Jon Van Every: Putting the "Van" in "Vantastic"

He definitely was pretty Vantastic last night. Hitting, catching, RBI'ing... how can you possibly ask for more? I am continuously impressed with our farm system. Really, how cna you not be? These guys really want to be in the show, and they're working so hard to prove they belong here. It's incredible to realize that a large percentage of our roster could right now be replaced with minor leaguers who want their shot, and we would still probably win games. Lots of games.

I need Van Every to continue doing really well, because I really like saying he was Vantastic. It just rolls right off the tongue.... and coming up with a nickname that can fit 'van' or 'every' and still has negative connotations isn't happening, so he's just going to have to continue to play really well.

Jon LESTER, on the other hand, didn't really look so good. Five runs in six innings isn't the kind of quality start we need from him or his right-handed twin Josh. One or both of them needs to step up and be dominating, because watching them flounder at the same time is annoying. Don't get me wrong, Jon had an ok start against the Yankees, and Josh... well, he pitched against the Yankees. That's about the best I can do for him. When are either of them going to realize that the season already started and they need to be the good versions of themselves consistently? I hope it happens soon. I'd like to see them both get into a rhythm. With a starting rotation that looks as good on paper as ours does, no one would expect that Tim Wakefield would be the best pitcher we have. So, here's to hoping that this was the last mediocre start that Lester makes for the season.

Mike Lowell has grounded into 8 double plays this year. He leads the majors in double plays. Dustin Pedroia is second to him with 5, and Jacoby Ellsbury is a close third with four. I'm really focused on these double plays. They really bother me! Mike has grounded into 145 DP's in his 12 year career, which means that 5% of his career DP's have come in this month alone. This disturbs me. How the heck is this guy batting over .300? He's so busy GIDP'ing! I love Mikey though. Funny thing is that he has the exact same amount of doubles on the season as he does DP's... so he's either getting two, or taking two away. My guess, without looking at any pitch data is that when he pulls the ball, he gets his doubles, and when he tries to drive it to the opposite field, he ends up with a double play. But who knows?

John Smoltz has had a minor setback, and it expected to be delayed by a couple of weeks. I still retain hope that he'll pitch on June 19th...

Josh tonight vs. the spitting machine. Let's hope for '07 JPB instead of '08 JPB. Ok? Good.