BRILLIANCE!

Curt Schilling, ladies and gentlemen, Curt Schilling.

What else can you say about this game? The pitching did well in Oakland, but was still losing. I guess Curt figured the only way he could win was to pitch a 1 hit complete game shutout. The funny thing is, we only scored 1 run for him! He really did have to throw a shutout in order to win.

The Man of the Game was, ummmmmmmm, let's see. Well, Ortiz had a homer AND a walk. Ummmm, Youkilis had a pair of walks. Varitek had a single. Ron Flores pitched a perfect 0.1 inning. Despite all of these contenders, I think Curt Schilling deserves the Man of the Game. Nine innings, 1 hit, 8.2 without allowing a hit, 4 strikeouts, faced 2 batters over the minimum (Lugo error), threw 100 pitches, 71 strikes.

Honorable Mentions:
David Ortiz: 1/3, HR, BB
Joe Blanton: 7.1 IP, 4 H, ER

So the Sox get some momentum going into Arizona. Josh Beckett on the hill late tomorrow night.

SOX BATS SILENCED, AGAIN

We're better than this. We're much better than this. This will stop. This will all stop.

Another good pitching performance, another disappointing offensive performance. But it wasn't just us. We had some horrible luck. Now, you can never, EVER blame luck for losing a game, but you can say that bad luck makes it easier to lose and/or harder to win.

There was the double off Wakefield that hit off the base, Crisp hit a hard ball that Chavez made a nifty play on to turn two, and the umpire was shaky behind the plate.

But we still lost. A stretch like this was bound to happen. We here in Red Sox Nation have a tendency to overreact, both ways. We were all making arrangements for the World Series about a week ago, and now we're scoreboard watching as our lead shrinks.

The Man of the Game is Joe Kennedy, who went 7 innings, allowing 2 earned runs. He allowed 7 hits and 6 walks, but there really isn't any other candidate for MOTG.

Honorable Mentions:
Tim Wakefield: 6.2 IP, 3 ER
Santiago Casilla: 1.1 IP, BB, 0 R, 0 H
Kevin Youkilis: 2/4, 3B, RBI, Run

The Bitch-Goat:
Wakefield: 0.2 - 3 ER
Crisp: 0.2 - 0/3, 2 LOB, GIDP
Lowell: 0.2 - 0/4, 3 LOB, K
Lugo: 0.2 - 0/4
Pedroia: 0.2 - 0/4

FALLING FLAT

When you see four boxes on the Red Sox schedule that all say "@ OAK," you shudder. The Sox just don't do well on West Coast trips. And we can blame the flight time, and the three hour difference, but those west Coast teams have to do the same routine when they come to Boston or New York. Hell, we even scheduled the Angels for the morning Patriots Day game in April.

After losing two of three to New York, and then flying out to Oakland, you could see how a losing skid could happen. And it has. The Sox have lost three straight for the first time all year. They've lost five of their last six. That double digit lead in the division is back to single digits.

Last night was just pitiful. There's no other word for it. Daisuke pitched well enough to win: 7 innings, 2 earned runs. But the Sox could only muster three hits off Oakland's pitching, led by Lenny DiNardo. All those hits were singles. We were able to work 7 walks, but nobody came home. We left 7 men on base, 3 in scoring position, and grounded into four inning killing double plays.

Give some credit to DiNardo, he kept the ball down. He didn't strike anyone out, but he was able to induce 15 ground ball outs in 6 innings of work.

The Man of the Game was Lenny, who went 6 scoreless, kept the Sox to three hits, and worked around 6 walks. As mentioned above, he induced 15 ground ball outs out of the 18 outs he got.

Honorable Mentions:
Daisuke Matsuzaka: 7 IP, 2 ER, 8 K
Eric Chavez: 2/4, HR
Nick Swisher: 2/4, 2B, RBI

Bitch-Goat:
Matsuzaka: 0.1 - 2 ER
Crisp: 0.4 - 0 for 3, 4 LOB, 2 GIDP
Lowell: 0.2 - 1 for 4, 4 LOB, GIDP
Youkilis: 0.2 - 0 for 3, 3 LOB, GIDP
Varitek: 0.1 - 0 for 3, 1 LOB, 2 K

Wakefield goes tonight against Joe Kennedy. With the way Wakefield's been pitching as of late, my hopes for this game are very low.

JD Drew sat for last night's game and will probably sit for tonight's game as well. Not only is Kennedy a lefty, but Drew's also got that nagging hamstring business going on.

I can't wait for the team to come back to Fenway and beat up on the dregs of the NL West.

CONCESSION

This game was conceded to Oakland before it even started. Julian Tavarez, although pitching well lately, up against the best pitcher in baseball right now: Dan Haren. Lowell, Varitek, Lugo, and Crisp were out of the starting lineup. The team had just taken a red-eye flight from Boston to Oakland. Okajima, and Papelbon would also not be available.

Nevertheless, we nearly one the game. Haren pitched very well, but we scored 2 off him. Tavarez only allowed 3 in 5/2 innings. The run Pineiro allowed in the 8th was huge.

Perhaps the biggest play of the game occurred in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Tavarez walked Bubba Crosby. On a 3-2 pitch, Crosby was running, Cora went over to cover 2nd, leaving a hole in the left side, Kotsay hit a grounder right to where Cora had been, and it rolled into left for a single. Had the runner not been sent, or Cora not been the one to cover the bag, it would have been an easy double play. So instead of nobody on and 2 out for Mark Ellis, it was 2 on and none out. Ellis eventually hit a triple that gave Oakland a 2-1 lead. That entire inning, and the game itself, changed on that one play.

But we were living on the edge all night. Tavarez allowed 11 baserunners in 5.2 innings, and only 3 scored. Oakland only got 1 run out of a bases loaded situation in the 8th. They got nothing from a 0 out, bases jammed situation in the 9th. They had two on in the 10th and failed to score. Finally, Chavez ended it with a homer. Oakland left 13 men on base. Eight of those were left in scoring position.

Just a quick question. When Pineiro struggled through the 8th, and we tied it in the 9th, why the hell did he come on to pitch the bottom of the inning? And how come NOBODY was warming in the pen to begin the inning? It nearly cost us the game, because Joel couldn't get anyone out.

The past few games have exposed a weakness in the Red Sox that has been able to be hidden for most of the season: middle relief. We've got Papelbon and Okajima for the late innings, and Donnelly's been okay. But do you really trust JC Romero, Joel Pineiro, or Kyle Snyder with a close game? I don't. But we haven't seen most of these guys in such important roles, because the starting pitching has gone deep. Guys like Okajima and Papelbon have been given days off in between pitching. But our bullpen seriously lacks depth, right now. I'm not worried, though.

Jon Lester pitched a 7 inning, 1 earned run, complete game for AAA Pawtucket last night. In four starts since his forearm cramping, he has a 0.97 ERA, and a 1.26 ERA in 6 starts with the PawSox. Lester will make at least one more start for Pawtucket before joining the big club, and replacing Tavarez in the rotation. Tavarez, I think, will be a major asset in the bullpen. He has done very well against opposing hitters in their first at-bats against him. He could be a long man, a middle-reliever, and a right-handed set-up pitcher.

Also, Mike Timlin started the second game of Pawtucket's doubleheader, pitching 2 scoreless innings and throwing 21 pitches.

The Man of the Game for last night's extra inning loss is Mark Ellis. He went 4 for 5 and hit for the cycle. He very well could have gone 5 for 5 had the official scorer given him a hit, instead of giving Youkilis an error. Ellis also had 3 RBI.

Honorable Mentions:
Dan Haren: 7.2 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB, 9 K
David Ortiz: 3/4, HR, 2 2B, RBI, 2 Runs, BB
Wily Mo Pena: 2/5, HR, 2 RBI

Bitch-Goat:
Tavarez: 0.1 - 5.2 IP, 3 ER
Pineiro: 0.3 - IP+, Run, 3 BB
Snyder: 0.3 - 1.1 IP, ER, HR
Cora: 0.1 - 0 for 3
Mirabelli: 0.1 - 0 for 4
Hinske: 0.1 - 0 for 3

Matsuzaka against old friend Lenny DiNardo tonight.

The Yankees lost to the white Sox 6-4, and Baltimore fell to Seattle 7-4. The Red Sox lead in the East is down to 10 games.

THE WORLD IS OVER!

Okay, season's over guys. New York is 12.5 games behind, which is exactly where they want to be with 2/3 of the season left. The Sox are at a dismal .673, only 2 games ahead of the Mets for the best record in baseball. We lost our fourth series of the year last night! Okajima blew a save and Papelbon got a loss, their careers are finished! Youkilis's magical hit-streak is over. Mike Lowell has 10 errors! Beckett only has 8 wins in 10 starts.

It's difficult for sarcasm to come across over the internet, but hopefully that was laid on so thick, you guys read it as if David Spade were talking.

Painful loss for the Sox last night, but it isn't the end of the world, folks. We lost a close one to New York. It happens. The game was even closer than the 6-5 score suggests. If you could win games by fractions, this one would have been won by a tenth of a run.

The Sox had some hard shots against Pettitte that were screwed with by the wind. Lowell had a bomb to left-center that became an out instead of a 2 run homer. Pena crushed a ball that was caught by Cabrera (very nice run and catch, by the way) for an out instead of a double or triple. Pedroia hit a fly ball that Abreau had to extend to catch, and Ortiz hit a long fly ball that lacked just enough power to keep it in. Then there was Lugo thrown out at home plate. It looks close on replays, Posada blocked the plate, Lugo hooked his back leg in. But had Lugo just slid a bit better, he'd be safe without question and the entire game changes.

But give credit to the scum, they won it, and they deserved to win it.

But let's not give them too much credit. Let's not panic and start feeling as though our 10.5 game lead isn't a 10.5 game lead. The Yankees are still plagued with injuries, and their hopes are riding on Roger Clemens and his fatigued groin. Just ask the 1986 Red Sox what happens when you depend on Roger Clemens to win it for you. And ask any 44 year old to carry the massively heavy load that is the New York Yankees, and he'd have to be godlike to do it. And Roger is not godlike.

Man of the Game is Dustin Pedroia who went 2 for 5 with 3 RBI, with a pair of doubles. He was robbed of a 3rd extra basehit by Abreu's fantastic catch.

Honorable Mention:
Jorge Posada: 2/5, Run, RBI, 2B, blocked Lugo
Alex Rodriguez: 2/5, HR, 2 RBI
Mariano Rivera: IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 K

Bitch-Goat:
Beckett: 0.4 - 6.1 IP, 4 ER
Okajima: 0.3 - 1.1 IP, ER
Papelbon: 0.3 - IP, ER

WHERE IS ROGER?

I just thought this video was funny. I have no idea what movie this clip is taken from, but I think it's perfect for the WWF style the Yankees used for their "big" announcement.

YANKEES BUNGLE AND BOBBLE THEIR WAY TO DEFEAT

Teams like the Red Sox find ways to win. Teams like the Yankees find ways to lose.

The Yankees blew three leads in this game, which started out as a pitching duel then devolved into a battle of middle relievers.

The Sox scored their first run with a nice mixture of power ball and small ball. Pena hit a double off the Monster in left-center (a homerun pretty much anywhere else), was moved to 3rd by Crisp, then scored on a Lugo groundout to tie the score at 1-1.

In the 4th, the Sox began a rally with an Ortiz walk and a Ramirez double. Youkilis was stepping up to the plate when it started pouring. The umpires called for the tarp to be placed on the field. Just as the ground crew was done placing the tarp, it stopped raining heavily. But a 28 minute delay ensued.

The game finally continued, and neither starting pitcher looked all that sharp after it. Youkilis walked, Lowell singled to left to drive in a run, then Varitek grounded into a double play. On the play, Lowell took out Cano, but not at second base, about halfway in between 2nd and 1st. Cano did a good job to make a good throw to first while being sacked by the blitzing Lowell, and the play was clean. Unlike A-Rod's elbow to Pedroia, Lowell attempted to break up the double play while Cano still had the ball. It's kind of like the roughing the passer rule in the NFL. Lowell was taking down a QB who had the ball, A-Rod was taking down a QB who had already thrown it.

In the 6th, Schilling lost his edge. He allowed a single, then a walk. Posada deposited a ball into the alley between the RF grandstand and the bleachers to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead. Lopez came in and allowed a double and a single to make it 5-3 in favor of the scum.

But Mussina had nothing in the bottom of the 6th. Lowell and Varitek hit back-to-back homeruns to tie the game at 5-5.

Pineiro came in to pitch the 7th and immediately gave up a homerun to Jeter, which gave the Yankees the lead again. But he settled a bit, and Okajima ended the inning by getting Posada to fly out.

The bottom of the 7th inning was a comedy of errors for the Yankees. Nobody was warming up in the pen and Proctor was left out on the mound. Ortiz hit a 380 foot fly ball to right which could have been caught by Abreu, but he looked lost near the wall. Manny was intentionally walked, then Youkilis was unintentionally walked. By now, New York finally had some bullpen action going. Lowell hit a double play ball to Cano, but the Yankee second-baseman made a bad throw to Jeter at 2nd. The throw took Jeter off the base, and toward center-field. Somehow, Jeter pirouetted around and threw a ball to first. The throw was off (and late), and carried Mientkiewicz back behind the bag. Lowell arrived at the same time, and Mike's thigh plowed into Doug's head, jerking his neck forward. Mientkiewicz fell to the ground in pain, and the Sox all advanced a base, making the score 7-6. Doug was taken out of the game and is at Mass. General as a precautionary measure.

Varitek was walked intentionally, then Pena hit an absolutely perfect double play ball to Jeter, but he muffed it and everybody was safe. Crisp hit a blooping fly ball that dropped in front of Cabrera for a single. 8-6 Sox. The Fox announcers actually did a good job of analyzing something interesting on the play. Varitek was at 2nd, and had to hold up because it was unclear whether or not Cabrera would catch the ball. This meant that Cabrera could have thrown to third for a force out. A run would still score, but the situation would be a runner on 1st and 2nd with 2 outs, instead of the bases loaded and 1 out. However, NOBODY WAS COVERING THIRD! HAHAHAHAHA! Alex Rodriguez was wandering around the infield like he was lost, and Scott Proctor was doing laps around the mound. Lugo hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Varitek, and Pedroia hit a single to right to score Pena. 10-6 Sox.

With Okajima in, the game was pretty much over. The only drama was Kevin Youkilis' last plate appearance, in which he walked, ending his 23 game hit streak. But, he did walk three times.

The Man of the Game is Mike Lowell who went 3 for 4 with a homer, a double, 4 RBI, a walk, and a tackle. He also may have screened a bit on the second Jeter error. And, he made a great barehanded play in the field.

Honorable mentions:
Melky Cabrera: 3/4, 2B, HR
Hideki Okajima: 1.1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, K
Jorge Posada: 2/4, HR, 3 RBI

During the rain delay, an interesting bit of news began to circulate. Clemens will not be able to pitch on Monday due to "a fatigued right groin." I don't know what a fatigued groin is. It's not pulled, or strained, or extended, or aching, or sore, or tender. Does he have a tired right groin? An exhausted, just want to have a beer and take a nap right groin? Whatever. Those are the chances you take when you sign a 44 year old pitcher.

Lots of horrible Tim McCarver remarks, but one that stuck out was when he was talking about Youkilis and his good batting-eye and his ability to take pitches. "You take like you hit." I got a headache trying to figure out that one.


This picture is funny. I know most athletes give each other congratulatory pats on the backside, but the look in A-Rod's eyes is weird. It's like he's eying up a piece of meat. Shudder.

And can Ben Affleck be banned from Fenway Park? Nothing against Ben, but I'm sick of seeing his face sitting in the front row. The guy's an attention whore. You know, I've never seen Matt Damon at a game, but I'm sure he's probably been to hundreds of them. He just wants to see some baseball, I imagine. But Affleck wants TO BE SEEN, seeing some baseball. He probably goes up to the press box before games and tells the announcers where he'll be sitting. Hell, the guy even had a cameraman sitting right behind him, filming him for some reason.



Big rubber game tomorrow night. Pettitte vs. Beckett. Can't wait.

WAKE UP CALL

It is abundantly clear that the Yankees Pwn Tim Wakefield. In 3 starts this year against New York, he is 0-3 with an ERA of 10.93. He walks everyone then gives up homers. The knuckleball is fooling the rest of the AL, but not the Yankees. This is understandable. The Yankees are very familiar with him. Last night's starting lineup had 451 career at-bats against him, and more than 500 career plate appearances. Consider the fact that Wakefield really only throws one pitch, and that means that the Yankees lineup has seen something around 2,000 to 3,000 knuckleballs out of Wakefield's arm. That's familiarity right there.

So what do we do? Do we just keep Wakefield from starting against the Yankees? Yes, I think that's exactly what we should do. I guess now it isn't that big of a deal, he might see them 2 more times in the regular season. But let's say the lead in the division closes down, or both teams make the playoffs, do you really want to see Wakefield throwing knuckleballs to the Yankee hitters?

This is the second time this season that Sox fans have been forced to say "Well, if Wakefield wasn't so off, we would have beaten the Yankees."

Wake let up 3 early on, we tied it at 3-3, then New York blew it open with a 6 run 4th. The game was pretty much over at that point.

Man of the Game goes to Jorge Posada who was 2 for 5 with a pair of doubles and 3 RBI, all of which came with 2 outs.

Honorable Mentions:
Dustin Pedroia: 3/4, 2 2Bs, Run, RBI
Robinson Cano: 2/4, HR, 2 Runs, 2 RBI
Melky Cabrera: 2/3, 2B, Run, RBI, 2 BB

Bitch-Goat:
Wakefield: 0.8 - 3.2 IP, 8 ER, 5 H, 6 BB, HR, WP, HBP
Snyder: 0.2 - IP, 3 H, 2 BB, ER, 2 inherited runners scored

This is the 3rd Red Sox "losing streak" of the season. It's the first time they've lost consecutive games since April 24th. The other "losing streak" was also a 2 gamer, on April 6th and 7th in Texas.

Mike Lowell left the game with a contusion on his wrist after being hit by a pitch. X-Rays were negative and he hopes to be in the lineup this afternoon. JD Drew left the game in the 6th with a bad feeling in his hamstring. Neither is expected to miss much time or be placed on the DL.

Just a note about the supposed "beanball war" that ESPN hyped up on SportsCenter (and ended their highlight reel promoting Sunday's ESPN televised game), and will most assuredly be hyped up by Fox this afternoon. I don't think there was much, if any, intent in most of the pitches that hit batters. Wang hit Lowell, but he also allowed 10 hits so his best control was not evident last night. Wakefield hit Phelps, but he also walked 6 batters and threw a wild pitch. Snyder hit A-Rod, but he also walked 2 batters in an inning of work. Lopez hit Cano, and then Proctor hit Youkilis. I think Proctor's hit had some intent. Did he intend to hit him? I don't know, but he did intend to go up and in with a fastball on him.

Proctor had seen three of his teammates hit, the game was essentially over, so why not hit Youkilis. And you know what, I really don't have much of a problem with going up and in there. What I do have a problem with is the carelessness shown by Proctor. You don't just hurl it up there, you've got to be real fucking careful when you're throwing up and in. Expect to see someone on the Yankees plunked today or tomorrow, if the situation allows it.

Schilling vs. Mussina this afternoon.