Sox Score Seven: Not The Red Ones, Though

Ew. That's my only reaction to last night's game. I guess the boys didn't enjoy being lonely at the top, and now we've let the Yankees right back into our little first place party. I don't like sharing. I don't want the Yankees and their icky fans listening to our music and drinking our beer. Stop drinking our beer, you jerks!

Kidding, I don't drink beer. I swear though, if they try to touch my rum, someone is losing a hand. Hear that, Jeter? I will rip your hands off if you touch my rum. I'd say that losing a hand would decrease your range and thereby your chances of winning another gold glove.... but I'm not so sure your range COULD get worse. And we all know you're going to win it whether you make any plays or not. Life is unjust.

So... Jon Lester. What's up, my friend? What's gotten into you lately? May, uh.... May wasn't so good to you this year, you know? Walks were up, hits were up, location was off. Any reason in particular? I don't know what's going on, but I think after allowing seven runs to the White Sox, you might want to look at some film or whatever it is that you pitchers do. Make adjustments. Locate your pitches. Do your thing, ok? I like that you acknowledged that you stunk, but now it's time to stop stinking. Let's make June better!

Pedroia was my favorite player of the game. With runners on second and third, Munchkin came up to bat and I nicely asked him to get those two runs in. He did exactly what I asked, and I definitely like when players listen to me. Unfortunately, the rest of the team didn't listen to me, and that's why we are where we are. Just sayin'... I sort of know what I'm talking about. Helpful suggestions such as "score runs" or "stop sucking" are completely for the good of the team. I have your best interests at heart, guys!

The sting was taken away a little by watching "Four Nights In October." I can say without exaggeration that I've watched it no less than twenty times. It ALWAYS makes my day better and I ALWAYS get goosebumps when Dave Roberts goes sliding into second. Favorite team ever, without question. Just seeing most of those guys in uniform makes me smile. Oh Ducky, how I miss you!

On a side note... Daniel Bard and Rich Hill resurrecting the bullpen band? I don't think it will have the same magic as it used to, but the effort is so appreciated, guys. Keep on jamming out there! I knew all my recent talk about Timlin was bound to provide positive results. Yeah, I miss The Admiral, too. Guess I'm just feeling a bit nostalgic today.

Failure: Losing To Verlander

It shouldn't be considered a failure. Verlander is absolutely nasty when he pitches as well as he did tonight. Still, it doesn't stop me from being a little annoyed with the boys and their inability to do that thing they had been doing really well. You know, score runs. They could not score runs off of Justin Verlander. Justin Verlander looks like this:

Not hitting against Verlander makes me look like this:

Losing makes Beckett do this:

Not wanting to write out a summary of the game makes me upload pictures I already uploaded... like this:

That's right. Tim Wakefield. Let Timmy make you all feel better. I'm going to bed.

Valverde Hates Papi: Papi Doesn't Care

As Jose Valverde walked off the mound today, I'm sure he thought to himself, "That's it... Ortiz isn't getting a Christmas card this year." Two at-bats, two home runs, five RBI's. Papi, coming off an afternoon on the bench, stepped up to the plate in a tied game and launched one off of Valverde giving the Sox the winning run that we so desperately needed. Salty had already come out of the game, meaning Varitek was going in. Knowing that Tek there was just about 100% certainty that Jason would be catching the night game for Beckett, we ran the risk of tiring out our veteran catcher if we couldn't score in the ninth. Papi is very considerate of his team mates, though, and he ensured that Tek wouldn't get too worn down before the nightcap. Yessir, Papi was all we needed.

Dahmer wasn't fantastic, in my opinion. He was good, but he found himself struggling and seemingly overthinking. Two solo home runs took away his lead, and he ended up with a ND for the game. It's ok, though, because unless you're Beckett or Lester, I don't really care about individual wins. As long as the team wins, it doesn't matter to me who gets the win. So Dahmer went six and gave up three runs, which is the dictionary definition of a quality start. Matt Albers pitched in for two innings, allowing no one to reach base. I guess that's the dictionary definition of relief pitching... and if it's not, it should be.

Off-topic... the guy on NESN just said he was the Mark Bellhorn of broadcasting. It made me remember how much I miss Mark Bellhorn. I'm ending the tangent, but I'll never stop loving old number 12.

Other equally-as-important runs in the game came off the bats of Ernie, with a sac fly in the first, Cameron, with a solo shot in the second, and Munchkin, with a solo shot in the 3rd. This wasn't the offensive explosion that we've been getting used to, but it was just enough for a win. For the moment, we have a two-run lead in the east. Yankees are currently winning, but we've got another game to go tonight. It's very realistic that we could finish the evening with that same two-game lead. Love it. As good as 'five wins in a row' sounds, I think six wins in a row sounds better. Let's get it done.

Do YOU trust this man to get us to six? I sure do.

Saturday: Washed Away

Tito at US Cellular Field in Chicago, Sept 5th, 2009... just because.

I don't want to post another Blame It On The Rain video.... but you can just pretend I did. Instead of pretending it's still Saturday, I'll use this post as an excuse to jot down some tidbits about what's gone on/is going on. Yay, bullet points!

-Daniel Bard's friend, Matt Hill, who had been missing for five days has been found. He's safe and ok, and I'm glad this didn't end badly. Now it's up to his friends and family to figure out why he went missing to begin with.
-Marco Scutaro will be re-evaluated on Monday, and we may see him back some day in the future.
-Bobby Jenks (booo!) will return to the team either Monday or Tuesday (boooo!!!!).
-John Lackey is on schedule to return from the DL on June 5th. Since I have tickets to the June 5th game, I would greatly appreciate anyone who wants to hit a line drive off his leg or something... not enough to seriously injure him, but enough to set him back for a few days. Thanks!
-ESPN, who originally was going to stop us from watching game two of the doubleheader tonight, has granted NESN an exception to televise the game. This means that we WILL get to watch the Beckett-Verlander rematch tonight. Thanks, ESPN. This makes me like you just a little bit.
Hideki Okajima was outrighted to Pawtucket. The guy who replaced him, Franklin Morales, is headed to the DL with a strained something or other. The Sox have brought Bowden up, and I'm sure Oki is punching a wall somewhere. At least he's still ours.
-I'm going to wait a few minutes before I post my review of the game that just ended. No instant gratification around here. Oh no!

Wakefield is Wonderful: All Hail The Knuckleball King!

Timmy from May 22nd.

I'm sure there's absolutely nothing I can say about Wakey that I have not said a million times in the past except that he only needs 12 wins to become the winningest Red Sox pitcher of all time. I've said statements close to that, such as "Wakefield only needs 14 wins to become the winningest Red Sox pitcher of all time," and "Wakefield only needs 13 wins to become the winningest Red Sox pitcher of all time," but never before have I gotten to use the number twelve. Every fibrous fiber of my immediate being yearns for Tim to get those twelve wins, and every time he has a game like he did on Friday... well, my fibers are happy.

Timmy was classic, spinning 7 innings of knuckleballing madness, allowing a measly two runs. Sure, we've seen BETTER from Wakey, but this was more than enough to satiate me. Timmy kept his pitch count low, finishing the 7th with 83 pitches. We had a four-run lead and a well-rested bullpen, so there was no need to push him further than that. He's not the youngest guy on the staff, after all. Bard pitched a beautiful 8th, and Papelbon pitched a slightly scary 9th, allowing two hits (one a solo home run) but without blowing the game. Very acceptable pitching, everyone! Gold stars all around!

The offense didn't show up nearly as forcefully as they had for the two prior games, only posting six runs... heh, only six runs. I can remember times last month that six runs was all they would score for a week. I like this team better than I liked that April team. I'm sure they like themselves better, too. Down 2-1 in the third, after Timmy had allowed his only two runs on solo home runs, our bats stepped it up in the 3rd. CRW lead off the inning with a solo home run, Munchkin walked, Ernie singled, Youk doubled in Munchkin and Ernie, and then Crawford launched his own home run. Boom! Five runs. I'll take that ANY day.

Combine all that awesome with a Yankee loss, and the Red Sox found themselves in sole possession of first in the ALE. First. It's like a gawddang miracle, I'll tell you what. These are the good days, my friends. Let us feast on all the pitchers in the league and rest our heads on another pennant come the winter! Or, you know, just continue winning games. For now.

Crawford Kicks In: Four More Hits For #13

Before I get to this game, I want to recount a quick story. I got an email last night from a stranger, apparently after they read my blog. The email said, "I appreciate your love of Mr. Alex Gonzalez, but I think you're wrong about him. He's definitely not a better shortstop than Derrick Jeter is."

Without trying to overreact, I'm pretty sure this individual needs to be destroyed. Look, if you want to have your own stupid, wrong beliefs, you do that... but at least make sure you know how to spell the names of the players you incorrectly believe to be better than Gonzo. And don't email me about it! Derek Jeter's fielding couldn't hold a CANDLE to Gonzo's, and I don't even know why baseball players would HOLD candles on the field during gameplay! The whole thing is ridiculous. Please.... for future reference, everyone... I cannot tolerate people thinking Jeter is a better fielder than Gonzo. I cannot and will not tolerate it. Stop the insanity!

Anyhow, on to the game! See? I got back on track in a timely manner. It was another day, another 14 runs yesterday afternoon in Detroit. Much like what the Sox did to the Indians, they put quite the hurt on the Tigers to the point that the skies themselves decided they needed to take pity on Detroit and end the game prematurely. Alfredo Aceves stepped up in a big way, going six innings and only allowing one run. I guess it pays to have a former starter as your long-relief/spot starter out of the pen. Gold star for Aceves!

I've got a bunch of these gold stars. I bought a value pack just last week, knowing I would need them. CRW with a home run and three RBIs? Gold star! Papi with two hits and two walks? Gold star! Drew Sutton with two doubles? Gold star! Newly called-up outfielder, Josh Reddick, with three hits? That's just Reddickulous! Gold star! (For the record, I was PRAYING that he had a good game so I could use that line). Tek notching a hit and keeping his average over the Mendoza line? Gold star for him, too!

But the player who earned TWO gold stars on the night? Carl Crawford. Carl, WHY couldn't you have hit one of those triples during Wednesday's game? It doesn't matter now, but it would have been nice for you to have a cycle. Four hits, including two triples, makes Carl the MVP of the game. I have to say, I'm enjoying this version of Crawford SO much better than that April version of Crawford. He has really turned it on, and I am enjoying the show.

So, the Sox manage 16 hits in 8 innings of a rain shortened game, posting 14 runs for the second day in a row. Let's see what they've got left in the tank for Wakey tonight! Also, go Bruins. Please. No, I'm serious, I really need you to pull together and, you know, win. Please?

Atta Boy: Jonny Puts Us In First Place

This is obviously a picture of Lester vs. The Indians at Fenway 04 Aug 2010

All the superheros in the world (or the park) couldn't stop the hurt we put on the Indians today. We are behind the Yankees by mere percentange points right now. We were able to scrape back up the mountain to a point where we are technically tied with the Yankees for first place. Again, percentage points, but they've played fewer games than we have. Leave it to Jonny to help get us to the "top." Also leave it to him to become the first pitcher in the major leagues to reach seven wins. Considering the start this team had, the fact that he has seven wins shows how good (and lucky!) he's been. The boys have been pouring run support on for our ace. I mean, one of our aces. Beckett is clearly still an ace.

By the time Jon could even smell the field, the Sox had slapped a seven on the scoreboard. Mitch Talbot, fresh off the DL, certainly had no idea what hit him. The first inning went like this: single, homer, single, single, fielder's choice, single, single, sac fly, single, single, single, fly out. The only starter to not have a hit was Lowrider. Bad, Jed! With all that offense, you couldn't muster a hit? I guess it's fine. We ended up with fourteen hits and twenty runs.

By the time Lester came out of this game at the end of the sixth, he had given up zero runs, three hits, and a walk. This performance was VASTLY superior to some of the other games we've gotten out of Jonny lately, and it was a welcome sight.

From Jonny's no-hitter, May 19th, 2008... also a welcome sight.

I don't care about the two runs surrendered by the pen. If it were a closer game, I'd care, but since it wasn't, I don't. All I know was that it was a LOT of fun. Chicks dig the long ball, and Munchkin, Papi, Salty, and Crawford were happy to provide the excitement. Chicks (like me, I guess), also dig fantastic pitching and Lester gave me plenty of that. As awesome as the game was, the best part was clearly this line: "Oh yeah, that's a great mouse. How did we miss it?" - Don, discussing Danger Mouse. Brilliant. What a game.