Could it be? Could the Red Sox really be turning a corner? I am hearing terms like “surging” and “red hot” to describe the team and certain players (namely Ortiz and Youkilis). This feels good.

I don’t want to spoil the good mojo by getting cocky. No way. I am just very humbly thankful right now. Here is my gratitude list for today:

• David Ortiz is hitting (understatement!).
• Youkilis is hitting and vacuuming up balls over at first base.
• Wakefield is back in the rotation and pitching great.
• Dice-K is finding his old form from 2008.
• Buchholz is maturing and pitching great.
• Lester is pitching terrific, too. He is 4-0 in the month of May.
• Hermida is hitting .400 with runners in scoring position. He is the BEST in the A.L.! Talk about clutch.
• Pedroia broke out of his “slump” last night. He was 0-19. I put “slump” in quotations because really – is Pedey ever in a true slump? No. He breaks out of it quickly.

I find it a bit ironic that our two ace pitchers (Beckett and Lackey) are struggling. Thank God the other guys are picking up the slack.

I don’t think it is realistic to expect Jacoby Ellsbury to get back into the line up and start producing from Day One after cracking four ribs and spending more than a month on DL. I think we should also have low expectations for Cameron’s return. I’m thinking we should have kept MacDonald around for back up, just in case. We could have released someone else (Not sure who. Don’t even say “Lowell” — I won’t hear of it.)

I see that the Red Sox released Scott Schoenweis. I really hoped he would work out for us, but no. He is gone. And Scott Atchison is back. He makes me nervous. He looks so jittery on the mound, but the word is that he pitched great in Pawtucket. *fingers are crossed*

WHERE IS PAPELBON? Did I miss something? I really expected to see him come out and save the game last night. I haven’t seen him since he gave up those two HRs against the Yankees over a week ago.

And please — someone — get rid of Ramon Ramirez. I have never like the guy. He needs to go far, far away like Julian Tavares.

Please do whatever voodoo you need to do for tonight’s game. As for me, I will be driving over to Rutland, Vermont for some great Italian food at Sabby’s Restaurant. My dad is from Rutland and we enjoy this meal every year. We’ll listen to the game on the radio on the drive home.

I think you could call last night’s performance “Lackey-luster.” I hate to say it, but that is my new nickname for John Lackey. He is not performing up to (my) expectations. I still have hope that he will improve but so far… meh.

And tonight it is another “Roll of the Dice-K.” We never know what we are going to get when Dice-K is on the mound. I think that I will skip the first three innings of the game. I will tune in later to see if there is anything worth watching.

Geez. I am not too pumped up right now. Sorry.

I am leaving for New Hampshire in the morning though. Maybe I will get a little more excited to be back in northern New England watching the Red Sox on NESN every night. If nothing else, I will be eating my fair share of homemade Moose Tracks ice cream… YUM!

Like any Red Sox fan, I am a bit superstitious. So after watching Monday night’s debacle, I decided to pull out all the stops for last night’s game.

I wore my lucky Red Sox t-shirt as seen in my profile photo to the right. ====>

I wore my lucky Red Sox hat which is not actually a Red Sox hat. It is an Old Navy hat that says “Boston 61″ on it. I like it because it says Boston and no — I was not born in 1961. Close but not 1961. I started wearing this hat during every game of the 2004 ALCS. ‘Nuf said.

Then I got REALLY creative…

I turned on the lights of my mini Fenway model which sits on a bookcase in my home office. It was a going away gift from my former co-workers in Florida. A great gift for any Red Sox fan, I might add.

I bought a six pack of Sam Adams Summer Ale to enjoy during the game, and I don’t even drink Sam Adams! The things we do in the name of sports superstitions…

With all these totems in place, I turned on MLB Extra Innings to watch the game. I dreaded watching it on the YES Network again tonight but lo and behold! The game was broadcast on NESN and in HD no less. Woo!

I must confess I watched five innings. That’s it. Five lousy, stinkin’ innings. My stomach was churning. I couldn’t even drink one Sam Adams. When I saw Mark Texeira get a hit, I had to turn it off.

I lost my faith in the Red Sox. There — I said it.

P.S. Dear God — letting the Red Sox win more often is also very helpful!

When I checked MLB At Bat on my iPhone this morning and saw that we had won — I was ecstatic but also ashamed of myself. How could I name my blog Red Sox Faithful and then turn it off in the fifth inning against the Yankees?

Maybe turning it off was just the voodoo I needed to do. Maybe I will never be able to watch another game all season. Is that possible? NO!

Forgive me, Red Sox for I have sinned. I will not lose the faith ever again this season.

Some random thoughts:

Josh Beckett

I haven’t posted since the last time Josh Beckett pitched which was also against the Yankees. I think it’s pretty obvious he has physical issues. I don’t think this is anything new. I think it’s time to put him on the DL and move Wake back into the starting rotation.

Jonathan Papelbon

I am not sure what is going on with Jonathan Papelbon. He barely escaped last night’s ninth inning. Is he tired? Over-rated? I would like to think that he just needs a little rest and some kind of adjustment with his delivery. Let’s HOPE.

Big Papi!

Ever since I wrote my post about Big Papi being like Old Yeller, the man has started hitting. He has hit .421 since May 5. Again — I must confess I lost my faith in David Ortiz. Luckily, he has been proving me wrong ever since. AMAZING!

Mike Lowell

I really like Mike Lowell and hate to see him displaced this season. But what can we do? Big Papi is hitting again. Mike even said it himself — he feels like he’s taking up roster space when the team could really use another able body to contribute. What a shame. I would love to see Mikey stay with the team in some coaching capacity — maybe first base or third base coach. He is a natural born leader. I could see him managing a team someday. You never know.

Keeping the Faith (really!).

Last night Josh Beckett looked great in his first three innings. That’s what I hear anyway. I wasn’t home to see the first half of the game. I did catch Nick Swisher’s three-run homer in the fourth on my iPhone. I wasn’t too rattled. We were still in the game.

By the time we got home and turned on the TV, Beckett came unglued. From where I was sitting, it didn’t look like he tried to hit Robinson Cano. But the pitch to Cervelli’s chin was questionable. Just before that pitch was thrown, Don and Jerry made some kind of comment about Beckett not throwing a ball now with the bases loaded…

They had to eat their words.

Then Beckett plunked Jeter and that is when I felt my blood pressure spike.

I was only kidding when I suggested on Jane’s blog yesterday that a few hit batters or a brawl would remove the rivalry malaise. In truth, I cannot accept a pitcher throwing at batters. Period.

From what I am reading online, it seems like everyone is scratching their head wondering how Beckett went from stellar to stupid in just six innings?

DUH. He’s a headcase.

I’m sure glad we didn’t sign him to a lucrative, long term contract… oops. Too late. 

And while I’m at it — the other thing I find unacceptable is this:

I love when guys play the game with passion but acting like a baby man every time you strike out is a total embarrassment. Show some class, Youk.

I have been a Red Sox fan for a very long time. I have a lot of experience watching my team play through some troubling times. I can handle the slumps and mental errors. I can even handle the heartbreak. As long as the team is trying hard and holding their heads high, I will watch them.

Last night was tough to watch.

David Ortiz proved me wrong. It is not time to sit him down or send him to Pawtucket. Right after I published my last post, Big Papi went 2-for-3 including a solo home run in Game 3 against the Angels. Nice!

And Francona had Ortiz out of the line up against the left-handed Kazmir last night. He must have read my blog…

Last night I was a little less than excited about sending Dice-K to the mound. I now call it “Rolling the Dice-K” because you never know what you’re going to get out of him. Last night looked like a continuation of his first outing. Dice-K was pummeled in the first inning for four runs by the Angels. Luckily, he turned it around and pitched another 4 1/3 innings and gave the Red Sox a chance to get back into the ballgame.

And we got back into the game in a big way with 11 hits and 11 runs. I like it when hits and runs match up. That’s some good mojo!

So tonight we start another series against the Yankees. I will admit that I have not been keeping up with their stats. I’ve had too much to worry about over here in Red Sox Nation.

I am happy that the Red Sox are getting some positive mojo going before this series with the Yankees, but it won’t be enough to defeat the Evil Empire. Josh Beckett is going to have to pitch REALLY strong tonight. And we absolutely have to hit well. That is a lot of “ifs.”

I hope the Red Sox prove me wrong. 

I hate to say it, but the time has come to bench Big Papi.

If you read my blog at all, you know that David Ortiz is my favorite player so I do not say this lightly. But I believe the time has come to sit him down or send him to Pawtucket to work on his swing.

I cannot continue to see him in the lineup, striking out with men on base when we are in desperate need of some runs. I cannot continue to see him whiff at pitches and slump back to the dugout looking so upset and dejected.

Admitting this makes me feel 10 years old again when I saw this movie:

You can’t shoot Old Yeller!

Actually, sometimes you have to do what you have to do. And yes, it’s time.

Yes, David hit two homeruns the other night. Just like Old Yeller saved the boy from the mountain lion or whatever rabid animal it was. (My memory is short and I saw the movie a LONG time ago.)

All I know is the ending stunk. And watching Big Papi struggle at the plate feels just as bad.

The good news is we have some options. Guys are starting to hit again. Two weeks ago, we didn’t have too many good options.

Francona needs to play who’s hot and bench who’s not. Plain and simple.

Yeah, yeah… I know that when you bench a guy you are potentially impacting his ability to correct his swing and hit the ball. Too bad. Here are my suggestions to Terry and Theo and Company (and anyone else who will listen):

• Tek is hot. Put him behind the plate 2/3 of the time.
• Put Martinez on first.
• Move Youk to third.
• Make Beltre the DH.
• Use Lowell as much as possible to spell Martinez or Youk or Beltre.

We have a lot of options with these four guys and they are hitting right now. I say use them every night in one position or another.

As for the outfield, put in Hermida as much as possible. He is getting some great clutch hits for us this year. He is WAYYY better than Rocco Baldelli was last year.

Just my opinion – this is my blog after all…

As for our pitching, I think Francona needs to make his pitching changes a little faster than he has been. Letting Dice-K get hammered for six runs is not acceptable.

I am not sure how I feel about Wake in the bullpen. What about putting Dice-K in the bullpen? He was great for four innings the other night. Maybe he could be a long reliever until he gets his groove back. Maybe he will never get his groove back and pitching 2 or 3 innings is the way to go with him.

I sure hope Lackey has a great outing tonight against his old team. We could really use a sweep of the Angels right now to get some confidence back.

I am definitely not looking forward to this weekend’s series against the Yankees although it looks like they have some injuries. How about we let them drink the polluted Boston water and get a little intestinal bug? That’s not so bad, is it?

Maybe being the underdog for this series is not a bad thing. The Red Sox always seem to play better when no one takes them too seriously.

Keeping the faith for Big Papi’s resurrection…