3000th Strikeout But No Win

If you looked to Curt Schilling in these desperate times and hoped he could turn things around...well, you were wrong.

Schilling allowed 6 earned runs in a 7-2 loss, which effectively completed the sweep. The pitcher they obtained from the Reds was not the Reds pitcher I was hoping for, instead it was Mike Burns. He allowed a run in an inning of work. Take a look at this fantasy comparison:
Jon Papelbon - 1409
Mike Burns - -49.5

A NEGATIVE number! I didn't even know that was possible!

At least it's back to Fenway today. If nothing else, it means no more 10:05 games.

It's being reported that Jon Lester has been tested for cancer due to enlarged lymph nodes. Every day it's more bad news.

I think I'll add a comment section to the website today. Maybe in some strange way it'll bring the Sox some good luck. I know, I know...

Get Well Soon

It's all bad news: Wily Mo Pena, David Ortiz, and Manny Ramirez are all back in Boston to undergo tests and examinations to figure out what's wrong with them. Ortiz' irregular heartbeat is kind of freaking me out - Wilbon and Kornheiser talked about athletes dying from heart problems yesterday and it definitely shook me. The Globe has a couple articles that are saying he should be fine, but there's a chance it could be something bigger. Doctors said, "Some irregular heartbeats have zero risk, that it wouldn't make any difference [if he played]. But other certain patterns, there would be risk involved. I think the most important question to ask him is whether he passed out or was close to passing out. If no, then he's in a far lower risk group," and, "In terms of heart arrhythmias, we usually break them into life-threatening ones, and more benign ones like atrial fibrillation. While atrial fibrillation isn't usually life-threatening, it can be a nuisance. For a professional athlete, it would definitely impair performance." I say keep Big Papi out of the lineup until he is 100% better, playoffs or no playoffs. If anything happens to him...okay, I so don't want to think about that.

The game: Apparently, Coco Crisp totally robbed Jay Payton of a hit, but MLB.TV decided to suck last night and it kept going in and out and I missed it. Gameday was even worse - it said injury delay for 15 minutes, then all of a sudden the inning was over and Oakland was up 1-0. I still don't even know who got hurt or how.

Another great play - Youkilis to Cora to Mirabelli and Kotsay was out at the plate. It was really pretty.

But even the best defense can't make up for a poor offense. And Boston only mustered up one run to Oakland's two. Beckett pitched well, but without Manny and Ortiz, the offense was pretty sad.

Another loss.

But it looks like Varitek, Nixon, and the Gonz should all be coming back this weekend! At least there's some good news here!

QotD
Ortiz, referring to the team's fantasy football league: "They put me in charge of the Dominican operations. There's no football players in the Dominican."

That's It, Red Sox Pitching Sucks

But you already knew that.

Last night, the team with the worst record this August (yes, our Sox) took on the team with the best record this August (those Oakland A's). And this was Boston's lineup:
Crisp, CF
Cora, SS
Loretta, DH
Youkilis, LF
Lowell, 3B
Hinske, RF
Lopez, C
Pena (Carlos), 1B
Pedroia, 2B

Seriously.

Okay, some good stuff: In the first, Hinske had his second great defensive play in as many games - a backwards leaping catch that earned some congrats from Coco. In the same inning, Cora made a great diving catch and threw the ball to second out of his glove. The defense was on immediately.

The rest was bad. Gabbard didn't have it, and Casey only had it for a very brief while. The offense was (surprisingly!) lacking, and Foulke gave up THREE home runs in TWO innings of work. I swear I sat in my chair for 11 minutes after the game ended because I was in shock at the final score of 9-0. That not only sucks, it's embarrassing. The Red Sox need to get it together and fast, because at the rate they're going, they will be watching the Twins or White Sox play the games they should be playing.

More bad news on the injury front, and it's probably the worst news we could get: David Ortiz went back to Boston to get his once again-irregular heartbeat checked out. Francona thinks he's okay, but..."We honestly think he's okay, [but] we can't play him like that. Can't do it. He's going to go back to Boston [today]. He's going to get a clean bill of health before we let him play again. We just can't do it. I know Theo's in agreement with me. We sat in here with him. As much as we want to win, we can't do it. Just want to make sure he's OK."

I've missed PTI lately, but Mariotti replacing Tony? That is wrong. Jay, je ne t'aime pas. And his little diatribe against Manny not only made him look stupid, but it made me dislike him even more (which I didn't think was possible). Wilbon, ever the voice of reason, calmed me down with his sane argument against Idiot Mariotti. I wish Francona would have said this to Idiot instead of some foolish reporter, "If a guy says he can't play, he can't (expletive) play." By the way, Mariotti basically said Manny was faking and he should tough it out because the team needs him. I'm sure the Red Sox pay no attention to IM, but come on. If Manny says he's hurt, who is IM to say he isn't? Forget that Manny being Manny crap, the team really does need him and I doubt he'd let them down like this on purpose.

At least something good happened yesterday: In the Little League World Series, Georgia won! A 2-run home run sealed the deal. I really enjoyed watching the kids, especially when they'd do little things that you won't see Major Leaguers do: shaking hands after hitting batters, hugging members of the losing team, and the Georgia pitcher, despite just winning, making sure to lead the team over to shake the Japan team's hands. Congatulations to Georgia, even though they beat Oregon earlier.

And Andre Agassi won a tight match in NY, I hope he goes far during his final U.S. Open. It was certainly more exciting watching Agassi's match than the Red Sox disaster.

Back to 6.5 and Looking Really Bad

I had a post planned detailing the game, but I just don't think it's important enough now. Boston got swept by Seattle. Seattle has a losing record and is in last place in their division. And they swept the Red Sox. ESPN kindly reminded us that that hasn't happened since 1989.

Boston has now lost 9 of their last 11 and are 8-18 this month. David Ortiz put things in perspective, saying "Everything is going in the wrong direction. It's a situation that's hard to deal with, but we have to deal with it. It's got to change or we're going to be watching the playoffs from home." Too many injuries and they just keep piling up. Everything is looking really bad, and it gets worse every day. Now Lester can't make his start, he has back problems.

The Injured: Lester, Foulke, Mirabelli, Ramirez, Pena, Wakefield, Varitek, Nixon, Loretta, Gonzalez, Clement, DiNardo.

I mean, that's insane. That's TWELVE people right there. How much worse can it get?

Anyway, let me give you the good highlights of the game (and maybe not that part when Youkilis missed the ball that was hit directly to him...or that grand slam..):
* David Ortiz once again hit a HR. Mike Lowell hit a HR too.

* Cora made this play and I laughed and I laughed and I laughed (TM Elaine) because it was SO AWESOME. The man had an unassisted double play! Men on first and second, he got the ball hit right to him so he stepped on second and the runner at second wasn't paying attention at all so he was tagged out. He didn't know the ball was even hit so he just stood there and by the time he realized what was going on, Cora tagged him out. So great.
* Eric Hinske had a really fantastic perfect diving catch that was SO great I can't even do it justice. So nice.

Why I Love Francona QotD:
Terry on Manny - "He said he couldn't play. So really, what...do you want me to do? If a guy says he can't play, I'm not going to make him play. You might like to ask the question, but it just doesn't work. If a guy can't play, he can't...play. I know you're dying for him to DH. You've asked me that every day."

The Luck Ran Out for Timlin

Sadly, the kids from Oregon lost yesterday. I was hoping they'd win the whole thing, but they did make it pretty far. I liked the pitcher (mostly because Ortiz is his favorite player) and felt bad for him when he wasn't pitching too great early on and late in the game. I guess I'm going to have to cheer for Georgia now. Georgia's okay, but I like Oregon! The Oregon Trail was so my favorite game in 3rd grade.

I think I may have had a sports overload yesterday. Little League, men's and women's tennis finals, Patriots, Sox. The Pats completely ran over the Redskins, which was a little embarrassing for Washington (41-0 final score). The Redskins announcer mentioned that Tom Brady should probably come out of the game before the half, which I vehemently opposed because he is the best part of the game (yeah, I'm one of those). Like when he said, "This offense of the Patriots looks as good as it's ever looked," I completely agreed because, well, Tom Brady. Sorry, I know, I know.

Red Sox! Coco took it out of the park for the 7th time this year to put the Sox up 1-0 in the 3rd. Then later he had a chance to throw out the runner at home in the 4th and he just decided not to bother to try. Didn't make much sense, as it at least would have been close. Weird. Something must have been wrong, because he caught a fly ball and a runner tagged at first and made it to second. What's wrong with Crisp's arm?

David Wells was pitching a phenomenal game, but he did give up the tying HR in the 7th. In the 8th, with 2 outs, Ortiz doubled and Manny was intentionally walked, then Lowell hit a single to score Ortiz but Manny was out at 3rd (even though he wasn't out). Back on top, 3-2.

Timlin came in to pitch the 8th, and he hates Wells and immediately gave up the tying HR. Then a single, another single, does anyone think maybe Timlin has been used too much lately? He hasn't really been pitching well at all over the past few games, and this time he went and lost the game instead of having Papelbon save him. A sac fly scored a run, and as soon as Seattle had the lead, Timlin got the rest of the outs. Another 8th inning disaster that forced the next 3 in the lineup to get on and score. Hey Mike, congratulations on a job...done. TM Peterman.

The next 3 up? Yeah, Hinske, Lopez, and Cora. I probably don't have to tell you they lost. Because ALL THREE STRUCK OUT.

The people behind MLB.TV have decided to play elevator music during commercial breaks. This must be stopped.

Unbelievably funny QotD:
George W. Bush - "I will never question the patriotism of somebody who disagrees with me."

I Think This is the Year of the Injuries

There's so much non-game news to get to! First off, Manny will be back in the lineup today even though his knee hasn't improved. Wily Mo is day-to-day after leaving yesterday's game with tendinitis in his left wrist. There is apparently a question as to whether Beckett will make his next start due to the cut on his finger. Wakefield, Nixon, and Varitek are all making progress and may be back soon. And this Big Papi news? Came out of nowhere. He was at the hospital after being dehydrated and over-stressed last weekend. "We got [delayed] flying on our way home, we got home kind of late, then we had to play all those games against New York," Ortiz said. "You know, it's a lot of stress going on out there, plus seeing the [beating] that we got. I don't know, I think all that had something to do with it. I wasn't feeling good at the time." Thankfully, he's fine. Can you imagine playing without Ortiz??

So last night. Until the 5th inning, we had ourselves a pretty boring game. Innings were fast and no one was scoring (yeah, except that one run in the 1st, but we can ignore that for now). Then in the bottom of the 5th, Willie Bloomquist hit this shot that Coco Crisp foolishly dove for, the ball went all the way to the wall and a run scored. Bad Coco, no dive!

In the 6th, things got ugly real fast on one play. Cora got the ball and threw it to Pedroia and missed him by a lot, then the runner was going to 3rd and Schilling threw it to Lowell and HE missed by a lot and the runner went home! It was a hands-on-the-head-oh-my-God move, and Cora and Schilling were both charged with errors. Then Ben Broussard doubled in another run...then another hit, another run. 5-0.


Kason Gabbard (aka Bronson-Arroyo's-number-stealer) had a really good 1-2-3 8th, but by the time the Sox were up in the 9th, it was 6-0 and things were looking pretty impossible. Lowell flew out, Kapler doubled, Mirabelli flew out, and Pedroia grounded out.

6-0. That is NOT an impressive score for the Sox.

Beckett's Back

Most important: Manny's MRI showed no structural damage of the knee. "He does have some tendinitis in his patella, which we kind of knew already," said Francona. And Varitek, according to Francona, is about "a week away from playing." Good news all around.

1st inning, Beckett got the 1st 2 outs, then Orlando doubled and Vlad got hit. Don't hit Guerrero, I like him! He got his next out, so 0-0 after one.

The score was locked until the 4th when David Ortiz did what we kind of knew he would: hit a HR! The commentators told a story about David Ortiz and an elevator operator, saying the operator felt so good after speaking with Ortiz because he was so kind to him. I ask again, how can you not love him?

Beckett made a great play in the 4th when Vlad hit one right back to him and Josh stuck his glove out and caught it after a bounce. It was pretty. He was really sharp last night, and he needed to be after that Yankees catastrophe. Through 5, he had only thrown 47 pitches (36 strikes), compared to Weaver's 87.

I asked Lowell nicely to get on base and not 5 seconds later he was on with a single. Wily Mo and Cora followed that up with more singles to load the bases with one out. Mirabelli hit one that looked like it'd be a double play, but instead of throwing it to the waiting 2nd baseman, Orlando ran with it to 2nd and Cora slid right into him (a great play by Cora). Cora was safe, Orlando almost got his knee blown out, Lowell scored, and Mirabelli was out at 1st. 2-0 going into the home half of the 7th.

Beckett had to leave that inning with a cut on his finger; he left one on and one with a 2-0 count. He was really brilliant, not allowing a single run all evening. I'm so happy that he was able to pitch well, he really needed it and I think us fans needed a good one out of him, too. So in came Timlin, and he walked the guy. 2 on with no outs. Triple play? Nope, a wild pitch to get them to 2nd and 3rd!

Well, a single scored a runner but the other guy was out at the plate. But before I could get too upset, Timlin got a pop up and they only needed one more out for Beckett to still get the win. And Timlin got his final out on a fly out to Kapler. I really wanted Beckett to get another W.

Papelbon came in again in the 8th with 2 outs, and I was ready for a repeat of last night (except for that part when I fell asleep). And once again, it was Orlando up. He didn't strike out again, but he was out on 3 pitches.

Vlad started the 9th out with a base hit, Garret Anderson flew out to Coco, Juan Rivera struck out swinging, and Howie Kendrick struck out swinging. I really, really love Jon Papelbon.

So Beckett got his win and Weaver was served his first loss of the season. That is just the way it was supposed to be. And the Yankees lost, so that's one game closer to 1st.

QotD
Angels guy: "The closer you get to Papelbon, the closer you get to a loss."

Now for a 6 Game Winning Streak

Ortiz started things off right with a 2-run homer in the 1st, and Wily Mo Pena followed that up with his own 2-run shot in the next inning. That plus a Coco Crisp RBI-single put the score at 5-1 going into the 3rd. Bases were loaded for the Angels, and after a very long at-bat, Juan Rivera hit a single to bring 2 runs in.

Well, I fell asleep from the 4th to the 7th, when the loud yell of the announcer woke me up. Mike Timlin had just gotten a close strikeout call and he ended the 7th with the Sox up 5-4. I guess that's the dangerous part about MLB.TV -- watching TV in bed + 5 hours of sleep the night before = missing part of the game. At least the Sox were winning when I woke up (though LA had one more run, courtesy of Tavarez). You do not want to upset Timlin, or fear this:

Foulke pitched the 8th, did a pretty nice job and got the first 2 outs with a runner at 3rd before being taken out in favor of Papelbon. It was imperative that I stay awake to see the end of the game, despite my throbbing headache and heavy eyelids! Cabrera struck out and sleep was another out closer to coming.

I woke up again at 3:40 and realized I fell asleep AGAIN and missed the bottom of the 9th. Yeah, I was pretty mad at myself. But the good news is, Papelbon got through it and the Sox earned their first win in what seems like forever!

Manny left early with a sore knee. I was wondering why he didn't try too hard to get that ball...anyway, it's not 100% that he'll be back in the lineup tomorrow, and they will definitely need him -- Jered Weaver (9-0, 1.95 ERA) will be pitching tomorrow. Can they hand him his first loss?

LLWS: Go Oregon! Why do I always root for teams from that state? Anyway, they were down 2-0 in the 4th and came back in the 6th to go up 4-2 and eventually win (4-3). Gotta give it up for Sam Albert, he was awesome last night and scored on a really close play at the plate. I noticed that 93% of the kids in LL have the same haircut, though. The best part was when the pitcher hit someone in the head and went over to shake his hand and apologize. That is SO cute.

6th Straight

Dustin Pedrioa! His first game in the majors and it was really pleasant to see his name in the lineup. This kid is the future, so watch him closely. I'm really excited to get to see him in action, but I'm still very upset that Gonzalez is hurt. I miss the Gonz and I hate that he's on the DL now.

The Angels got an early HR to make it 1-0. At least it wasn't Vlad who hit it, I hate to be mad at him.

Wily Mo should have been the last out of the 3rd but Chone Figgins bobbled the ball in the outfield and 2 runs scored. 2-1.

Next inning...3 Red Sox on the ground, along with the ball that dropped between them all. WHA? The Kapler-Loretta-Youkilis triangle did not work out. So there was only one out, and on the next out a run scored to tie the game. Unearned runs are only fun when the Sox score them!

Pedroia in the 4th - first base hit of his ML career. I have some high, high hopes for him.

Suddenly, I had a feeling we were going to be winning by the end of the 6th. Wily Mo started it off with a single, but, umm...then he got picked off. Mike Lowell lined out and Mirabelli walked. Kapler got a base hit, and Wily Mo's errant base-running was looking really bad at that point (could have been bases loaded with one out). Then Pedroia struck out. I think if Pena hadn't been picked off, my premonition would have been accurate.

Kason Gabbard came in in the 6th, and that's when I thought my feeling was definitely wrong. I forgot that fool took Bronson's number, and it angered me once again. But I wasn't mad for too long, because that now-non-fool had a 1-2-3 inning.

I guess my premonition came an inning too early, or was at least half right in the 7th. Ortiz walked and Youkilis hit a long one that the left fielder just couldn't get; Ortiz scored from first to tie the game at 3.

The Angels commentators questioned why Francona was keeping Gabbard in, then Vlad hit a double and Anderson hit an RBI-double. When the people who don't even know the Red Sox are doubting Francona, you know he screwed up. Though, with the recent performances from the bullpen, you can't really blame him for trying to get some more good stuff out of Kason. Gabbard looked pretty upset with himself in the dugout, so if I say anything bad I'll just feel guilty.

9th: Manny PHed and almost had a HR but missed it by a couple feet. Coco Crisp made it to first, then stole second. Loretta was out at first, and Manny and Snyder (who pitched pretty well tonight, only giving up 3 runs) were yelling from the dugout and got the 1st base umpire going. Then they intentionally walked Ortiz (BOO) to get to Youkilis. And he proceeded to fly out. So much for making up a full game in the Wild Card. Thanks to Seattle for getting a walkoff win and preventing NY from going up 7.5. Though it would have been nice to get it down to 5.5...

I Love the Gonz QotD:
"It's been bothering me," said Gonzalez. "It feels better, but it's still there and I can't swing hard or do anything. I can't do much. When you have something in your back, you use it for everything, running, fielding, hitting. Hopefully it will take a couple of days and I'll be ready for the last month."

Dumb QotD:
Angels commentator, on Manny Ramirez: "ManRam."

And on a side note, I am really enjoying watching the Little League World Series - just as much as I enjoyed the College ones. Some of those pitchers could probably help out the Boston bullpen. God I wish I was joking.

No Words

Bases loaded for Javy Lopez with 2 outs. And he hit it right to Cano. Another wasted bases loaded opportunity...sounds familiar.

Manny came out in the 5th; cramp in the right hamstring. Not good for us, since he was playing the best out of all the Sox in the series. In direct contrast to Coco Crisp, who went 1-for-19.

Through 7 innings, they had left 10 men on.

So Foulke finally gets to prove he's ready, and he throws a wild pitch that let a run score. So much for Wells getting the win. He had pitched very well all day, and within 5 minutes of sitting down, he's in position to get a loss. Foulke did get 2 strikeouts though, and if Varitek had been behind the plate that wild pitch might not have gotten away. He looked good today, though.

Wily Mo hit a solo HR in the 8th...if only someone could have gotten on.

Wow. They got swept. I don't even know what to say. I don't think anyone expected this, and...I'm just speechless.

QotD:
Francona - "Everything went about as wrong as it could."

Baseball is Cruel

How much more of this are we expected to take?

Everything was going great. Schilling pitched into the 7th, and he pitched very well, leaving the bullpen only 2 measly innings of work. Ortiz hit another home run, we were up 5-3 after 7, nothing really seemed to be going wrong.

And then Mike Timlin happened.

He walked someone to load the bases with NO OUTS in the EIGHTH inning. Always the 8th inning. Papelbon had to come in to try to get out of it unscathed, and of course he couldn't. A sac fly got a run in but he did manage to get 2 strikeouts after it. It was 5-4 at the end of the 8th.

Jeter hit a pathetic bloop single to tie the game in the 9th, after Damon and Bernie both struck out. Jeter was supposed to be the final out of the game, but no, he had to hit a stupid bloop shot to score some fool. I hate cheap hits like that.

Our half of the 9th was the worst part of the game. Ortiz got to second on a Giambi screw up. Manny was intentionally walked. Then came the bad. Youkilis tried to bunt but Ortiz was out at third. Mike Lowell walked, so the bases were loaded with ONE out. Hinske brought nothing but bad with a strikeout, then Mirabelli swung at the freaking first pitch and grounded it right back to Rivera. So to extra innings we went. Papelbon looked really upset, and I imagine that was because the offense had a great chance to get him out of a jam when he had gotten them out so many before, and they failed him.

When I asked Craig Hansen what would happen if Giambi hit a home run, I really didn't want to know the answer. Posada hit a 2-run shot...and I can't believe the bullpen blew it again. Schilling pitched 7 innings, they only had to get through TWO!! I feel pretty bad for Curt right about now. I started crying right after Posada hit that HR...yeah, that's pretty bad, but what can I say. I love this team too much to watch them go down and not care.

Still plenty of time! They can still make the post season...and they will.

Ummm...what?

I think Francona summed up the past 3 games nicely:

"[Pitching]'s about all I think about because if you don't pitch, obviously it makes your day a lot rougher. We've found that out the last two days."

All I have to say is...What? What happened? Why did this hap--oh! PITCHING! When the Sox were focusing on upgrading the defense, they kind of forgot that a good defense doesn't matter if the pitching is horrendous.

I bring some good news. Rudy Seanez has been designated for assignment! I tried very hard not to dislike him, but he made it rather difficult. Francona had this to say, which I cannot agree with, "I actually don't think he threw as bad as maybe people thought he did. I know he wasn't very well received here all the time, which I didn't appreciate. We didn't quite ever get him to the point where he was the dominant guy we were looking for maybe that month or six weeks."

Dear Terry,
You don't think he threw as bad..? Have you gone mad? In order to be well received, you better play well, and that man just did not have it. You don't appreciate it, and I don't appreciate you keeping pitchers in WAY too long.

What was up with Beckett today? As you (may) know, I took the MCAT today and missed all 3 games (blessing in disguise?) so I only heard about all of the awful pitching. Josh Beckett walked NINE people? I won't criticize, he did it nicely himself: "It's unacceptable," said Beckett, who lasted 5 2/3 innings. "This all falls squarely on my shoulders. I know our bullpen is tired, and for me to make them go into the well in the sixth inning again is just unacceptable."

What are the chances of getting Jered Weaver?! ...No?

It's all up to Schilling. We kind of have to win these next 2 games. It's really sad, and even more embarrassing. I have a tennis match tomorrow against a Yankee fan, this is going to be ugly.

But Juan Carlos Ferrero totally beat Nadal the other day. My favorite player beat NADAL. Something to be excited about, at least.

It's that Time Again

They just keep booing A-Rod in NY, even when the errors aren't his fault.

Jeter and Rodriguez were both going for a pop-up, and A-Rod was situated nicely underneath it, and just as the ball was going into his glove, in came Jeter who proceeded to knock the ball out of the glove. It was AWESOME. A run scored on the play, and since they didn't get the 3rd out on the play, it allowed a 2-run HR to happen right afterwards.

Now, as I saw it, it was all Jeter's fault. Like, he didn't see a large human-shaped form right next to him? No booing Jeter though, when he was up. I can't believe it, but I kind of feel bad for A-Rod. Yes, I dislike him immensely. My background is a picture of him slapping the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's glove in the 2004 ALCS. I have a picture in my room, the one with the 3 shortstops (way back when, with Nomar, A-Rod, and Jeter) with Jeter's face with a huge X on it and an arrow pointing to A-Rod that says Dirty Cheater (due to the aforementioned incident). But it's so obvious he can't handle the pressure and those fans are making it a lot worse than it has to be. I know he has let them down, but you don't boo your players. Hate them in silence if you wish, but don't let the whole world know (including said player).

Anyway, my grandma sent my mom some Red Sox pendants of Youkilis, Wally, Clement, and Arroyo, and I am all over the Bronson one. It is now my designated good luck charm for the MCAT this Saturday.

Oh, and many thanks to Comcast SportsNet for re-airing the fantastic Yankee game so I could watch it when I got home.

2 games today of Red Sox/Yankees action, and I have to miss both of them. Well, I definitely have to miss the 1 pm game, but I'll probably have to catch some of the 8 pm game even though I should be last-minute studying.

There's a nice video over at NYTimes (just scroll down) called Yankees and Red Sox Rivalry, and it's about this guy (who is somewhat boring, I must say) who drives between NY and MA to find the "border" between loyalties. Some of the people he interviewed were pretty funny, especially the guy who lifted his sleeve to reveal a Boston logo tattoo, paused for a few seconds, then said, "And I hate tattoos." Seemed like most people chose the Sox, which was weird for a NYT piece. It's about 6 minutes, check it out if you have time. Some lady even made some fantastic-looking Red Sox cookies.

No Sweep for You

Trade stuff! Eric Hinske looks to be coming our way from Toronto. He was the American League's Rookie of the Year in 2002, so it could be a good deal. Carlos Pena is another addition; both will provide some left-handed hitting.

David Ortiz hit another HR? No way! Last night, it was a 2-run shot to grab the lead 3-1. The right fielder ALMOST caught it, then he hit his own HR the next half-inning. Another home run for the Tigers put them up 4-3.

After all that, bases were loaded for the Sox with Coco up and 2 outs. Crisp totally hit it off the wall; 2 runs scored but Cora was out at the plate.

Craig Hansen came in in 7th with 2 outs and got the last out on one pitch. That's how I like my bullpen!

Bases loaded again for Boston in the 7th (Ortiz walked, Ramirez and Youkilis had singles) with one out and Lowell up. Hmm, Lowell did have that grand slam the other day...but this time, he fouled another one off his foot (how many is that now?) and ended up with a sac fly. 6-4 now.

Hansen worked a nice, scoreless 8th. That kid is definitely on my good side.

Top of the 9th, exit Hansen, enter Papelbon. Ground out, strikeout, ground out. Save #32. Another one who is on the Good List.

Wild Card/AL East Update: Kansas City and the White Sox were at 0-0, then 5 minutes later the Royals were up 6-0. They were winning 10-0, then Chicago had a grand slam in the 9th, but the Royals won it 10-4. Minnesota won 7-2. The Yankees once again got a screwy call when they should have lost in the 9th on a double play (clearly visible on the tape) but the runner was called safe. I was livid and I knew what was coming: the Yankees would win in the bottom of the 9th after they had technically already lost. Good thing I was wrong! They lost.

Oh, and Bronson pitched 7 strong innings and was winning 7-1 when he came out. Reds won.

QotD
ESPN guy after Javy Lopez was called out after a very much delayed throw from the 2nd baseman: "Lopez can't believe how slow he is!"

At Least We Got Some Funny

Denis Leary is so the man.

He and Lenny Clark were on with Remy and Don and he started talking about Youkilis being a Jew and how happy he was about it, then Youk made a great play and Leary started yelling about Mel Gibson and it was awesome. I had to rewind it and watch it again. "That's fantastic, we got a Jewish first baseman. That's fabulous!" After Youk's play: "Where's Mel Gibson now? Where's Mel Gibson now?! He's in rehab and Youkilis is at first!" After finding out about Gabe Kapler being a Jew: "We got two Jews on this team now!"

Picked off at first! Out at the plate! Good things happened early on.

In the 7th, Schilling allowed two runs to score, then got strikeout strikeout strikeout. It put the Tigers on top 2-1 (Boston's run from a Coco Crisp HR).

Timlin actually had an easy inning; 1-2-3 in the 8th. It's so surprising to see that from the bullpen.

Ortiz came through huge in the 8th with a RBI-single that tied the game.

Wily Mo Pena totally screwed up a play in the 9th, when he missed a ball that should have been caught. Then Youkilis tagged out the guy at first and the home plate umpire called the fool safe, even though it was definitely not his call. The first base umpire had it right and he was out. Losing again, this time 3-2. I hate when everything is going fine until the 9th and then it's all on the 3 next men in the lineup. Except when one of them is Ortiz, but that wasn't the case tonight. He had already contributed his late-inning RBI.

Boston's resident Jew led it off, made an out. Then Lowell, another out. Then it was Wily Mo's time to atone for that horrible play, and...he struck out looking.

Yankees won, of course, so we're 3 back again. But the White Sox lost so we're holding steady in the WC (also 3 games back, but now the Twins are a game ahead of us).

Foulke plans on returning this weekend against the Yankees. That man better be more than 100% ready if he's going to pitch in this most inportant of series.

Quick, Find Beckett!

I think we lost Josh Beckett somewhere along the way this season. Because that performance last night was not Beckett caliber.

He pretty much summed up the whole night in one sentence: "It comes down to those five pitches that I always talk about having to make in crucial situations, and I think I had five or six of them today, and I think I made two."

So Boston is 2 back again in the standings, and of course Chicago won to put us 3 games back in the WC. We need a win from Schilling and another one tomorrow from Wells to put the Sox in a good place for the NY series. Because those 5 games are going to have a huge impact on the way the rest of the season plays out.

Eh, just because it looks funny:

The Weekend of Mike Lowell

Mike Lowell hit a grand slam in the 1st inning, and by the second inning it was tied at 4! Come on Lester, pitch the way you were pitching when you first got here.

Bases were loaded again for us in the 4th with no outs, and Kapler was up. A run scored but Kapler was out at first, then Lowell scored on a wild pitch, Crisp RBI-singled, and by the end of the inning it was 7-4.

Kyle Snyder came in in the 6th and Kevin Millar hit a HR. Now, I love Millar, but it's not a good sign when you give up a home run to your first batter and it's Millar. He then got an out and gave up ANOTHER home run to Brian Roberts! Come on Snyder, that's ridiculous.

Delcarmen pitched a scoreless 7th and then in our half of the 7th, it looked for a minute like Youkilis got hit by a pitch, but he didn't get his base. Good thing, because he hit a 3-run shot a few pitches later to put the Sox up 10-6.

Manny D. started walking people in the 8th, so Craig Hansen came in to bail him out. He let a run score but Doug Mirabelli made up for it with yet another home run. He's been pretty awesome lately, huh?

Hansen let 2 men on in the 9th before Papelbon came in. And he didn't get through the inning as easily as we like. He walked a man to load the bases, Millar reached on a Cora error (and a run scored; the Gonz would not have allowed that), then he walked in a run. But he did get out of it with the lead intact, and Boston won this one 11-9. Get sweeped, then sweep. The Sox have won 16 out of 17 games against Baltimore. And yes, I was definitely at that one game they lost.

Manny's hitting streak ended at 27 games yesterday. Mike Lowell had a busy 3 days, with getting hit in the head, running into the stands to make that catch, and stealing a base on Friday, then hitting a grand slam and making the throw to get the game-ending out yesterday.

Sad news on the Trot Nixon front: "I bet by the time we go on the road, I bet he'll be at least close to playing ... maybe not for us," Francona said. What does that mean? He'll be in Pawtucket? Another team? Trade deadline, come on! I want Trot to stay.

Yankees lost! We're only one game out of first place now.

Manny Comes Through

I am getting really sick of the part of my life where I spend 7+ hours a day studying for the MCAT and I miss the day games. And yesterday's game was a GREAT one (or so I heard).

Jason Johnson did not have a very good game. He gave up 7 earned runs over 5.1 innings, which is not acceptable.

What I'm about to say may shock you, so be prepared. The bullpen - our bullpen - had 4.2 SCORELESS innings. Hansen and Timlin didn't even allow a hit! Of course, you have to factor in that Tavarez did let 2 runs score, as he inherited 3 runners from Johnson. I think I'm going to ignore that, and just focus on that bullpen/scoreless thing.

Home runs: Pena, Crisp, Mirabelli! It was 7-3 in the 6th when Wily Mo tripled to get Manny and Lowell home, and Mirabelli pulled out his big bat again and tied the game on a 2-run shot. He had 3 RBI yesterday that all came with 2 outs; he's making the no-Varitek situation a little easier.

Wily Mo was a single away from hitting for the cycle. I think he may do a lot of that (hitting for the cycle, that is) in the future.

In the 10th inning, Loretta and Ortiz walked, and Manny needed a hit to continue his hitting streak. In perfect form, he got himself a game-winning single (wasn't an RBI because of an error on the play) and the Sox saved themselves from going back 3 games again. And Manny had another outfield assist, showing he is awesome with more than just his offense.

It was a Very Very Very Good Day

I was watching Mike and Mike (only because they were talking about the Red Sox!) and they had Bob Ryan on, and even he was saying that Boston's in trouble and the bullpen is pretty much nonexistent. But he lost me when he said they aren't even competing with NY anymore and all they have left is the Wild Card. It's the 2nd week in August, and we have 9 games against NY. I wouldn't be counting the Sox out yet.

One of the Mikes also mentioned the possibility that Varitek could call the signs from the bench. Um, why didn't I think of that? They should definitely try that.

Now for the game. Crisp and Loretta both singled to start the series against Baltimore (Millar for 3 days!). Manny lined the ball so hard at Tejada that he couldn't come up with it (he now has a 26-game hitting streak), and Coco scored. Mike Lowell got hit in the freaking head by a pitch and was down for a couple minutes, but he took his base and seemed fine (thank God, seriously). The pitcher was actually really great about it, saying this after the game: "It was pretty scary," Loewen said. "I was praying for him as soon as I saw it hit him. But he bounced back with a great game and that shows how great of a competitor he is."

Lowell totally fell into the stands making a catch. And he stole 3rd for his next act. Busy day for Mike!

Baltimore started off the 3rd by walking Loretta and Ortiz. Mark came in to score, as did Papi, and then Youkilis scored, Lowell scored, then Lopez and Pena scored on a Gonz TRIPLE, Alex came home. 7 runs in one inning = awesome.

Baltimore tried to score in the 4th, and Jeff Conine got thrown out at the plate by about 4 feet. Nice try.

David Wells, the new ace? He pitched 7 innings and only gave up one run; it really was a beautiful thing to see. Finally, a pitcher who did well. Then Kyle Snyder came in and pitched the last 2, and also allowed just one run. I'm liking that combo.

Many thanks go out to Baltimore, for so graciously losing and stopping the 5-game skid. 9-2! Appreciate it!

Yankees lost to Vlad and the Angels, putting the Sox only 2 back.

I was pretty excited to change the channels after the Sox game and come across a Patriots game. What a good day yesterday was.

Story of the Day (from MLB.com):
Sox slugger David Ortiz was recently quoted as saying that he loves seafood, but he wasn't familiar with how to get to Maine, which is noted for having top-notch lobsters. When you are as mythic a figure as Ortiz, such a statement does not go unnoticed.
Maine Gov. John Baldacci had 41 cooked lobsters shipped to Ortiz in the Red Sox clubhouse before Friday's game. Why 41 lobsters? Because that is how many home runs Ortiz had entering the game. The lobsters were presented to Ortiz by representatives of the Maine Lobster Council.
Ortiz was so touched by the gesture that he autographed a bat for Baldacci.

QotD:
Lowell, after seeing a Yankee fan backing up when he fell: "I actually gave him three baseballs between innings because I saw on the replay he moved back out of the way. So I gave him three balls, I wrote, 'Next time, catch me.'"

Someone Stayed in About 10 Minutes Too Long

Doug Mirabelli wanted everyone to know he's back, so he hit himself a home run in the 3rd. Way to get back in the swing of things! Oh man, I'm funny.

Schilling had a rough patch in the 5th and had men on 1st and 3rd with one out. Of course, he got out of it with a nice, simple double play.

That solo home run he gave up the next inning wasn't helpful, though.

But Wily Mo Pena hit a beautiful 3-run shot in the 7th to put the Sox up 4-2. He, unlike the rest of the team (excluding Mirabelli), proved that did not want to get swept.

Right around 100 pitches, Schilling started getting sloppy and gave up a double, an RBI-double, a walk, an RBI-double, an RBI-single..you think maybe they kept him in too long? By the end of the 8th inning, we were losing again.

Another loss. 5 in a row. Swept by Kansas City. For the 1st time in KC since 1991! That's so incredibly wrong. It's like when Nadal beats Federer. Something is just not right.

SOMEONE PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!

9th Inning Disaster

Delcarmen came in after Beckett pitched six (and gave up 3 runs), and I was really hoping he'd do well since all I've been saying is "Put in Delcarmen!" He got 2 outs and had men on 2nd and 3rd before Timlin came in. Since he didn't give up a HR, I consider his outing a success.

Timlin pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, and Papelbon came in to pitch the 9th in a tight 4-3 game. And...he gave up a triple right away. What's going on with him lately? Maybe Steinbrenner put something in his food.

Anyway, tonight it wasn't Seanez that had a blown save, nor was it Tavarez, not even Hansen. No, tonight it was Papelbon. He gave up 2 runs in the 9th to allow Kansas City, the worst team in baseball, to beat us for the second night in a row. I'm not too worried about Papelbon yet, mostly because he's been so incredible and I don't want to start the panic towards the the end of the season. I just hope they win tonight, because being swept by KC is just about the worst thing ever. Plus, Boston is 3 games behind NY, so losing games is really not an option anymore.

3rd Place in the Wild Card

Another game, another frustrating performance by Boston pitchers. Is anyone surprised anymore?

If Wily Mo Pena hits a 2-run HR, Ortiz hits a solo shot, Youkilis RBI-doubles, and they still lose the game, something's wrong and it's not the offense. Lester gave up 4 runs in 5 innings, then he was done. I'd like to see at least one more inning out of the starting pitcher. Then Hansen came in and gave up another run to make it 5-3. Next came Ortiz' HR, and of course Rudy Seanez gave up a home run because that's what he does. So once again, the offense had all the pressure on them to score 2+ runs in the 9th.

Crisp walked, Cora grounded out, Ortiz walked, Manny struck out looking, Youkilis grounded out.

Those hitters have to be pretty fed up. They perform well the entire game, and still have to put on a show in the 9th or else they lose. Someone needs to fix those pitchers because they obviously have no idea how to do the job that they are being paid (quite handsomely I might add) to do. Dave Wallace is back now, so maybe something good will finally start happening. We can't win games without solid pitching! We can't win games if our pitchers give up more runs than we earn! We can't win games with this bullpen pitching like LLers!

Mark Loretta got hit by a pitch last night and had to be replaced by Cora. He's got a bruised elbow and is day-to-day. He better be okay, because I can't handle any more bad news right now.

Mirabelli could be back Thursday. Foulke might be back Friday. I hope Doug plans on batting .628 and Keith works a .34 ERA.

Losing to Kansas City. That's not embarrassing at all!!

PTI QotD (Kornheiser's back!!)
Tony: Where's my flag? Goodnight, Canada. Here, have some paper....Where's my flag?!

For Your Viewing Pleasure

News first. Ortiz is the AL Co-Player of the Week, something he should probably be every week. A series against Kansas City begins tonight, and I implore of the Sox to do well. I mean, KC is not good, plain and simple, and we need to make up some ground on the Yankees. NY has to play the White Sox, and even though I'm pretty sure they swept the Other Sox last time they played them, the chances are pretty good that that won't happen again. And if it does, Chicago has some explaining to do.

Anyway, I was searching YouTube the other day when I had the brilliant idea to do a post for an off day that was all videos. So I found some good ones and offer them for you to enjoy:

* Golf lessons with David Ortiz.
* 30 second clip of Ortiz' single that beat NY in the ALCS Game 5. Fenway was crazy.
* 2004 Mastercard Red Sox commercial. Remember this? Denis Leary is awesome.
* Fenway's reaction to David Ortiz winning Game 4 of the '04 ALCS.
* Bronson Arroyo commercial. Now this is a great find.
* I remember this Mark Bellhorn interview. I miss the Bell.
* Key moments from the 2004 ALCS. Be careful, the music comes at you loud.
* Trot Nixon makes a wicked awesome catch. I miss Trot! But I love Wily Mo's bat.

That Arroyo one is my favorite. Wasn't expecting that at all!

Brilliant, Just Brilliant

Remember that thing I said yesterday about maybe being able to rely on Tavarez sometimes?

I was WRONG WRONG WRONG.

I was playing tennis and came home just in time for the bottom of the 10th. Apparently, Papelbon had his 4th blown save and let the game get tied in the 8th. He had a scoreless 9th, then Ortiz was intentionally walked in the 10th (I guess these people are learning). Tavarez came in, got one out, then gave up the game-winning home run. It was made even worse by the fact that Jason Johnson had a really strong outing, only allowing 2 runs over 6 innings. I feel bad for that man, he must be disappointed that he wasn't able to get his well-deserved win.

Usually, I try to defend players when they aren't playing well. When Gonzalez was struggling in the beginning of the season, I kept supporting the man because his defense was so incredible that anything he did was fine with me. When Pena first got here all he did was strike out (and he did it a lot when I was at the games in Baltimore), but just watching him I knew he was going to be a huge power hitter soon. And the best example of all? Mark Bellhorn! He was my favorite player (okay tied for favorite with Arroyo), I bought his jersey, and he came through when it mattered in '04.

But Tavarez? I am so sick of him losing games that I'm ready to give up on him. He hardly ever pitches well, and as soon as he comes in the game fans get depressed. If he wants us to respect him, he has to earn it. And he has really, REALLY let us down thus far.

Later...
Okay, I am much calmer now. And I realize that the whole bullpen blew the game tonight, and it was not just Julian's fault. But Delcarmen, Timlin, and Papelbon (especially Papelbon) are not notorious for their mistakes. And while I am still upset with Tavarez, I'm not as angry as I was a few hours ago. But I still he needs to shape up or ship out!

QotD
Papelbon: "It was a tough loss. Obviously, in my opinion, I don't think our bullpen got the job done tonight. We want to be that type of bullpen that's counted on. It was a tough one for our bullpen."

At least I have one thing to look forward to. Tony Kornheiser returns to Pardon the Interruption tomorrow!

A Chance, Wasted

Let me begin by saying how awful the Cincinnati bullpen is. Once again, Bronson Arroyo left the game winning, and 4 pitches into Coffey's relief appearance, the game was tied. Bronson was pitching on 3 days rest, too, and he did a fine job. I think those pitchers must hate him or something. At least they won.

The Yankees lost yesterday and the Sox knew it going into the game. Would they capitalize?

First off, a very different lineup was shown last night, with Manny DHing, Ortiz at 1st ("I'm an employee here, I do what they tell me, you know what I'm saying. We're going through a situation here with guys injured, so I do what they tell me to do."), Kapler in right, Pena in left, and Youkilis at 3rd. Good thing Youkilis used to play 3rd, now that Lowell is hurting (the MRI was negative, he could be back soon). Unfortunately, Ortiz' inexperience at first was evident as he bobbled a ball that should have been a double play in the 4th. Later on, one of the runners scored, the other rounded third too hard and was thrown out. 3 more runs in the inning put the Rays on top. All because of that error!

Gabe Kapler got hit twice by the same pitcher. What's up with that?

David Ortiz bunted in the 8th. And I laughed, and I laughed...it was actually a perfect bunt, too. And then Manny hit his 31st home run and the Sox were only down by one! Gabe Kapler had a really great AB, working a walk after 11 pitches. The Gonz hit one right to the second baseman so no one else scored. But it set up the 9th to make sure Ortiz would be batting.

Hansen pitched the 8th - strikeout, single, walk, 2-RBI triple, does it matter anymore? I told Francona to put Delcarmen in! I would like to apply for the job of One Who Suggests Which Pitchers to Put In, because I think I would be really great at that position. Of course, I didn't win the 2004 World Series.

Another run would score, so it was 8-4 going to the 9th. And Ortiz was the 3rd batter, so he couldn't win the game this time. Crisp - out. Loretta - double! Papi - RBI single (Why did Hansen have to give up three runs? It could have been tied)! Ramirez - base hit! Youkilis - walked to load the bases with one out. Lopez - (I want Tek back) swung on the first pitch and grounded into a double play. STOP SWINGING ON THE FIRST PITCH!!

That is NOT how you thank your new team for taking you on.

So if Ortiz hadn't been playing first, and Youkilis had been there to get the double play (or even one out, really), all those runs wouldn't have scored in the 4th and the Sox probably would have won. I guess it was a bad day to try something new. Of course, losing one game because of an Ortiz error isn't so bad when you consider all the games they've won because of his bat.

Another Injury

Doug Mirabelli got injured last night; he twisted his left ankle in the first inning as he was blocking home plate. Someone hates the Red Sox, seriously. I guess that was some impressive foresight on Theo Epstein's part acquiring Lopez, since both our regular catchers are injured. Good news, though: X-rays were negative.

The Red Sox do have a problem concerning position players, though. Yesterday, they had 3 on the bench - Javy Lopez (who of course had to be used), Mike Lowell (who is hobbling after fouling balls off his feet), and Gabe Kapler. They're probably going to bring up another catcher, but it doesn't look like Mirabelli is going on the DL.

From the game:
The bases were loaded with one out for the Devil Rays in the 6th, but Curt Schilling was not going to give up a grand slam - he got 2 strikeouts in a row.

The first 3 runs of the game were all solo home runs: Damon Hollins, Carl Crawford, David Ortiz. 38 HRs from Big Papi. Youkilis hit a SF to score Loretta in the 6th.

8th inning. ANOTHER home run from Ortiz. I don't think he's human anymore.

Thanks in part to Ortiz' 2 blasts, it was 3-2 going into the 9th. And you know with Papelbon pitching, it was 3-2 at the end. With all the injuries going on, Papelbon better stay healthy -- or we are in serious trouble.

Schilling is 14-4 now, he had a really good outing. After the 3rd inning, Boston pitchers did not allow any runs. And just because it's incredible, Papelbon's ERA is 0.49.

QotD:
David Ortiz: "I don't care about the shift anymore."

Not This Time

It looks like the thing with Javy Lopez is going to happen. The Globe is anticipating the loss of Adam Stern, Alejandro Machado, or Abe Alvarez. I guess I can accept this, but I do feel bad for Huckaby, who has been designated for assignment.

Youkilis started it off yesterday with a double, and Manny sent him home with his 1,500th RBI.

Beckett gave up a solo shot in the 3rd. That's to be expected when he pitches. In the 4th, Gonzalez turned a pretty double play: He had to cover for Loretta at 2nd and then he made a crazy good throw to Youk. The Gonz is really, really making me happy lately. It was also the #1 Web Gem!

Huckaby wasted no time in getting his first hit, and he played his position quite well last night. Still, it was clear that Beckett needed Varitek later on..

Another home run in the 6th allowed by Beckett tied the game. Man, he really has to stop with the HRs. That's 31 he's allowed this year, and yes, that leads the league. Not exactly the race you want to be winning.

Still the 6th, and still bad news. 3 singles after the HR and no outs later, the bases were loaded and we needed a double play badly.

Didn't get it. But Cleveland did get a grand slam. It was very hard to watch. Especially since 2 batters before I was telling Francona to take Beckett out. Apparently, he did not get the message.

Poor Beckett was booed. And he threw just about everything around him in the dugout.

Bases were loaded for the Sox in the 6th too, but Huckaby GIDP and we only got one run out of it. Youk got an RBI right after, so it was 7-5 and close again.

Kyle Snyder replaced Beckett but didn't really do much of anything. Oh, except load the bases with one out. Craig Hansen came in and took care of business; he got a double play that, once again, Gonzalez handled amazingly. He got it to Loretta who got it to Youk JUST in time for the out. This defense is exceptional, thanks in large part to Alex Gonzalez, whom I'm pretty sure I'm in love with.

The 9th inning was a sad affair. The worst part was I couldn't even get excited about it, because I had this feeling that they were going to lose, with no 9th inning heroics to come. When they were down by 2 going into the 9th a few days ago and won, I was nervous as hell because I thought they were going to win, but last night there was nothing but depression going on. Down by a game to the Yankees. Hurts just to think about it.

You'll Never Guess

Yes, they did it again.

This time, Mark Loretta came through in the 9th to win the game. As you know, he is right before Ortiz in the lineup; finally, someone took the pressure off David. So it was the bottom of the 9th, and Cardona (who gave up the game-winning HR to Ortiz the other night) got the first 2 outs quickly. He then hit both Mirabelli and the Gonz (he hit the Gonz!! I was very upset about that)
and walked Youkilis. Then the fantastic Mark Loretta hit one off the wall to get the 2 runs necessary to win the game. And it was another celebration for the Sox, and they sure have been having a lot of them lately. And despite SportsCenter's intro, it is NOT getting boring when the Sox have walk-off wins!

Wily Mo Pena hit yet another home run in the 6th to give the Sox a 4-3 lead. I love Trot Nixon and all, but there's no way Pena can keep sitting out. He's so young, and he has Ortiz and the staff teaching him...whenever I think of his broken-bat double off the wall, I get chills. He is going to be WOW good.

Jon Lester had a hard time in the first inning, but the 3 runs he gave up then were the only runs he allowed throughout his 6 innings of work. Delcarmen pitched a scoreless 7th, but Timlin gave up 2 in the 8th for his 4th blown save.

Of course, Papelbon was an ace in the 9th.

David "Clutch" Ortiz has been named the AL Player of the Month for July. Well, of course.

Pardon the Interruption: Wilbon is quite concerned over the loss of Varitek; Dan Le Batard doesn't see it as a big deal. Hopefully, Le Batard turns out to be right and Wilbon is as wrong as wrong can be. By the way, where the hell is Kornheiser?

Nothing But Bad News

Might as well start with the bad news first. Wait, everything I have today is bad. Okay, worst first. Varitek is going to have arthroscopic surgery to repair a partially torn meniscus cartilage in his left knee tomorrow. He will be out at least a month, and Huckaby is now on the roster as Mirabelli's backup.

So last night, the thing that stands out most in my mind was a play where Youkilis was out at the plate. It looked like the catcher pulled a Jeter and swiped and missed at the runner and still got the call. Yes, I'm still bitter about that whole Jeter incident (and it didn't even involve a Boston player!). Look at the picture, you can see space between the glove and helmet.

Jason Johnson came out in the 6th, he did quite well (only allowing 3 runs). Usually, he'd have been winning, but the Sox offense didn't have it for him.

The home run that Bryan Corey gave up (in his Sox debut) on the 2nd pitch better have been a product of nerves. Because if that's a sign of times to come...man, our bullpen needs help.

Guess what? Lowell left the game with an injury! Is this going to happen every game? Trot, Varitek, Lowell..how much more can we take? Thankfully, this is the one area where I can give some good news - it is just a bruise and nothing serious.

Having NESN on my computer now (It's finally that time of the year when I buy an MLB.TV subscription. I always break down right after the All-Star break. Conveniently, today was also a Bronson Arroyo-pitching day.) at least makes losses more interesting. This poor bird was hurt and kept trying to fly out of the park, and he eventually made his way from the outfield to second base. Remy and Don were all over it. "There's our friend the bird, who is in scoring position." "Excellent lead at second." "He didn't tag up, they can tag him out."

The Gonz hit a 2-R HR in the 9th to make it 6-3, but it wasn't enough.

Let's recap this awful day:
Sox lost
the Yankees won
Bronson left the game in a 4-4 tie and the Red lost 10-4
Lowell got hurt
Varitek is out for at least a month

David Ortiz: A God Among Men