Wagner pitched in 17 games this season for the Mets and Red Sox, compiling a 1.72 ERA and pitching some meaningful innings down the stretch in Boston.  The Red Sox did not pick up his $8.8 million option for 2010 which means that Wagner will hit the free agent market 15 days after the end of the World Series.  Wagner is going to make his family his priority, but he might also want to give it a few more years to try to win that elusive World Series Championship.  Plus, he he some personal numbers to achieve that might be important to him.  He would love to become one of only 5 MLB pitchers to reach the 400 save plateau – Trevor Hoffman, Mariano Rivera, Lee Smith and John Franco are the others – and he is just 15 saves shy of that number.  If he can land a closer’s job on a competitive team in 2010, there is a good chance that he could reach that 400-mark.

Guess we’ll have to see what Wagner decides to do, but it was a pleasure having him in the bullpen this past September.  With the struggles of Daniel Bard and Hideki Okajima down the stretch, it was great for Manager Terry Francona to be able to rely upon Wagner in late-inning situations…

I’m still finding it hard to believe that the Red Sox are out of the playoffs.  The way it ended on Sunday afternoon was just shocking.  The Angels rallied for 5 runs in the final innings, including 3 runs off of closer Jonathan Papelbon in the 9th to pull off the improbably 7-6 win at Fenway Park.  The Angels swept the Red Sox out of the playoffs in the ALDS after beating the Red Sox only once in the 10 previous post-season meetings since 2004. What the hell happened?

After jumping out to early 3-0 and 5-1 leads, Clay Buchholz did a solid job of keeping the Red Sox in the lead.  Making his 1st ever career post-season appearance, Buchholz pitched into the 6th inning, giving up just 2 ER on 6 hits and 1 walk.  Daniel Bard relieved Buchholz with the bases loaded and nobody out in the top of the 6th inning, and managed to get the Red Sox out of the game with just 1 more run scoring on a Juan Rivera double play ball.  Bard ended up pitching 2 scoreless innings withoout giving up a hit or a walk in his 1st ever career post-season appearance.  At least the future still looks bright for these Red Sox.

The veteran relievers struggled however.  Billy Wagner only recorded 2 outs in the 8th inning, giving up 2 ER on 1 hit and 1 walk.  Manager Terry Francona called on Jonathan Papelbon to get the Red Sox out of a 2nd and 3rd 2 out jam, but he promptly served up a single to Juan Rivera that cut the Red Sox lead to 5-4.  And despite adding an insurance run in the bottom of the 8th inning to increase the lead back to 2 runs, Papelbon couldn’t finish off the Angels after getting the 1st 2 outs of the 9th inning.  Papelbon gave up a single and a walk and then Bobby Abreu’s double scored Erick Aybar to cut the lead to 6-5.  Papelbon had Vladmir Guerrero down to his final strike, but Guerrero came through a clutch single that scored both Chone Figgins and Abreu to give the Red Sox the 7-6 lead.

The Red Sox went quietly against Brian Fuentes in the 9th inning, and just like that the season was over.  I’m sure I’ll have more to say about the team and the players over the next few weeks once it all sinks in, but I am still pretty shocked by what happened at Fenway on Sunday.  Going into the game, Papelbon had never given up a single run in the post-season – a streak spanning 27 innings over 17 appearances.  He went from being “perfect” to being downright awful – accounting for all 5 Angels runs at the end of the game even though only 3 runs were charged to him.  He’s gotta be feeling awful right now, but this could be a blessing in disguise, making the Red Sox want it even more in 2010.

At least the offense showed up in Game 3.  After being held to just 7 total hits and 1 run in the 1st 2 games, the Red Sox got a 2-run double from Dustin Pedroia and an RBI single from Victor Martinez in the 3rd inning.  After the Angels cut the lead to 3-1 in the top of the 4th inning on a Kendry Morales HR, J.D. Drew increased the Red Sox lead to 5-1 with his 2-run shot to deep center field in the bottom of the inning.  And even though the Red Sox only had 7 total hits, they worked out 4 walks and came through with the clutch hits when they needed it.

It’s a sad day for Red Sox nation – I was so looking forward to seeing Jon Lester force a Game 5 with a dominating performance at Fenway tonight, but I guess it just wasn’t meant to be…

It wasn’t perfect, but Daisuke surely ended his 2009 regular season on a high note in Friday night’s 6-2 win over the Indians at Fenway Park.  Matsuzaka pitched 6 solid innings, giving up just 2 ER on 5 hits and 3 walks.  Matsuzaka struck out 7 batters and has lowered his ERA under 6.00 (5.76) and his WHIP under 2.00 (1.87). Now I know that doesn’t sound all that good, but considering how he looked early in the season, his pitching of late has been a huge success.  Daisuke is 3-1 in his last 4 starts since coming off the DL.  He has pitched at least 5 1/3 innings in each start and he has not given up more than 3 ER in any outing.  If the Red Sox can rely upon Daisuke as the team’s #3 or #4 starter in the post-season, that can only mean good things for the club…

Victor Martinez led the Red Sox offense with 2 hits, 1 RBI and 1 run scored.  Jason Bay had 2 hits and an RBI, while Kevin Youkilis had 1 hit and 2 RBI’s.

Billy Wagner also worked 2/3 of a scoreless inning striking out both batters that he faced.

The Red Sox only have 2 games left this weekend against the Indians at Fenway Park.

Finally – the Red Sox winning recipe finally came back to fruition on Thursday night behind a solid outing by Jon Lester.  Lester proved that he was fine after getting hit with a line drive in last Friday night’s loss to the Yankees in New York.  Lester threw 84 pitches and came out of the game after issuing a walk with 1 out in the 7th inning.  Lester gave up only 2 hits and 1 walk, with 7 strikeouts.  Manager Terry Francona felt he had proved enough at that point:  “We were really happy.  I don’t think we thought it was an issue.  We wouldn’t have allowed him to pitch.  It was really nice to see him pitch as well as he did for a lot of reasons.”

Daniel Bard, Billy Wagner and Jonathan Papelbon did the rest, allowing just 1 hit the rest of the way.  Wagner and Papelbon worked perfect 8th and 9th innings and seem primed for a solid post-season.

With most of the starters back in the lineup, the Red Sox offense clicked on all cylinders.  Although they only scored 3 runs, the team crushed 12 hits and drew 4 walks.  Jacoby Ellsbury led the way with 3 hits and 1 run scored.  Victor Martinez, Jason Bay and Alex Gonzalez each had 2 hits.

The rest of the weekend series for the Red Sox looks like this – Daisuke Matsuzaka tonight; Josh Beckett on Saturday night and Clay Buchholz on Sunday afternoon.  Lester is line to be the Red Sox Game 1 starter against the Angels next week in Anaheim.  How sweet is that to have Lester going in Game 1 and Beckett going in Game 2?  Look out Angels fans…

It’s about time – the bats finally came back to life and Josh Beckett worked hard to shut down the Royals and pick up his 16th win of the 2009 MLB schedule.  After falling behind 2-0 in the 4th inning, the Red Sox rallied for 6 runs in the 5th inning to take control of the game.  Jacoby Ellsbury started the rally with a 2-run triple to center field that tied the game at 2.  Dustin Pedroia drove Ellsbury home with a single to give the Red Sox a 3-2 lead.  A Jason Bay 2-run single and a David Ortiz RBI single rounded out the scoring in the 5th inning.  David Ortiz’s 3-run home run in the 9th inning (his 25th of the season) gave the Red Sox a comfortable 9-2 lead.

Beckett gave up 12 hits in 6 innings of work, but managed to work around jams.  He struck out 7 and walked only 1 and kept the Red Sox in the game until the offense exploded in the 5th inning.  Beckett bettered his record to 16-6, lowering his ERA to 3.78.  Hideki Okajima, Billy Wagner and Jonathan Papelbon each pitched scoreless/hitless innings to preserve the Red Sox win.

The Red Sox still trail the Yankees by 6 games and lead the Rangers by 7 games.  Their magic number sits at 5 for clinching a playoff spot.  The Yankees were the 1st team to clinch a playoff spot with their win over the Angels on Wednesday.

The Red Sox turned a back-and-forth close game into a blow out with 8 total runs in the 7th and 8th innings.

At 88-59, the Red Sox trail the Yankees by 6 games in the AL East, but lead the Rangers by 7 games in the AL Wild Card race.

The Angels finally came through with a 4-3 win over the Red Sox @ Fenway Park this week.  Billy Wagner suffered his 1st loss in a Red Sox uniform giving up a 1-out single to Howie Kendrick that plated the winning run in the 9th inning.  And Brian Fuentes actually pitched on the mound instead of bad-mouthing the umps to pick up his major-league leading 42nd save of the 2009 MLB schedule.

The Red Sox wasted a solid outing from Josh Beckett – 3 ER on 7 hits over 8 productive innings.  Beckett struck out 7 and did not walk any batters.

The Red Sox offense was mostly quiet – 6 hits and only 1 walk.  3 of the hits came in the 4th inning.  A leadoff home run from Jacoby Ellsbury, and with 1 out, a single by Victor Martinez and a 2-run HR by Jason Bay.  That gave the Red Sox the short-lived 3-1 lead.  But the Angels kept fighting back scoring lone runs in the 5th, 7th and 9th innings to pull out the road win.

The Red Sox are still 27 games over .500 at 86-59.  The Red Sox trail the Yankees by 7 games, but lead the Rangers by 6 games in the AL Wild Card race.

The Red Sox now open up a big 10-game road trip – their last of the 2009 MLB schedule.  They play 3 against the Orioles in Baltimore this weekend, 4 against the Royals in Kansas City during the week, and then 3 more against the Yankees at the New Yankee Stadium.  Should be a fun 2 weeks – enjoy the ride…

I didn’t see this one coming – 6 scoreless innings from Dasiuke Matsuzaka as he pitched into the 7th inning – - unbelievable!!!  If Matsuzaka is truly healthy and really has his stuff figured out, the Red Sox could be ready to roll right into the Fall Classic in October.  I am giddy!

Loved the strikes, loved the low pitch count, loved seeing Daisuke pitching into the 7th inning. And although it didn’t start pretty – leadoff walk to Chone Figgins who then immediately stole 2nd base – Dice-K buckled down to retire the next 3 batters to end the threat.

Manager Terry Francona pulled Daisuke after a lead-off walk in the 7th inning, but I’ll take 6 scoreless innings from Matsuzaka any day, especially with only 93 pitches (52 for strikes).  He still has an ERA over 7 and a WHIP over 2, but let’s throw the 1st 2 months out the door at this point.  Start #2 will come Sunday afternoon against the Orioles in Baltimore, so let’s hope we see another solid outing from Daisuke to give us a little more confidence.

The bullpen did the rest – Ramon Ramirez, Billy Wagner and Daniel Bard held the Angels scoreless in the 7th and 8th innings, while Jonathan Papelbon pitched the 9th inning in a non-save situation, giving up a run on a 2-out double by Erick Aybar.

The Red Sox pounded out 9 hits and 3 walks against John Lackey and Jose Arredondo, and Lackey actually worked out of trouble until the 6th inning.  With 1st and 2nd and nobody out, Dustin Pedroia reached base on a throwing error by Lackey which allowed Alex Gonzalez to score.  Lackey then retired J.D. Drew and Jason Bay, but Big Papi David Ortiz came through with a clutch 2-out single that drove in Jacoby Ellsbury to give the Red Sox a 2-0 lead.  The Red Sox then tacked on 2 insurance runs in the 8th inning on a Bay RBI single and an Ortiz solo home run – his 24th of the season.

With the Rangers continued collapse, the Red Sox have now opened up an AL Wild Card race of 5.5 games.  The Yankees have even lost 3 of 5 games, so the Red Sox trail the Yankees by 6.5 games.  With 3 games against the Yankees still to be played in New York, a shot at the division title is still not out of the question…

The Red Sox completed a 2-game sweep of the Orioles with a 7-5 win at Fenway Park on Wednesday night.  Victor Martinez came through with the clutch hit – a 3-run pinch-hit double with 1 out in the bottom of the 7th inning that broke a 4-4 tie.

Billy Wagner pitched a perfect top of the 7th inning with 2 strikeouts, to notch his 1st win in over 2 years.  It was his 1st ever decision in the American League.  Wagner has been nothing short of brilliant since being traded from the Mets.  In 6 2/3 innings in 7 appearances, Wagner has given up just 1 ER (a solo home run) on 2 hits and 2 walks.  Wagner has racked up 13 K’s, striking out at least 2 batters in all but one appearance.  This is all good for a 1.93 ERA and a 0.64 WHIP, and he has clearly earned the confidence of Manager Terry Francona and all of his teammates.

Daniel Bard tried to get the game into the 9th inning, but after he got into a 2-on, 2-out jam, Francona called upon Jonathan Papelbon to finish off the job.  He got out of the 8th inning unscathed, and although Papelbon gave up a run in the 9th inning, the Red Sox held on for the 7-5 win.

The Red Sox offense had another productive night at Fenway, slugging out 15 hits and drawing 6 walks.  Jason Bay had 3 hits, 2 RBI’s and 1 run scored, while Dustin Pedoria, Kevin Youkilis, David Ortiz and Jason Varitek each had 2 hits.

The Red Sox stayed 2 games ahead of the Rangers for the AL Wild Card lead.  They continue to fall behind in the AL East race, as the Yankees are now 9 games ahead.

As it good as it gets in Tampa for the Red Sox – - the Red Sox defeated the Rays 6-3 on Thursday’s get away day, and took 2 of 3 from the Rays in Tampa.  It was a total team effort.

Clay Buchholz toughed out a rough 1st inning in which he allowed 2 ER on 3 hits and a walk.  Buchholz buckled down and struck out Greg Zaun with runners on 2nd and 3rd to prevent any further damage.  The rest of the way, Buchholz scattered 3 more hits over 5 more innings, and left the game with the Red Sox leading 4-3.  6 innings, 91 pitches, only 3 ER allowed in Tampa Bay?  We’ll take that any day from any of our starters.  Buchholz has quietly put together a nice string of starts.  Save for a 7 ER hiccup against the White Sox on August 24th and a 7ER hiccup against the Orioles on August 2nd, Buchholz has not allowed more than 3 ER in any of his 10 starts since July 17th.  And in 4 of those starts, he only allowed 1 ER.  His WHIP at 1.50 is a little high, but his 4 wins is deceiving.

The Red Sox bullpen did the rest to preserve the lead.  Billy Wagner, Daniel Bard and Jonathan Papelbon did not allow a single Rays hit from the 7th inning on.  Wagner and Bard each walked 1 batter, but that was it.  Wagner and Papelbon each had 2 K’s and Bard added another K in the 8th.  This combo is starting to look like a lottery winner for Manager Terry Francona and Red Sox Nation.

As for the offense, the Red Sox slugged out 12 hits and drew 3 walks, scoring 6 runs along the way.  Kevin Youkilis went 3 for 5 with 1 RBI and 2 runs scored.  Victor Martinez and Jason Bay each had 2 hits in the win.  Jacoby Ellsbury had 1 hit and 1 walk and stole 2 bases, bringing his season total to 58!

The Red Sox complete their 7 game road trip with a 4-game set against the White Sox in Chicago over the Labor Day weekend.  With the band box that is US Cellular Field, and the sunny, 80 degree weather predicted for the Chicago area all weekend, look for some high offensive outburst from the Red Sox this weekend.  The Red Sox lead the Rangers by 3 games and the Rays by 6 games in the AL Wild Card race…