6 Sox, 3 Oakland

John Lackey did the job. It may not be the best line ever, 5.1 innings 3 earned runs, 2ks, but he got the win. I don't think many of us expect a better line than that going forward, but we will take it. John Lackey is our 4th starter, I don't care how much he's paid, as long as he doesn't give up more than 4 runs a start I don't care.

Now for people I like talking about, Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez were responsible for 5 of the 6 runs the Sox scored this afternoon. Crawford hit a 3-run home run into the bullpen in the second inning off of Brett Anderson. Then Adrian Gonzalez hit a 2 run blast into the monster 2 innings later to put the A's away for good. David Ortiz went 3-4 and is amazing, he is now hitting .325 for the season. Salty had a 3-for-4 game of his own with a triple and 2 singles.

But isn't Adrian Gonzalez the best hitter anyone has ever seen in a Sox uniform. Since I never saw Ted play, I guess the comparisons would be Manny and Wade Boggs, and they never were able to do what this guy has done thus far.

We are a game back against the Yankees heading into NY this week.

Red Sox @ A's Preview

Man I can't stand west coast game, but the Sox are out in Oakland tonight. Tonight we get Lackey vs. Brett Anderson, and is it just me or do the Red Sox face a lefty every fucking game? Anyways, Red Sox Nation has their figures crossed that Lackey can pull a Dice-K and pitch a gem. Wow, I know I can't believe that I just wrote that sentence either, but it's true.

Lackey was skipped last time his turn was up, and has been awful this season going 1-1 with a 15.58 ERA. All the talk that he looked fit, and poised for a great season seemed to go out the window fast. Now the Sox are just hoping they can get something out of him.

Meanwhile, Brett Anderson is winless but is rocking a nice 2.29 ERA. This kid is a future ace in the making, and seems to be in line with all the great pitching the A's seem to get every year. Anderson has been solid versus the Red Sox, going 3-1, 2.61 ERA. After losing his first career start against the Red Sox, he's 3-0 with a 2.63 ERA and 24 strikeouts.

Boston has been rolling lately, and I would like to say I feel good about this game, but I don't. Still, Lackey in the past has been good against the AL West and is 17-5 in his career against the A's, so I'll be optimistic.

Red Sox win 5-4
Player of the Game: Pedroia
Game starts at 10:05pm

A's Give Cahill 5 Year Deal

"Billy Beane continued an Oakland tradition today, locking up yet another promising young starter. The A's GM agreed to sign Trevor Cahill through his arbitration years and then some with a five-year deal that the team confirmed this afternoon. The contract, which is worth $30.5MM in guaranteed money, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney, buys out Cahill's last pre-arbitration season, his three arbitration years and at least one free agent year (Twitter link). The A's have two options worth $13MM and $13.5MM for 2016 and 2017, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (MLBTradeRumors)."

Love the deal, but you always have to wonder how long the A's will stick with him. It seems like once a pitcher really gets tot he top of his game the A's ship him out. A lot of times it works (Zito), but at some point I would really like to see the A's go for it instead of doing the whole "money ball" thing. They have developed some of the best pitchers in baseball over the years, but yet we have not seen them go all the way.

Also, I think they should lock down Gio Gonzalez long term. That guy has showed that he is the real deal over the last year and it's time he got reward. He might even be the best pitcher on that staff, and has been quoted as saying he has his "fingers crossed" on a deal.