The way the Red Sox played these last two games against the Yankees, they seriously need to reconsider their professions. Arroyo should continue in his music career along with Wakefield. Damon could be a backup dancer. Kevin Millar could be a toll booth operator on the Mass Pike (no offense to toll booth workers), Youkilis could work at McDonalds but never get a chance to do anything, Francona could be a little league coach making sure every kid felt special no matter how bad they are, and Clement could bitch and moan about not being named employee of the month and then only go to work for 2 hours.
The Red Sox got to Randy Johnson about as much as you're going to get to him. They couldn't get to him enough though. And they couldn't get to the bullpen at all. Gordon (wouldn't he look good in a Sox uniform right about now) and Rivera combined for 1.2 no hit innings. Meanwhile, Clement was just terrible. The bullpen did well to keep the Sox in the game but the comeback fell short.
Saturday's Man of the Game is Alex Rodriguez who went 1 for 4 with 2 RBI and 2 Runs scored with a big 2 run Homer.
The Bitch-Goat:
Clement: 0.7 - 2.2 IP, 6 ER
Ortiz: 0.1 - 0 for 5
Renteria: 0.1 - 1 for 5, 4 K, 3 LOB
Varitek: 0.1 - 0 for 3, K, 2 LOB
Sunday was simply inexcusable. One run off Al Leiter? Alex Cora batting with the bases loaded? Three homers allowed by Wakefield? Where was Olerud in the 9th? On the bench. Where was Youkilis? Pawtucket. Where was Kapler? On the DL. And by the way, to everyone celebrating the loss of Mark Bellhorn to the DL, Alex Cora is not a replacement. He is not an every day player on this team. Bellhorn isn't exactly the best hitter on the team, but he does his job. He'll hit around .240-260, with an OBP of .350+ which is better than Renteria or Millar. He has more HRs than Millar. He is a solid defensive first baseman and is very good at turning the double play. Youkilis should be playing 2nd or 3rd with Mueller at 2nd until Bellhorn returns or Pedroia/Hanley Ramirez are ready to come up. When Youkilis plays consistently, he hits well. He works the count even better than Bellhorn. Last season Youk batted .260 with 7 HRs in just over 200 ABs. His OBP was .367. He had 35 RBI. We're probably going to need him to play every day next year so why not give him some consistent playing time? Because Francona is against playing kids over veterans even if they only have 4 HRs, are leading the league in strikeouts, or are batting below .200 this season.
The Man of the Game Sunday is Jorge Posada ho went 1 for 3 with a 2 run shot and a walk.
The Bitch-Goat:
Wakefield: 0.5 - 9 IP, 5 ER
Cora: 0.1 - 0 for 2, GIDP, took a perfect 2-0 pitch right down the middle
Nixon: 0.1 - 0 for 4
Damon: 0.1 - 1 for 5, 2 LOB, 1 pitch out in the 9th
Bellhorn: 0.1 - 0 for 2, K
Mueller: 0.1 - 1 for 4, 2 LOB
Monday's loss is just as inexcusable. In the 1st inning, the Red Sox had a pair of bases loaded situations and got 1 run out of it. Then Kazmir was allowed to cruise the rest of the game. Then the Tampa Bay bullpen went 3 innings allowing only a walk.
Miller pitched about as well as you'd expect form a #5 pitcher. He pitched well enough to keep the Sox in the game. The bullpen did very well. Embree, Bradford, Myers, Timlin, and Schilling combined for 3.1 innings of scoreless relief allowing only 2 hits and striking out 3. The Red Sox had 3 singles. They were able to get on base because of the walk, but getting on base is only half of scoring runs. Getting big hits is the other half.
The Man of the Game is Carl Crawford who went 2 for 4 with a double. He stole 2 bases.
The Bitch-Goat:
Miller: 0.1 - 5.2 IP, 3 ER
Damon: 0.2 - 0 for 5, K, 2 LOB
Ortiz: 0.1 - 0 for 3, 2 K
Ramirez: 0.2 - 0 for 3, K, GIDP
Varitek: 0.1 - 0 for 3, 2 LOB
Nixon: 0.2 - 0 for 3, K, 4 LOB
Mueller: 0.1 - 0 for 4, K
The Red Sox fell back down to 2nd place when the Yankees beat the Rangers 11-10. Since coming back from Philadelphia and a 6-0 road trip, the Sox are 6-12 winning only one series over that stretch. We deserve to be in 2nd place and 3rd soon unless we turn it around.
