Alex Speier, Red Sox Pregame

Thank you very much John Alex it looks at least for this very moment like that whether Mike cooperate long enough to get a game in tonight it's certainly didn't last night and that led to a lot of frustrations specifically with Jon Lester. Who left them out of out of frustrated as you can imagine. Never reading it in an opportunity to get out of one inning.

Well certainly he was frustrated when he went off the mound because it didn't in all probability in the back of his mind not only was he thinking that this start had been interrupted. But he was also thinking. I might miss and -- might have been my whole start you know getting to face to face four batters. You know is is pretty young satisfying when you prepare five days for that. But of course now that Lester is going to be able to make the start. On Sunday then he feels a lot better about the situation and in so -- was slightly frustrating. It didn't leave the Red Sox at a competitive disadvantage. Especially because Texas was also rained out so they have a double header on Sunday as well.

And they've got whether questions leading into their game tonight and this weather uncertainty. Now -- comes at a bad time of the year so to speak because all of the schedules have gotten the point where there's essentially no room left I mean they're going to try and find a way whether it's Texas. This weekend and Arlington against the Mariners the Red Sox this weekend here at Fenway against the rays they're going to squeeze these games in because. Come on off days don't really exist anymore and you've got to the end of the season the last thing they wanted to do you want to be doing is playing make up games on that Monday right.

after Monday the Red Sox have twenty games in twenty days which poses you know plenty of Papua new challenges and its own right but you know that also means that you really can't. Rescheduling. A rain out for any time during that stretch and so then you're talking about you know about scheduling after the season and then all kinds of crazy things such things happen.

Josh Beckett takes the ball for the Red Sox tonight and with Lester being able to go. Tomorrow night they've got their three best pitchers still lined up for these three games Beckett tonight but Colts and then Lester again. Let's start with Beckett and there are some indications that maybe he started to turn the corner a little bit in his last starting certainly he was able to keep the ball ballpark.

Absolutely and you you started to see the movement on his two seam fastball once again you know attack kind of ability to freeze a left handed hitter by starting and is and his belt buckle. And then -- back over the over the plate at the knees. His and his overall command was I was you know not its best the other day he might have been a little bit sick but nevertheless he was plenty effective. Giving up three runs in seven innings though one thing that was noteworthy. Was that in that inning that cost him the only way in which he gave up the runs on the three run I think it was the second inning he was his curve ball hanging curve. That Mark Kotsay was able to to drop in -- into center field. In that's been an interesting pitch for him. Over his last five or so starts that's been a pitch it's actually been hit quite a bit by opposing teams into its you know coincided with the struggle I think that. You know -- instant -- that's surprising because it had been his resume his real go to strike out pitch for much of the second half. I'm a big reason for his effectiveness. End of late she just hasn't been able to put away opposing hitters with it -- in in fact you know for the first time all year he's been giving up home runs on and the Yankees were taking him deep on the curve ball. Some other teams have as well. So you know it it's probably just an issue of him hanging his curve ball as opposed to bouncing a little bit more if he's able to rediscover the effectiveness of that pitch. Then I'll go along way towards becoming once again the pitcher who was so dominant over half a season. Well that was my question is when it's all on where's that curve ball and opposite end up in the dirt. A lot of the time it ends up below the strike zone. Even though you know because it breaks so sharply that it looks to opposing hitters like there's no way that it can -- below the strike zone but then that's exactly what it does so. From that standpoint if it ends up there. It's nearly impossible to elevate and it shouldn't be a pitch that hit out for home runs if it's being executed as it as it should be. In that's not in the case over the last -- over the last five starts.

Terry Francona did mention in his meeting earlier today with the media that Paul Byrd would be available out of the bullpen tomorrow if need be during the double pattern kind of all of their pitching plans of police announcing the publicly -- on hold until they get their way. Through this series and through those two games but they still have a TBA on the schedule for Wednesday. If we're we're not to pitch tomorrow he would be a candidate for that -- some of the other possibilities for that start on Wednesday.

You would think that probably -- the second most likely got to start would be to -- you to -- just because he does have other Major League starts this year. Even though it's been quite a while since we've seen develop pitch at this point. But but he would certainly be candidate in not a bad one against the Angels because he does such a good job of controlling the running game by being quick to the plate. The wild card you know I'm I'm curious tonight and I don't know that I don't have any reason to believe that he would get the start by. You know Michael Bowden has put together a couple of very good years in the minor leagues he's done nothing but succeed. At every level where is ever performed in you know could you throw a guy like him into the middle of in the middle playoff race and see what he has I mean. The thought wasn't outside of the realm of comprehension. The couple weeks ago before he got lit up by the Yankees and that relief role behind Brad Penny. You know the Red Sox are thinking well. Next time -- the rotation there's a possibility that he could be in the makes. As well as penny -- or offer another start in late August obviously -- and getting lit up meant that they had to send him back down to the minors. To get another reliever back up from triple A but. He he would be a bit of a wild card but to -- would probably be the the second likely candidate behind Byrd. Are right thanks as always also -- tomorrow things jumped out back DO.