Hairy Chested Red Sox: Falling Apart In The Mountains

Playing the Rockies again meant one thing for sure... we would hear the name Bob Apodaca about a hundred times per night. I wasn't disappointed. There was a mention of Apodaca around every corner... every pitch, it seemed. And Mr. Apodaca, who we ALL know is the pitching coach for the Rockies, made me hearing his name one hundred times worth my while when we were reminded of this quote:

"Big, hairy-chested guys, one right after another, that work the count, that pounce on your mistakes. Power and quality hitting from the left-hand side and the right-hand side. More speed in the lineup. ... They create a lot of pressure on you."

Bob Apodaca, I do not know why you've been staring at the chests of our players, but I think I found a reason to love you. I laughed out loud, and I sure needed to laugh. I definitely wasn't laughing after the game, but I got to laugh during it. Thanks, Bob!

Jon Lester got the start against the Rockies in a rematch of game four of the 2007 World Series. Lester, of course, got the win in that game, introducing himself as a future ace for the Sox. More importantly, he got run support in that game. This time around, he didn't. In the six innings that Lester was on the mound, the Sox managed to score a grand total of zero runs. In fact, they only mustered three singles. So while Jon was good (not great), he ended up with a tough-luck loss that left a bad taste in my mouth. I like pitching duels, but they are the most painful kinds of losses to me. When your pitcher is throwing a gem, and ends up losing by one run, it stings. Especially when his offense has the bases loaded twice and can't get anything out of it... that's when it hurts. But, it's one loss, and we can put it behind us.

Oki irked me. He irked me because he just had to go and give up another run. Had he not done that, we would have been tied after nine and we still could have won. I mean, we probably wouldn't have, but we could have. I guess I need a scapegoat for my unhappiness, and Oki gets the job on this occasion. Whatever. Like I said... one loss. We lose, we move on.

Also, I'll never pick on Mikey... even though I'm pretty sure he wasn't even trying to hustle down the line in the 9th. Yes, he's slow, and he's got a surgically repaired right hip, and he had been on the bench for the entire game, but maybe a little hustle? I don't know. Like I said, I won't pick on him. It just seems like we let this one get away. Shame.