Nick Green Can Pitch

So I wasn't paying too much attention to the game last night because I had a quiz this morning I had to study for, and we were losing so bad it didn't seem to matter. Two things piqued my interest:

1) Ellsbury was replaced without me noticing. So when I looked at Gameday it said he'd been out at home...of course my immediate thought was F!--injury? Then I read this:

"Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury suffered a mild left high-ankle sprain in Thursday's 9-5 loss to the White Sox, and his availability for Friday's series opener against the Blue Jays is uncertain." Francona said this: "We're certainly going to check with him. I don't think it will be anything more than a nagging thing, and I'm glad we took him out. Got some ice on it, got it treated, and I'm hopeful that it'll be fine.''

Jacoby Ellsbury cannot sit out. Final decision!

2) It was weird looking over at the game to check the score and seeing Nick Green pitching. So I had to stop studying and watch his 2 innings--he was not too shabby! Walked a couple guys but got out of his innings unscathed. Some comedy was even gleaned from the situation:

“After I got behind hitters the first inning I kind of got a little nervous because I just didn’t want to walk everybody,” he said. “I mean, I know how it is as an infielder to sit back there and watch ball, ball, ball, so I didn’t really want to do that and I did. The only reason I was successful is because my ball moved a little bit, but I didn’t know it was going to move. I was trying to throw it straight.”

And Youkilis, of course (backstory: Green had a ball come right back to him and nailed that sucker to Kotchman at first, which I immediately noticed and commented on. Apparently I was not the only one): “He’s gonna have to work on his PFE’s (pitcher fielding exercises) in spring training. That was ridiculous. I’m glad I wasn’t at first base. I probably would have thrown it back to him as hard as I could.”

He did it again: “I felt like I waited for him about 15 minutes to get over to first base, so when I catch the ball at shortstop to throw it over there he’s there. I’m like catching it and I’m like ‘Get over there!’”

The point of this long post: Ellsbury better be fine and Green can pitch in an emergency.

And I had Really good pictures to go with this post but Blogger sucks and I can't upload them. Time to change, I think!

That was Not what I was Hoping For

Red Sox

pitching

sucks.

Yes, this man especially.

Look at Brad Penny as he hides his face in SHAME.

Did anything good happen last night? Why yes, Ellsbury stole his 54th base, tying the club's record for most SB. And today he shall break it! The crowd gave him a wicked long standing ovation, it was so cool.

This link sends you to an article that features a video with two of my favorite people in the whole world: Harold Reynolds talking about Jacoby Ellsbury. Ahh, Harold...I love that dude.

I Was There...and on TV!

I was at the game in Baltimore yesterday, where I witnessed some really bad pitching and some really great offense (I suspect due to the pitching). I got a lot of pictures which I will have to post in a separate entry, and we had some fun getting yelled at. Let's see...

We got there early to see batting practice, which didn't happen because of the rain. The forecast had rain all afternoon, but there was only one brief spell of rain during the game, which was so awesome. It turned out to be a little hot even, which was unexpected but welcomed. So we were behind home plate waiting for BP to start, and time is going by, and no one is coming to take our seats....and Ellsbury was up, Pedroia, Martinez...and we got on TV a little (on MASN the camera only showed us twice, I was seen clapping when Ellsbury walked and when they zoomed in to start the game. On NESN they showed the same 2 views then my mom got on a couple times) and then we proceeded to get reprimanded by an employee showing the 2 people with the tickets to their seats. Turns out those were Cal Ripken's seats....next time we'll have to be a little less greedy and aim for the 4th or 5th row.

So we get taken to our seats, which were extremely poor compared to where we had been sitting. Spoiled, I suppose. But we got a 4-hour game of nothing but hits. We saw Josh Reddick hit his first career home run, Victor Martinez go 5-for-6, 23 total Sox hits, Buchholz give up 7 runs and Boston still won easily, Casey Kotchman's 1st Red Sox at-bat, the Orioles manager getting kicked out....it was a great game.

So the highlight of the day really was sitting behind home plate for a few batters.....getting kicked out was a little embarrassing, I heard a few "Nice try"s as I exited the good seats...and wouldn't you know, those people left early. F.


P.S. We were all wondering why Reddick ran off in the middle of the inning and came back a few minutes later. Now I see!

Starting to Get Annoyed

Many fans and sportswriters are saying that we should all start to get just a little worried about this horrible skid we are witnessing. Me, I prefer to be annoyed. It's better than worry, after all. I haven't lost the belief that the Sox will get better and come out of this, as worry would indicate. But since I am going to a Sox game in less than a week, I do NOT want this trend to continue--I would be very ANNOYED if they lost in such a pathetic fashion again. The one time I went to a Baltimore game and the Red Sox lost, the Orioles fans were simply too....irritating to bear again. The other 5 times when Boston won--those were good times.

If there's one good thing to be said, it's that Ellsbury had a good series in the leadoff spot. Apparently, Friday was the first time since July 3rd that the Red Sox leadoff hitter had a two-hit game. Eek.

Hey, maybe we'll get Roy Halladay? And Smoltz can take a rest for a few months. Though even if they can muster up some good pitching, it won't do much good with the offense sitting these games out. Oh, and the Yankees strictly kicking ass.

Not Doing So Great

Taken from an article in The Providence Journal, I found this bit to be very interesting:

-- Jacoby Ellsbury, who missed two games in Toronto because of the flu, is 1-for-12.

-- Dustin Pedroia is 5-for-18.

-- Kevin Youkilis is 7-for-19. (.368)

-- David Ortiz is 5-for-19.

-- Jason Bay is 2-for-16 (though with four walks).

-- J.D. Drew is 0-for-18.

-- Mike Lowell is 6-for-14. (.429)

-- Jason Varitek is 1-for-13. (.077)

-- Jed Lowrie is 2-for-10.

-- Nick Green is 0-for-7.

I guess this is what you call a team slump. Youk and Lowell hitting well cannot make up for the rest of the team hitting like crap. However, like Varitek said, it can't get much worse than this, so let's hope they work out of this one soon. I hate not being in first place!

I was hoping Ellsbury being back in the leadoff spot would spur some offense, but it was not to be. Not yet, anyway. And now Wakefield is on the DL, which sucks (never thought I'd say that)....but Buchholz being in the rotation is definitely not a bad thing. HOWEVER---

If anyone recalls, everytime I go to see the Red Sox in Baltimore, it seems like Wakefield pitches. I think I saw Beckett once, but I want Lester or someone new. So anyway, I'm secretly kind of excited because now Wakefield won't be pitching when I go August 2nd. And I'm reading this article about Wakefield going on the DL, and life is going great, until I hit this bit:

"The earliest Wakefield can be activated is Aug. 2, when the Red Sox complete a three-game series in Baltimore."

YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS

Who Steals Home?

What a series! I have been out of town (but watching the games of course!) and then my Internet was all sorts of messed up when I got back today, but now here I am, in the middle of a new game, to discuss Red Sox v. Yankees Part 1 '09.

What was the highlight of the 3-game series that Boston swept? Was it Jason Bay's 2-run home run in the bottom of the 9th on Friday to tie the game (off Mariano Rivera, no less)? Or was it Youkilis' walkoff HR in the bottom of the 11th to win it? How about Jason Varitek's grand slam on Saturday to make it a 6-5 ballgame? Ellsbury's solo shot to tie it at 6 apiece? No, no, it was none of those amazing moments. It was in yesterday's game, when Jacoby Ellsbury STOLE HOME out of nowhere! So awesome. It was, as ESPN pointed out, the first time a Boston player stole home in 10 years. Definitely something you don't see everyday.

So the Red Sox have swept 3 teams in a row, won 10 games in a row, and they're still 1 game out of first place? Hopefully after they sweep Cleveland, first place will be ours.

Hey, Look at That!

The Red Sox are capable of winning some more games! And Tim Wakefield was the main reason why.

Wakefield, a man whom I have often complained about in the past, really came through yesterday. He threw a complete game, giving the bullpen a much-needed rest after Matsuzaka's catastrophe (and oh great, he's on the DL). As a matter of fact, Tim didn't even allow a hit until the 8th inning....so very close to a no-hitter. I am quite pleased with Mr. Wakefield at the moment.

Boston's bats also woke up, gathering 8 runs over the game to Oakland's 2. Lowell hit a home run, as did J.D. Drew (a 3-run HR at that!). Everyone had at least one or two hits (except the AL MVP, but that's okay).

And take a look at Jacoby Ellsbury's catch--that's pretty nice. What was even better? Nick Green's catch! I believe right now, when you open the links it will take you to Mike Lowell's HR, but you know how to get to the other videos.

All in all a terrific game. Still sitting in last place, but it's early.

A Very Good Way to Start '09

Things did not work out as planned for me yesterday. The game was supposed to be Monday at 2:00, I didn't have class, I was going to watch it. Of course it was postponed till Tuesday at 4, when I had class from 3:30-8. Not exactly how I wanted the first game of the season to go, but hey, they won.

Apparently Josh Beckett was pretty awesome, as the stats tell me so: he went 7 innings, only allowed 2 hits (wowza), 1 run, and threw 10 strikeouts. That is how you start a season, people.

Reigning MVP Pedroia started the day off with a home run, Varitek also contributed one later in the game. Looking over the box, it actually looks like everyone had a pretty good start to 2009 (well, except Ellsbury, but it's only the first game).

Baseball is back! Ahhh....it's such a great feeling!

P.S. How great is it to see Mike Lowell playing?

Blackout

What a horrible game. Lester was not Lester-like. No, I don't even want to talk about it. I just want to forget it happened and move on.

Tomorrow is Game 4, and TBS is trying to do some thing where everyone watching the game turns their lights off to conserve some energy. I think we should all do that. At least if Boston loses*, something good could come out of it.

So, onto Game 4. 8:07. Down 2-1 but they are used to being down. And it is time for Jacoby to break out of this slump, fo' real.

*They will not lose.

So Many Things to Touch On

I have a list in my head of so many things I want to say! Let's see if I remember them all (disclaimer: it's the 8th inning now and I clearly do not know the outcome of the game):

1) Dustin Pedroia, my love for this man knows no limits. Two home runs in a row, a walk, a single, and that is through the 8th. MVP, come on!!!

2) Jason Bay, how awesome are you? REALLY awesome. He's got 4 RBIs in this game alone, has hit a HR, and just generally seems to come through in the big moments. I cannot express how much I thank whoever got us this man (okay Theo).

3) My mind is filled with cell biology so I may be incorrect here, but remember back in the '04 ALCS when Johnny Damon could not get a hit, and then he hit the grand slam in Game 7? I feel like that is Jacoby Ellsbury right now. The poor kid is like 0-for-8 or some awful number, he is also the leadoff hitter, and he kind of looks like Damon (a very little, okay). I am waiting for him to do something huge like Damon of the Good Ol' Days. Waiting. Patiently. Unlike some people I know!

4) That's all for now. Except I hate the Rays. And where was 2003 Beckett tonight?!?? Yuck.

5) Oh, wait, one more thing. Can we NOT play Javier Lopez anymore?! PRETTY PLEASE. He threw one pitch, gave up a run, and was promptly taken out. Smart. But why was he in in the first place? Remember the Angels game??

Ellsbury's Good Times

Wow! What a day for the offense! They done pulled off a 23-hit massacre of the Twins to win 18-5, with a fantastic performance by Ellsbury. The boy had 4 hits today, with Youkilis, Manny, and Casey right behind him with 3 hits apiece. It is my understanding that every starter had at least one hit, which is just plain fun. We swept those Twins, so at the moment we are only 2 games behind the Rays. It is still sad that we are behind them, right?!

Beckett gave up those 5 runs but still got the win, of course, he got lucky today. The bullpen was great (of course they were, they had a huge lead!).

An off day tomorrow, then we gear up for a Baltimore series. Which is good for me, I can watch the games on MASN. And then the All-Star break, so there won't be much doing for the next week or so.

Man of the Day:

I Complain A Bit Much

The Sox actually won a game last night, and in pretty good fashion. 7-0 over NY. I was a little worried about team morale after being swept by TB (such close games too), but looks like I needn't worry anymore. What I need to do now is focus my energy on TB and hope they stumble in the KC series...though I doubt they will!

I am quite upset that I don't get to watch half of this series on TV (though day-after MLB.TV has been helping me relive games), and it figures the Sunday night game is on TV so I will be awful at work on Monday. Oh well. Red Sox>life.

Allow me to focus on the good for a moment: Lester was awesome last night: he pitched a complete game shutout and only allowed 5 hits total. Pedroia continued his superb playing, he has now hit safely for the past 11 games. The offense killed Pettitte, who had been 4-0 with a 1.00 ERA in his last 4 starts.

But can I just say that very first called 3rd strike on Ellsbury? What a crap call!

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.

I Love a Good Fight

We had a bit of an incident at Fenway tonight! Retaliation from James Shields after Coco Crisp mistakenly tried to take out a Ray last night instead of just making his out. Shields threw at Coco, so Coco starts walking to first to take his base when he changes his mind and runs right at him! So Shields takes a swing, Coco ducks and hits Shields, and then it's like a gang fight with like 5 Rays on Coco all punching him. Not so pretty! Benches clear, fight ensues, Coco and Shields are gone. Fun over!

Good news: Manny had 5 RBIs

Horrible news: My boy Ellsbury left the game after a painful-looking wrist rollover mishap. I hear it looks negative on x-ray, I hope he will be back soon. We need him!

It Took 13

It took 13 innings and a lucky error to beat the Orioles last night, and I of course fell asleep during the bottom of the 12th inning. It never fails.

What was I lucky enough to catch? Timlin loading the bases. Good thing he got out of that, because I was beginning to think they had resigned themselves to a loss by putting him in there.

Falling asleep also meant I missed that awesome barehanded catch/throw from Mike Lowell, meaning he really was the man of the hour. Though our bullpen did put on a great show as well! It was a good night all around for the city of Boston, with the Celtics pulling out a win to move to the Finals to (hopefully, please!) destroy the Lakers. Man, I hate those Lakers.

And hey, Ellsbury stole 3 bases last night! That is quite impressive.

Bad news is Matsuzaka is on the DL now. Made even worse when you look at his 8-0 record. We need that dude. No structural damage, thankfully!

French Open Update: Jelena Jankovic is safely through to the 4th round, as is Novak Djokovic. My main man Juan Carlos Ferrero exited early due to leg pain, I suppose. That is too bad, because he is one of like 2 men who beat Nadal this year on clay. Now it all hinges on Novak to win his second Major in a row...

Beckett's Hot

Josh Beckett pitched 8 excellent innings last night, Manny hit 2 home runs, and Mussina only lasted 3 innings. It was a fantastic game!

Except for that whole Farnsworth-almost-took-out-Manny incident (though we did hit A-Rod the other night, after all), everything went well. Even Papelbon giving up 2 runs was acceptable, with a 7-3 lead you are allowed. Ortiz still has an unexpectedly low average at .111, but remember how Pedroia started last year and he ended up Rookie of the Year. No worries yet about The Man.

What's up with Ellsbury getting HBP twice? He must never be injured, we need him too much. Mussina must have something against him..

I Miss Good News!

There really needs to be some interesting news soon, because I miss posting!

Let's see what I have here that is somewhat interesting...well, here's one that's bad: Manny switched his agent to the devil, Scott Boras. Why? I don't know...contract's almost up?

Too bad for the Sox....they're going to the White House on Wednesday.

What else? The Red Sox held their first official full-squad workout of the spring Friday. A spring-high of 1,906 fans attended. "Real" play starts soon, as they will open exhibition play Thursday at City of Palms Park with a day-night doubleheader against Boston College and Northeastern.

The battle between Coco and Jacoby for starting center fielder continues...with quotes from Ellsbury: "I'm just looking to get better as a player in spring training, and the competition is going to make us both better. Competition doesn't bother me at all." But....."I prepared the whole off-season to be a starter," he said yesterday. We'll see.

I miss baseball.

Johan

Looks like Ellsbury and Pedroia are safe--Johan Santana is going to the Mets. Which is cool. I like the Mets. I'm just glad D.P. and Jacoby still have homes in Boston.

Look at those Patriots

Did you all see that Patriots game last night?

Because I didn't. I freaking fell asleep again! With like 5 minutes to go!

And they won in the last 44 seconds.

Now, I may not be too fond of Tom Brady since he wore that Yankee hat, but I love New England and have a million family members up there, so forever a NE fan I will be. So that game, in which they were mostly losing to the Ravens, was scary to watch. Thankfully, I woke up in the middle of the night and found out they won in the coolest way. Gotta love that last-second excitement!

-----------------------------

The Red Sox also met with the Twins in the late night and early morning hours, and one sign of potential progress -- according to multiple media reports -- is that Boston forwarded the medical records of left-handed starter Jon Lester to the Twins.

Boston has been saying all along it's either Ellsbury or Lester, but not both. I love Lester and think he's a fantastic kid, and I would hate for him to have to go to Minne-freaking-sota, but....it means Jacoby is staying!

Don't get too excited, Laura....but Ellsbury staying through the offseason would make a really awesome few months for me!

The title of this article says it all. Oh, and the results of the vote!

THEY WOULDN'T

With the Minnesota Twins insisting on center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury in any trade for pitcher Johan Santana, the Red Sox have altered their offer and have told the Twins they are willing to include the outfielder.

Kill me now!

Executives involved in the trade talks fully expect that the Twins will trade Santana, and that they will make a decision within the next 72 hours on what offer they prefer.

Or kill me in 72 hours!


The Red Sox included Ellsbury in one of their proposals a week ago, but the Twins asked the Red Sox for two players among the group of three prospects -- Ellsbury, Lester and pitcher Clay Buchholz. Boston then offered Lester, center fielder Coco Crisp, minor league shortstop Jed Lowrie and a minor league pitcher.

The Twins have continued to ask for Ellsbury, so the Red Sox have flipped Ellsbury back into their offer, sources say, while removing Lester, and upgraded slightly the rest of their proposed package slightly -- perhaps to include right-handed pitcher Justin Masterson. Presumably, any offer with Ellsbury would not include Crisp.

Or just kill whatever idiot decided to okay this deal.

Go Pete

This is just a cute story that is nice to read on a lazy Sunday: Jacoby goes home
Lots of new Sox fans in Oregon for sure.

And because it deserves a mention, Pete Sampras beat Federer the other day in an exhibition match. I only post this because Pete was my favorite player from the time I started paying attention to tour tennis (probably when I was about 8) until the day he retired. Then came Ferrero. But the point is, I love this man and I don't care if it was only an exhibition, and Federer just came off a tournament win, it doesn't matter because there is a 10 year age difference and Pete is "old." Yay Sampras! He kept getting closer to winning, as you can see from the scores from the 3 matches they played: He lost the first 6-4, 6-3, almost won the second 7-6, 7-6, then won the final 7-6, 6-4. Good scores for the old man!

This is Fear

Dustin Pedroia and Jacoby Ellsbury could wind up being sent to the Minnesota Twins in a deal for vaunted lefty Johan Santana.

This is the kind of craziness I wake up to. I check my email first thing, of course, and I get Remy's Today in Sports email. Usually I skip right over it (hey it's the offseason) but I saw Pedroia and Ellsbury in the title and had to read it. So this is what I get?!?

They wouldn't trade my two favorite players...right? Because I'll be honest with you, I might be tempted to walk out on them if they did that. Every year that I announce my favorite, he goes. I thought I was safe with DP, and if they let him go...watch out!

The Parade

Today was the day when thousands of Red Sox fans waited along the streets of Boston to catch a glimpse of their favorite team as they rolled on by to thank the fans and celebrate with them. As always, I have many pictures to document the parade (there are way too many but I couldn't stop, they were all too good):

Something tells me Papelbon is a really fun guy to hang out with:

I was going to caption this one with something about how cool it would be to be on one of these flights, but I'm so distracted by the size of Varitek's arms...huge!

Love this kid:And I want his jersey!

More Papelbon being awesome:

Who doesn't love Don?

Gotta have a picture of the man, David Ortiz:

And the man that gave America free tacos eats his!

Love the Pedroia:

Our fearless leader:

Some pitchers for your viewing pleasure:

More Papelbon (never enough!):

And the best of them all, Varitek holding the "Resign Lowell" sign:

As far as actual news goes, there's Schilling writing goodbye letters to his teammates and filing for free agency. "There's a very realistic chance I won't ever play with them again."

It's too soon to think about all that. Can we just think about winning the World Series for the next few weeks? Slow it down, the game was only a couple days ago and they're already talking about next year!

World Series Game 3 (Emotional Rollercoaster)

12:56 am: Let me preface this by saying the following paragraphs were written at exactly the times/innings listed. So what I'm really saying is, I'm kind of psychic...

Pre-game: Jacoby Ellsbury (see, now that he has proven himself, I will bestow upon him the honor of calling him by his real name instead of Jacob) does the cutest starting lineup ever. Had to say that, because it's the truth. I think I've mentioned that I've decided he will be my second favorite player on the team, behind Pedroia of course. Love those rookies!

8:30 pm: Josh Fogg, in the regular season, was 10-9 with a 4.94 ERA. This should be good.

3rd inning: Same thing as the first: Ellsbury and Pedroia got on (JE with a double and DP with a bunt). In the 1st, the next 3 batters were out. This time, Ortiz hit an RBI double, Manny was IBB'd, Lowell hit a 2-RBI single, Drew was out, & Varitek hit a single that Manny tried to score on, but was called out at the plate. Boo. Anyway, Lugo walked and then Matsuzaka got a hit! Scored Lowell and Varitek to put us up 5-0. Ellsbury got ANOTHER double and that made it 6-0!

6th inning: Not so great. After 5 good innings, Matsuzaka got the boot after allowing 2 walks, then Javier Lopez came in and gave up an RBI single. He then proceeded to give up another RBI single. Lopez=not good. Timlin came in and Spilborghs hit one that Ellsbury caught at the very, very end of the field. So close and so good for us. Then Lugo caught a ball at the very top of his jump, it was pretty. Kept the lead safe.

11:40 pm: Timlin has started to suck. 2 batters faced, 2 men on. Perhaps it is time for him to make his exit? Yes! Okajima is coming in to stop the pain. FOX tried to jinx it by saying Okajima has allowed 0 runs in 9 2/3 innings and Papelbon has also allowed 0 runs in 7 2/3. Would it work? AHH YES IT WORKED HE GAVE UP A 3-RUN HR ON THE FIRST PITCH DAMN YOU FOX!!

12:12 am: ELLSBURY YOU WONDERFUL MAN! 4th hit of the night=another run to put it at 7-5! Pedroia!! Another hit for him to make it 9-5! Man, can I pick 'em or can I pick 'em?

9th inning: Lowell just stole 3rd base. How awesomely unexpected.
Bottom of 9th: 3 outs to go for a 3-0 lead..a deficit I don't think Colorado has a chance at overcoming. Easy out, easy out, triple (which one doesn't belong), easy out. So funny to see the depressed Rockies fans after they were cheering like crazy when it was 6-5.

12:58 am: So what did I mean by the psychic thing? Ellsbury and Pedroia had amazing games, Ellsbury especially, and I'm pretty sure I had everything to do with that by calling them out in the pre-game :)

LOVED the post-game interviews with JE and DP!

Let us all remember this day for what it really is: in 2004, Boston won the World Series on this day. So it was fantastic 3 years ago and pretty damn good in '07.

See you all tomorrow, on a night that could hold a World Series championship for the Sox..

Beckett's 20th Win

May I start off by asking what the hell the Sox did to make opposing pitchers want to hit them so much? We all know about Youkilis (and the Yankees) but tonight Hinske and Varitek got hit in the same inning! Then Ellsbury almost got hit in the 9th, and Pedroia did get hit! This is getting suspicious. We don't need anymore Youk-type injuries.

So Jacoby Ellsbury is definitely a new favorite. He ran into Boston's bullpen and over a chair, all to make a catch in foul territory that yes, he held on to. The Toronto commentators even said it was impressive, one of the best they've seen! Ellsbury and Pedroia, my two favorite players (remember the last 4 players I said that about were Bronson Arroyo, Mark Bellhorn, Alex Gonzalez aka The Gonz, and Trot Nixon...hopefully DP and JE will break the curse).

This is going to sound strange, but...the bullpen held a lead! Josh Beckett left after 6 fantastic innings, then Manny Delcarmen came in and pitched a 1-2-3 7th (2 strikeouts even).

Okay. 8th inning. Our new nemesis. A good start though, a solo Jason Varitek homer. But nothing else good for us. So who would guide us through the potential disaster known as the 8th inning? Delcarmen actually stayed in this time, unlike last time when he came out and Gagne killed it (in a bad, bad way). He got his first out, then as I'm witnessing Toronto's meltdown, they take him out! UHH, okay. Not what I would have done, but okay. Javier Lopez came in, got the second out, got the third out. Nice pitching, actually. You went against me, Francona, and it worked this time. Hopefully it will continue working.

3-run shot in the 9th from David Ortiz! He is "more dangerous than dynamite," said the Tampa Bay guy. Follow that up with a Lowell solo shot, 8-1, this one was over (even with Gagne pitching the 9th). Ortiz and Lugo gave Mike an excited hug in the dugout, how nice :) Brandon Moss hit the first triple of his career, which is very awesome.

And yeah, Toronto? I HATE YOU. Up 4-0 going into the 9th against the Yankees and the next thing I see, it's 4-4. HATE HATE HATE. It was single after single after single, and those add up. It wasn't bad enough you swept Boston, NOOO, you had to blow a 4-run lead against NY in the bottom of the 9th! Extra innings--at least they won. Took 'em 14 freaking innings and a large percentage of my sanity though!

Rant of the Day:
Many fans are saying "as long as we get the Wild Card..." To them, I say: Not good enough! Had we been in second place all year, yes, the WC would be fine. But getting it now, after we've basically been in first place all season...hell no, I do not accept the WC. Plus, the Wild Card is just not as legitimate, really. I want to win. I want first place in the AL East, and settling for the Wild Card is not in the gameplan.

A Fine Performance

Ooh, I sense another player to add to the favorites list. Ellsbury, in spite of his crazy first name (I know none of you agree with me on that one though), was pretty awesome today, and the only reason he was in the game was to replace Youkilis after he got hit. That kid is FAST, too.

So the game started off pretty dumb, with a Jeter home run in the first. However, we also scored in the first and it stayed 1-1 for a while. Until the 5th, when we grabbed a run, and in the 6th we got 3 more...

A beautiful 7th inning for the Sox, 5 walks and some RBIs for Coco, Ellsbury, and Lowell. We went from 5-1 to 9-1 and then...

the 8th inning.

We all remember what happened last night during the 8th inning?

This one was much better. Damon grounded out, (Jeter singled) Abreu struck out, A-Rod struck out. And Timlin was pitching! Our 8th was really nice, courtesy of an Eric Hinske HR.

And because it needs to be said, Josh Beckett was great tonight. Just great. A fantastic effort today, only gave up that one run, and is now 19-6. He is so our #1 guy.

These Men are Good

Wakefield is so lucky! He gives up 7 earned runs and we're down 8-1, and now?

Up 14-9!

THAT is why they're my favorite team -- they are never out of a game.

Wait...solo shots by Ortiz and Drew to make it 16. Just when you think it can't get any better...

Err...Gagne. 9th inning. You'd think a 7-run lead would be safe...and you'd think right. But if it had been a 1-run game, we'd be in extra innings right now.

P.S. Happy birthday Jacoby (Jacob) Ellsbury...hitting a home run on your birthday is not bad.