SOX SQUEEZE OUT A 4-3 WIN

The Red Sox can clinch the Wild Card Saturday thanks to a 4-3 win over Toronto and an 11-1 loss by Minnesota. Paul Byrd had a Paul Byrd kind of evening, 6 innings, 3 earned runs. And get this, the bullpen pitched three SCORELESS innings. That's how you win 1 run ballgames.

Paul Byrd solidified his case to be the #4 pitcher in the Sox playoff rotation. He's gone 5+ innings in all 7 of his starts with Boston, and gone 6+ innings 6 times. That kind of consistent inning eating is what you want out of a #4 starter.

The Red Sox probably should have scored more than 4 runs. They had 9 hits and 5 walks to work with, but rarely came up with the big hit, or a few smaller hits in a row. 10 men left on base, 5 left in scoring position.

If the Twins lose Saturday, the Yankees lose, and the Red Sox win, at the very least the Red Sox will be the Wild Card winners.

But winning might be a tall task. A good pitcher's duel is on the slate for Saturday afternoon, as 15-5 Jon Lester faces 18-11 Roy Halladay.

Source:
ESPN.com

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/The Canadian Press, J.P. Moczulski

RED SOX SUSPEND COLON

Bartolo Colon's wild ride with the Red Sox has come to an end, it seems. After multiple comeback attempts, always ending with injuries (shocking considering how healthy he is), Colon has been suspended by the Red Sox. He went down to the Dominican a few days ago, and has decided to stay there.

There had been a slim (weird using that word here) possibility of Colon being used out of the bullpen in the playoffs as a long reliever. And in an emergency, he may have started a game. But I don't think he liked the prospects of working with the possibility of no results. I mean, why work when you can stay at home, eat Doritos, and order pants from a special catalog?



So he's suspended without pay for the rest of the year.

The year-long Colon saga was fun, because it drew out the uber-optimists in Red Sox Nation. These guys/gals have been fans for 5 years, when everything's been hunky dory. They don't remember the days of bad luck, injuries, neverending rehabs, and Darren Lewis. These people not only thought Colon would stay healthy, but that he'd be healthy enough to win 15 games for the Sox!!! HA!

Colon's Red Sox career:

7 starts, 39 innings pitched, 4 wins, 2 losses, 3.92 ERA, 27 strikeouts, 10 walks.

Sources:
ESPN.com
MLB.com

YANKEE FAILURES: EPISODE 3 - KEVIN BROWN

Overpaid, overrated, and mediocre. Is there any better representative of the 21st century Yankees than Kevin Brown?

The Bombers traded for Brown after the 2003 season. Desperate for pitching, the Yanks were more than willing to pick up the $31.4 million owed Brown for two more seasons of work. Hell, they even threw in some cash to sweeten the deal for the Dodgers.

New York got 14 wins and 13 losses out of Brown, to go with a 4.95 ERA, a 1.43 WHIP, and only 205.1 innings. That wouldn't be a bad SINGLE season, for a #4 pitcher making $2 to $4 million. But not two seasons for a guy making $15.7M a year.

Brown's biggest disappointment was in the 2004 ALCS. He was one of the biggest contributors to the Red Sox miracle comeback. In Game 3, he allowed 4 runs in 2 innings, but was saved by the Yankees' 19 run offensive onslaught. He wasn't so fortunate in Game 7...

For it was Kevin Brown that allowed 5 runs to start Game 7. It was Kevin Brown who gave up a 2 run David Ortiz bomb in the 1st. It was Kevin Brown, who loaded the bases for Johnny Damon's 2nd inning Grand Slam.



Red Sox fans owe a debt of gratitude to Kevin Brown, for being such a big part of recent Yankee failure. Brown was 14-9 in 2003, with a 2.39 ERA. But when he came to New York, he became a failure.

Thanks, Kevin. We couldn't have done it without you.