Yuck

That was a disaster. Not one of the pitchers exhibited anything that resembled "good." Pedroia and Drew were the only ones that showed any signs of life.

Georgia better come through for me at the College World Series, because today has been a very bad baseball day.

Important Bits and Pieces

Updates That I Deem Important:

a) No significant damage to Jacoby's wrist and the boy may be back this weekend! Absolutely my favorite news of the day.

b) Crisp was given a 7-game suspension for his fighting action the other night. Jon Lester got 5 games and Sean Casey got 3. All for defending a teammate. Hmph.

c) Things are cool with Manny and Youkilis. "It was a misunderstanding," said Ramirez. "Even in the best family, you fight and stuff like that. But it's done. It's over with. We got everything straightened out."

d) We're losing 7-0 right now. That is pretty bad news, guess we can't win 'em all.

Djokovic lost to stupid Nadal. And that was the worst news of the day.

Time to Write

The Red Sox have not won a game since my last post, and I think it is because I have not been writing! Therefore it is a simple solution, you see. They are facing a sweep at the hands of Tampa Bay, so my fingers are a-typin'.

Buchholz almost had a win yesterday until he gave up a 2-run HR in the 8th inning and thus Boston lost 2-1. We are losing them all by 1 or 2 runs, which makes it all the more painful. It is time to win, Baltimore is back in first place!

They play today at 1:40, although I have a paper due at midnight tonight that I haven't even started, I think I will be watching some Boston/TB action instead...

Not Awesome

Eek, a 10-2 loss today. Not so good. It started off okay, we were winning for a while, and then they scored 6 runs in the 6th inning and it officially turned Not Awesome.

Let's hope this series can be salvaged tomorrow. Losing to Toronto is EMBARRASSING.

Dumb Fest

Another day, another loss, another game closer to being out of the postseason.

Everything that could go wrong is going wrong. Pitchers can't make it through 5 innings, the offense is hitting ground ball after ground ball after fly out, Cleveland is taking advantage of every opportunity they get. Beckett is going on Thursday, the one positive thing we have to look forward to. The offense better bring it, and by that, I mean Pedroia, Drew, Crisp, Lugo, Varitek...oh screw it, I mean ALL OF THEM.

I guess we're in it for the long haul, now we have to have 7 games instead of the 4 that I hoped for before the series began.

Oh, Gagne

I am sure Eric Gagne is a very nice man.

I bet he is a lot of things, actually: maybe he can cook, maybe he's a really good dad, maybe he does a lot of charity work..

But I know one thing he can't do: close games. Wait, close games in a GOOD way.

It's a 6-6 game. Each team has played really well, actually, clawing their way back whenever they've been down. Papelbon has pitched more than he's pitched at any one time the whole season. Who is left in the bullpen? Eric Gagne, Javier Lopez, and Jon Lester. Who is the one man you don't pick in a 6-6 game in the 11th inning? Gagne. Who did Francona pick? Gagne.

He got one out, and I was thinking maybe I shouldn't have been so hard on him. Then Grady Sizemore swung his bat and from there, everything came crashing down. By the time Lopez came in to relieve Gagne, it was way, WAY too late.

I don't know. I feel bad for him, since he knows that every time the fans see him come in, we know we're gonna lose. He must feel like crap right now, I'm sure it isn't easy being called on in the 11th, knowing you haven't been throwing your best stuff for months now. But something has to happen to make him the way he used to be. He's like the Alex Rodriguez of Boston: get in a must-win situation for a major team in the playoffs and he chokes.

One thing I did NOT like last night: the booing. People, I know he sucked and he blew the game but you must not boo! That is certainly not how fans react to struggling players (and yes, I realize he's been struggling since he came to Boston), and the booing DOES NOT HELP.

By the way, Curt Schilling was so not great last night. A better outing from him would have gone a long way. The 3-run HR, that we could have done without. And I don't want to overlook Ortiz' hustle to get to 1st, followed by a Manny home run and a Lowell home run that without, we wouldn't have even gone to extra innings. So kudos to them, sorry it ended the way it did. And they were all so happy until the end...

Not at All What I Wanted

The Tampa Bay announcer thinks hitting a home run off of Tim Wakefield is enough to get you Rookie of the Year. "If that isn't enough to get you Rookie of the Year honors..." YEAH. ANYONE can do that, even I could do that.

So good old Tim got us in the hole in the second inning. To be expected, at this point. Then another run in the 4th.

Bases loaded with no outs for us in the 6th inning. Ortiz was up, he hit one that looked like a double play, and no one was covering first so he made it there and a run scored. I will take it! Lowell struck out, which was unexpected. Next up, Mr. Drew. He walked! 4-2 now. Then Coco took one up the middle for a single to make it 4-3 with the bases reloaded. What a great inning this was turning out to be! EXCEPT FOR THE INNING ENDING DOUBLE PLAY from Hinske.

Then Tavarez came in to replace Wakefield, who had thrown 95 pitches (57 strikes). "Reliable" Julian got one out and let a run score before he was relieved of his duties. Bryan Corey had to come in and get us out of it with a double play.

7th inning sucked.

8th inning was a little better, Cora hit a HR but he was the leadoff man so we were still down by one. And the next three up were easy outs. Timlin came in to pitch and gave up a single, nearly gave up a HR (just foul), then hit a guy. Ellsbury made a great catch to get the first out, the next ball went to Drew, and the third out was handled by Lugo. To the 9th, down by a run...

Crisp was an easy out, Hinske swung at the first pitch (HOW MANY FREAKING TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY THE SAME THING) and thus was an easy out, then Varitek came in for Mirabelli and he was also an easy out.

CRAP.

In football news, the Patriots beat the Bills easily, with a final of 38-7. Too bad the Red Sox didn't have as easy a time.

Oh and NY won.

UGLY

Can we go right from the 7th inning to the 9th from now on?

There are really no words I can use to describe what a sweep at the hands of Toronto feels like. Especially after the last 2 8th innings we had to withstand.

I am mad...disappointed...sad...resigned...angry.

Tomorrow, they regroup. Friday....they hope Tampa Bay sucks.

WHAT IS GOING ON

What the hell is wrong with our team? ANOTHER 8th inning loss? I need to go over a few things:

Terry Francona, what the hell. PLEASE hire me or somebody else as your pitching consultant, because obviously you and the people around you suck. Gagne should have been taken out after he gave up the single. At that point, he had 2 outs, walked a guy, then the single happened. After that all went down, I would have said to you, "Francona, I think it's time Gagne comes out."
TF: "But I want to show him I have confidence in him."
L: "But it's the 8th inning of a 2-1 game."
TF: "He can do it."
L: "The Yankees already won today."
TF: "I know...but I think he can do it, it's only one more out."
L: "IT'S THE MIDDLE OF SEPTEMBER AND WE ARE ONLY UP 3.5 GAMES YOU DON'T SCREW AROUND!!!"

So, as expected, Gagne walked another man to load the bases. I look away (okay closed my eyes I was tired) and when I look again, it's a 3-0 count! WHY WAS HE STILL IN?? And he walked in a run! And he gave up a 2-run single that ended the inning, but only because Toronto got greedy and stupid and tried to score another run.

Can anyone tell me why he was still in the game after the first single? Goddamn Tavarez would have done a better job!

The E# is still 9. We are only up 2.5 games. Red Sox fans all over are resigning themselves to the fate of another Wild Card year.

And life is bad for us fans.

Stupid Internet Explorer

So I had a whole long post written about my trip to Baltimore, and I used Internet Explorer because Firefox has been randomly closing on me and losing my posts, and then IE goes and does the same thing! So I lost the whole thing, but I will eventually write another one. It just won't be as good.

But I do want to mention that horrible loss yesterday that included a grand slam by the OTHER team. What the hell happened? It was too terrible to watch, actually. Fortunately, we have Beckett pitching today, and things should go better today. I am not worried.

Also today, we have the men's final, which worked out just as I planned. Djokovic vs. Federer. Exactly what I wanted! Of course, I want Novak to win. So far he has beaten my mom's 2 favorite players, and now he takes on my dad's favorite. How nice it would be for Djokovic to win, not only because it would be awesome for him, but then I could say my favorite (I keep calling him that even though Ferrero is my real favorite) beat all of my parents' favorites. If only....

Nothing Good to Say

Strained oblique for Manny, that's what they told us yesterday. He didn't play last night, and he probably won't for a week or more...I miss Manny. I miss pitchers walking Ortiz to get to Manny and then Manny hitting an RBI double or something (and probably laughing inside, as we all do). I guess I will just have to wait.

So I had a bad feeling about last night's game all day, but that never really means anything. Except, of course, that I was proven right, and we lost another one. And right now? We are losing again.

NO SWEEP. I will not accept that!

Schilling gave up a solo shot to Cano and we are down by one, but it's still early. Still plenty of time for Wang to stop being good. We don't even have a hit yet though. At least I have Giambi swinging at the first pitch and flying out to brighten my day.

Please don't lose.

On another note, John Isner is playing some great tennis and has made it into the 3rd round of the U.S. Open. Juan Carlos lost in the first round, which sucked, but Novak Djokovic is still in it, even though it seems like forever in between his matches (and they didn't even show his first match! So mad about that). Donald Young moved into the 3rd round after Richard Gasquet, my French guy, pulled out with a fever or something -- but hey, Young in the 3rd round! That's still awesome. Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic are both in the 3rd round as well, but unfortunately they are both in the same quarter of the draw and therefore will have to meet in the quarters. I'd want Jankovic to win because she's my favorite female but Ivanovic is my second favorite (or third, I can't decide) and I'd like to see her do well. Of course, she has to get through Venus first before she'd meet Jankovic, and that's a tough thing to do.

Not Good Enough

Well, last night's game didn't exactly go according to plan. Not to worry though, because Josh Beckett is pitching tonight and he will not lose. I don't want to jinx anything, but as long as we win one out of the three games, we'll be in good shape.

The real question is how are Manny and Kielty holding up? Ramirez left early last night due to back spasms and Kielty also left with a back injury. Kielty's x-rays came back okay, and we're still waiting on Manny's status. Hopefully they are both fine!!

And just in case you were questioning why we let Damon go after he hit that HR last night, please be reminded: "It's taken a number of players to replace me," Damon said of the Red Sox. "I'm Johnny [Bleeping] Damon." That is all I think I have to mention on the subject.

OH NO WILY MO

THEY TRADED WILY MO.

WHY?!?

I swear to you all they will regret that move. Pena had Ortiz and Ramirez to teach him how to hit like them! So much potential.

It is a sad day. Goodbye Wily Mo, I will miss you greatly. Even your crazy swings at pitches that were at your head.

Good luck with the Nats.

Why Do You Excite Me, Just to Let Me Down?

We got ourselves a game going on right here! Boston was down 6-3 going into the 8th, they got a run then and now we're in the 9th. Coco singled, Lugo doubled him home, Pedroia K'ed, and now Youkilis is up. But he just struck out after a 3-0 count! WHY? So now it's up to Ortiz... 2 outs, down by one, bottom of the 9th. It's the perfect time to...walk. Okay, now it's Manny Time. And by that I mean it is time for Manny to strike out.

Dammit.

At least there's some good news. Juan Carlos Ferrero won today in Cincy and he will be playing James Blake in the next round. I like Blake, but Ferrero must win. With Djokovic out now (he lost to MOYA), he's my only guy left!


Go Juan Carlos!

Djokovic!!

Djokovic just beat Federer. Djokovic just beat Federer. Djokovic just beat Federer. Djokovic just beat Federer!!! He's gotta be the first guy to ever beat Nadal and Federer in the same tournament, right?

What a great, great match that was. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about Boston's game today -- they were of course winning, then late in the game they blew it and Kevin Millar hit a stupid walkoff home run. Kevin! You are supposed to be our friend!

And what's the deal with the supposedly really good bullpen? Schilling left poised to win it, and as soon as I saw Timlin in I knew the game could be lost. BUT TIMLIN DIDN'T LOSE IT!! (shock) Okajima, Gagne, and Snyder all gave up runs to get us yet another loss. Surprisingly, Timlin and Delcarmen were the ones who pitched well. I feel another late season collapse coming on and this is a really bad feeling :(

Oh Crap

We are falling apart! Absolutely falling apart. Boston keeps losing losing losing and the Yankees keep winning winning winning. This scene is all too familiar..having the lead comfortably in the beginning...the middle of the season presents some problems...and by the beginning of September we are Wild Card-ed AGAIN (if that!).

I DON'T WANT THE WILD CARD!! I WANT TO WIN THE DIVISION!!

Seriously, men. Get it together, and soon, because a five game lead is not enough. I want 15!

Try to close the LA series out with a win. A good fight, even! Show some effort! I WANT A WIN.

The Opposite of What We Wanted

Well, we got a sweep. We just got it in the wrong direction.

One bad loss and two close ones. They lost 2-1 today in an 11-inning disappointment. Pineiro managed to lose the game and he only pitched 1/3 of an inning! That's quite an accomplishment.

So Schilling's out till the All-Star break, and.....hold up. I just read that Pineiro twisted his ankle on Monday. No wonder he su...well, let's hope that's the reason why he sucked. He's got an excuse, he might as well use it.

I just realized how far behind my schedule to the right is. I haven't updated it since May! I guess I better get on that..

Bad News All Over the Place

Bad news, bad news, bad news.

Tennessee lost to Arizona last night in the Championship Game of the WCWS. I really wanted Monica Abbott and her Lady Vols to take their first title in school history, but it was not to be. AZ got to her for 5 runs in the 5th. BAD.

The Yankees won last night. Again. WORSE.

Boston lost 3-2! That means they've lost every game in June except one. Oakland seems to have their number, but it is time to change that. They cannot keep losing like this: they're only up 9 games on the nearest foe. WORST.

Time for all the bad luck to change!