I'll never forget that it was in Baltimore that the 2011 Red Sox ended their season. And even though it's mid-August, the Sox seem to be trying to end their 2012 campaign in Charm City as well. This season the Sox are now 3-8 against the O's, who seem to have hired the right ESPN analyst to manage their team.
Aaron Cook had a weird start. He cruised at the outset, retiring the first 9 Orioles he faced, not allowing a hit until the 6th. But it was in the 6th that it all unraveled. He was inducing groundballs in the first 5 innings, then the Orioles figured out how to get under the ball and lift it into the air.
The Red Sox lineup threatened, but never struck a knockout blow. Even the 2 runs in the 5th could have been more with the heart of the order up and runners on.
Then Adrian "text message" Gonzalez got ejected in the 8th. He seemed to be upset that Oriole reliever Pedro Strop pitched to him very quickly after Gonzalez had just stepped into the box. Gonzalez appeared to say "I wasn't ready," and home-plat umpire Mike Everitt effectively said "That's not my problem."
Moments later, Gonzalez continued to argue from the dugout and Everitt tossed him. Bobby Valentine then came out to argue, and was soon ejected.
I wonder how many texts John Henry and Larry Lucchino got from Gonzalez, begging them to hold a meeting with the umpiring crew.
It's a team of whiners. They're spoiled children that throw temper tantrums.
And now they're 7 behind the Rays and 8 behind the Orioles in the loss column. They're in danger of being ejected from the Wild Card race.
Clay Buchholz pitches tonight against Chris Tillman. The tall 24 year old righty has been solid most of the season, with a few ugly starts mixed in. However, the Sox have a good history against him. Carl Crawford is 7 for 14 off Tillman, with a double and 2 triples. Hopefully Buchholz pitches well, the Sox get 4+ runs off Tillman, and they can salvage a win.
Photo Credit:
Patrick McDermott/Getty Images
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