2012 season and the Red Sox are continuing to struggle.  Everyone is trying to find someone to blame for the 12-19 start and fingers have been pointed at Bobby V., the bullpen, Adrian Gonzalez, Buchholz and now Beckett.  By playing golf when he was bumped from a start and not volunteering to pitch in the extra inning loss to the Orioles, Beckett is once again fitting perfectly into the storyline that he does not care enough.  He followed that up with one of the worst starts of his career. 

When asked if he understood why people might question his golf outing, Beckett responded with, "I spend my off days the way I want to spend them."  This was just the answer the media was looking for.  Beckett took the bait and he is playing the villain once again.  Look no further for the scapegoat Red Sox Nation, Josh Beckett is front and center.

Beckett is still answering questions like he did in 2007, but his pitching looks nothing like it did in 2007.  Nobody would have cared if he drank a six pack and played a round of golf in the morning before a start in 2007 as long as he was putting up W's.  Winning gives players all kinds of cover, just ask Manny Ramirez.  When you no longer have the cover of winning you need to chance you approach.  If Beckett tries to maintain his don't F with me attitude with the press he will see as slew of headlines where he is tared and feathered. 

There is blood in the water and the sharks are circling.  Beckett had two ways to get out of the water; one was to pitch well tonight, the other was to show some understanding why some people would think he wasn't being a team player.  He did neither and he will pay a heavy price in the media.

"We need to erase the negative feeling (from last season) and "we have done nothing in the first month to erase those feelings."

-Bobby Valentine on the Red Sox 12-18 start.

To honor Carl Beane, the Voice of Fenway, the Red Sox will not have anyone doing the P.A. tonight.  The Red Sox made the following announcement via twitter:

Yesterday we lost our friend and voice, Carl Beane. Tonight the PA mic will be silent in his memory.

Daniel Nava has been called back up to the Red Sox and will be in the lineup tonight.  Nava hit a grand slam in the first pitch he saw as a major league batter last year.

Pitcher Clay Mortensen will be sent down to make room for Nava.