Red Sox-Blue Jays: Boston Quiets Critics with a Second Straight Win over Toronto

The reason many athletes refrain from reading the newspapers or listen to sports radio talk shows, is to ensure that they, themselves don't buy into the hype.

As fans and media personalities it is our self appointed reason for being to provide theories, rumors, suggestions and bull-onie to prove our point or state our case.

In one big shout of "I TOLD YOU SO" the Red Sox silenced the critics with their 8-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays last night.

As a team, the Red Sox temporarily silenced those who have anointed Toronto as a team of destiny by beating the first place Jays for the second time in two nights.

While experts have picked Toronto to finish no higher than fourth in the competitive AL East, Toronto finds themselves in first place with a record of 27-15 entering last night's contest.

The Red Sox beat Toronto 2-1 in the opening game of the series and has cut Toronto's lead to a game and a half following last night's victory.

The most satisfying individual scream came from David Ortiz, who temporarily silenced the critics with his blast into the center field bleachers. Ortiz' first home run of the year in game number 40 of the season ends the longest home run drought of the sluggers' career.

Talk of slumps, steroids and rapid aging have been replaced by, well, talk of slumps, steroids and rapid aging. Only a little quieter than they were the night before. The home run was one of four hit last night in the fifth inning by Red Sox hitters—Ortiz, Jason Varitek, Mike Lowell and Jason Bay.

Catcher Jason Varitek, went deep twice for the Sox, blasting home runs number six and seven into the Boston night. Both homes runs came from the right side of the plate, raising Varitek's average to .304 against left handed pitching.

The 37-year-old Red Sox captain hit a career low .220 with 13 home runs and 43 RBI last year, while raising speculation that he too was in the midst of a rapid decline or possible PED use. Varitek and the Red Sox engaged in lengthy contract negotiations during the offseason. Varitek seems to have quelled the naysayers as he is currently on pace to exceed 20 home runs and 70 RBI. 

Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell has quieted the medical experts in the first quarter of the season, recovering nicely from of-season surgery on a torn hip labrum.

Lowell, who has been at or near .300 for the entire season, hit home run number seven last night. He is currently hitting .293 with seven home runs and 29 RBI after hitting only .274 with 17 HR and 73 RBI in last year's injury filled campaign.

Lowell's name became part of offseason trade rumors when the Red Sox went hard after free agent Mark Teixeira, who eventually signed with the Yankees. Had the Red Sox signed Teixeira, the Sox would have traded Lowell while moving first baseman, Kevin Youkilis, across the diamond to third base.

Red Sox left fielder Jason Bay was faced with the daunting task of filling the clown shoes left by since departed Manny Ramirez in left field and in the Sox batting order. Bay has filled out the floppy pair since arriving in Boston after a trade deadline acquisition.

Bay moved into second place in the American League by hitting home run number 12 of the season. He is currently hitting .302 and also finds himself in second place in the AL with 42 RBI.

Ramirez, who was traded to the Dodgers as part of the three team trade is currently serving a 50 game suspension for testing positive for a banned substance. Ramirez was hitting .348 with 6 HR and 20 RBI for the Dodgers before being suspended.

Pitcher Brad Penny raised his record to 4-1 with his fourth quality start in a row last night. Penny threw six innings of shutout ball last night before giving up two runs in the seventh.

His earned run average still sits at a hefty 6.07 but he has registered quality starts in six of his eight outings this season. 

Last season, while with the Dodgers, Penny went 6-9 with a 6.27 ERA in an injury filled campaign that ended on the disabled list with right shoulder soreness.

Kevin Youkilis hasn't had many critics all season, but did quiet the medical staff after returning last night after a stint on the disabled list. Youk returned from two weeks of inactivity following an oblique injury by going 3-for-5 and raised his average to .404.

Youkilis has been one of the leagues top hitters this season adding six home runs and 20 RBI to his Ted Williams like average. Youkilis finished third in the MVP voting last season when he hit .312 with 29 HR and 112 RBI.

Julio Lugo the Red Sox shortstop has quietly raised his average to .309 and is quieting concern of a weak bottom of the lineup for the Red Sox. Lugo has been less than impressive in his two previous seasons with the Sox and is coming off of a knee injury that caused him to miss the second half of last year's season.

He hit .268 with one home run and 22 RBI last season after hitting only .237 with 8 HR and 73 RBI in his first season in Boston.

Lugo is a .271 life time hitter, who has under achieved since signing a multi-year free agent contract with the team in 2007.

Even Jacoby Ellsbury faced his fair share of criticism following a less than expected rookie campaign last season. Despite hitting .280 with 50 stolen bases last season, many were unsatisfied with the way Ellsbury seemed to be manhandled by opposing pitchers at times during last season.

Though he started slowly this season, adding to the talk show whines, Ellsbury has now hit in 15 straight and 21 of his last 23 games. He has also stolen 16 bases including a steal of home against the Yankees on April 26.

Ellsbury, who has never struggled in the field, had 12 putouts last night in center field to tie a MLB record for putouts in a game.