Column--4/15/13 (Red Sox road trip)

My first Red Sox game was September 28, 2007.  I have been to countless games since.  But never have I had the chance to eat for free at Fenway Park.  So when I heard that the Red Sox were giving free food away to kids under 14, I wasn't going to miss out on that opportunity.

It didn't take long for me to find myself on Yawkey Way for the fist time this year.  I spent the weekend at Fenway Park, taking in two games against the Tampa Bay Rays.

April baseball is a very special time.  Its the time when you are just coming out of spring training and everyone is coming together and trying to get used to the cold New England weather in Boston.  The Red Sox appear to be doing that well, as they just won the series over the Rays.

While being down there, I definitely saw some good things.  First of all, I’ll note the huge improvement of the pitching this year so far, even though it is a small sample size.  Last year, no Red Sox pitchers could string two wins together, and that is why no pitchers want to look back on it.

In Saturday’s game, Jon Lester was on the hill.  Lester tossed seven innings, allowing just one run on five hits.  Lester's command looks good, which is an improvement from last year.  He's able to put his pitches where he wants them, keeping the ball down and throwing strikes, and not allowing too many base runners.

In the game that I saw on Sunday, Clay Buchholz posted a carreer high 11 strike outs and tossing eight scoreless innings, with seven of them being hitless.  Buchholz improved to 3-0 on the season, with just a microscopic 0.41 ERA.

One disappointment for the Sox so far has been new closer Joel Hanrahan.  On the Saturday game, Hanrahan pitched to two batters, walking both of them.  I had high hopes for Joel at the start of the season, as he was one of the better closers in the National League for Pittsburgh.  I think its too early to give up on Hanrahan since we haven’t seen enough of him yet.  He also claimed that he now has a hamstring issue.  It is yet to play out whether that is an excuse or if it is actually an issue for him.  He did have a similar injury in Pittsburgh.  Andrew Bailey will close out games while Hanrahan is hurt.

One thing they say about new pitchers who are coming to Boston is that they need to have a "short term memory." This means that if they get blown up in one game, they have to be able to overcome it before their next appearance, which for many relievers is the next night.  The other thing that happens to players in Boston is that my friends in the press will beat them up if they have a bad night.  No matter how mad he is, the pitcher has to keep himself under control and be careful about what he says.  That can be hard for guys like Bobby Valentine who can't stop talking to the media, and sometimes things come out differently than guys like Valentine mean for them too.

Another note for the Sox this week is there sellout streak of 794 games came to an end last Wednesday.  The streak, which started in 2003, is the longest sellout streak in the history of US major league sports.

I think that the streak has greatly affected the mood and attitude in the park.  First off, there really are fewer people at the games.  Also, the fans just don't seem as into it and intense as they normally are.  Don't get me wrong, I love going to Fenway, and I always will, but the attitude of the fans after the last two years really is more subdued.

Follow Jasper Goodman on twitter:  @Jasper_Goodman

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 www.goodmansports.blogspot.com