Jon Lester: Ugh, Thank GOD!

There was a moment that I was sure it was going to be a lost weekend for all of Boston sports. That moment was right after the Sox finished getting spanked on Saturday. The triple loss on Friday was painful enough.... though I'd be hard pressed to find a complaint with the Bruins game. At least they gave their all. The Sox got stomped at Fenway, and across town, the Celtics were getting embarrased at the Garden. Then of course, Saturday handed us another miserable whipping. Sunday rolled around and I just wasn't sure I could take any more pain, but I tuned in anyway. In the craziness of Mother's Day, I forgot that the Celtics had played, and luckily for them, they won. So there was an ounce of redemption before the Sox game. Just an ounce.

That's when Johnny started rolling.

No, he wasn't perfect. Perfect was reserved for Dallas Braden who threw the 19th perfect game in major league history against the Rays on a beautiful afternoon in Oakland. His mother may not have been around to see it (she passed away), but his grandmother was in the stands to watch. Congratulations to Dallas Braden. Now when that punk b!tch A-Rod asks you what you've done in your career, you can point to the record books for May 9th, 2010.... assuming, of course, that you carry the record books around with you. If not, just reference it!

Like I was saying (I get side-tracked so easily), Jon wasn't perfect, but an 8-pitch first and an 8-pitch second definitely gave me some hope. His finishing line, 7 IP 4H 2ER 2BB 7K, did two important things; it got him the win, and it made sure the Sox avoided the sweep. Jon was a breath of fresh air after being trapped by the REALLY REALLY BAD pitching of Beckett and Dahmer. I'm not even going to discuss those games, because they were just flat-out terrible. Lester was the only starter to earn his keep this weekend. Sure, he gave up two solo home runs in the fourth inning to the two arguably most annoying goddamn guys on the Yankees, but I'm just happy that we got a pleasant ending to a really ugly series. But it still leaves me questioning this team. I honestly don't know what to make of them. Are they average or terrible with moments of brilliance? I've just been so frustrated with them, I don't even know how to size them up. I'm glad we got a win, but I shouldn't be so happy to be back up to .500. Yet, I am.

I am also very happy about Papi's hit and RBI. I'll take my little moments of happiness from him, thank you. Burnett actually looked good for all of two innings. If not for a error by Thames in the 2nd, we would have been tied at zero... until we tee'd off on him in the third, anyway. VMart continued to frustrate me and Munchkin continued to make me happy. Wakey pitched a perfect 9th, and Delcarmen did a serviceable job of the 8th, even though he did surrender one run. Overall, I was pleased with the way they played. I just wished that they had played that way for the two games prior. Oh well. Lackey on the mound tonight, hoping to get a win-streak going.

But, before I wrap it up, I'm going to nitpick. Miller and Morgan. Shudder. Granted, those names never inspire much happiness around these parts. Sunday night baseball irks me like no other, especially the way that Jon Miller kept calling our 3B Bel-TRAY, putting the emphasis on the wrong syllable. It shouldn't irk me. It shouldn't make my skin crawl, but for goodness sake, Joe Morgan managed to say it the right way. Why didn't anyone correct Miller?! WHY?!

On top of that, when discussing Dallas Braden's perfect game, they referred to it only as a no-hitter. I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't recall either of them using the phrase perfect game. As a matter of fact, when that tidbit of information scrolled across the bottom of my screen, I pointed out that they had called it a no-hitter. Yes, technically, it's a no-hitter. He didn't allow any hits during the course of the game. That's like saying that that someone with a master's degree has a bachelor's degree. It's true, and it's pointing out a big accomplishment, but you're not pointing out the BIGGER accomplishment. I just don't understand how those two still have jobs. Oh, Firejoemorgan.com, where have you gone?

And no, I don't have my master's degree yet. But when I get it, I would expect that people recognize that achievement over my lesser achievements. Do I expect too much?