You are now entering a
Rolling Stones free zone. (Read about them
here and
here and
here instead.) Baseball talk only from here on in.
It was a day for splits way out west yesterday.
Jonathan Papelbon's split-finger fastball -- a pitch he learned just this spring from Curt Schilling, and one that's been working better for him than it has been for his mentor -- was nasty. End result, thanks in no small part to an
eventful eighth inning, was a
split of a series that could easily have been an unpleasant trip to the tragic kingdom.
Friday, we won by the skin of our teeth after doing a lot of squandering. We squandered a ton of golden opportunities to put runs on the board, leaving 16 guys on base. We squandered a two-run lead in the eighth, and almost squandered Matt Clement's stellar outing and Curt Schilling's two perfect innings (5 Ks).
David Ortiz was not happy. Luckily, Manny Ramirez grounded out in the 10th to score Gabe Kapler. All's well that ends well.
Saturday, as is our wont, we were handcuffed by a rookie.
Ervin Santana spun seven and two thirds of scoreless ball before finally proving his mortality when he allowed a two-out, two-run single from Edgar Renteria in the eighth. Arroyo had pitched six decent innings (four hits, two runs, just one of them earned before heading to
Sonny McLean's in Santa Monica to
hang with the glitterati and play some of that rock and roll music). But
Lenny DiNardo, just called back up from Pawtucket, didn't pitch quite as well as he probably woulda liked, giving up two runs that would decide the game.
For a time yesterday it looked like we might be due for a repeat. We'd been were stymied for seven innings by the indomitable
Paul Byrd. Luckily,
our young stud pitched just as well, keeping the scoreboard empty until
Renteria could ride to the rescue, hammering 2-out, 3-run homer,
his first in 199 at-bats.
(''He's played fairly well, but I think his best days with the Red Sox are ahead of him," said
soon-to-be-much-richer Theo Epstein. ''He's capable of more. He's done well, but there's more in there than we've seen." Let's hope.)
Then,
something crazy happened. David Ortiz bunted. Shift
that! Then, something much more commonplace occured. Manny Ramirez homered, he pimped a little, he rounded the bases, and
there were hugs all around.
So here, we are, still four games up (
thanks, RJ!) heading into Kansas City with some
pretty big decisions to make.
Schilling, finally, is back where he belongs. (
First he wasn't, but
now he is.)
What does that mean? For one thing, it means that
Shaughnessy is thrilled.
Thrilled.
But despite the three hits and one run he coughed up in an inning yesterday, color me cautiously optimistic. This is the role he's comfortable in. And giving up three hits and one run in the first or second inning of a game is quite different from doing the same in the ninth. He's done his job -- albeit shakily at times -- and
says he's ready. Let's see what he's got.
It doesn't look like
Keith Foulke has been significantly set back by that line drive off the elbow, so hopefully we can throw him in there soon and do the same.
The good news: even if he's no good, there are other options.
Papelbon could move to the pen. Despite DiNardo's poor showing the other day, he's pitched
very well in Pawtucket; he probably won't be hanging around, but it's good to know he's there if we need a lefty. And
Little Manny is always an option. Hell, if need be, we could always re-sign
The Can, who I watched pitch seven shutout innings in Brockton on Friday night.
In the mean time,
Mike Timlin says he's ready for anything.
Will we see
Craig Hansen in KC? Edes
thought so last week, but now isn't so sure.
You might get a look at him -- in what could conceivably even be his last appearance in the minors -- when the
Portland Sea Dogs take on the
Trenton Thunder at 7 p.m. on
NESN.
The Sea Dogs and the
PawSox both won yesterday, too. (Unfortunately, the
Westbrook, Maine little leaguers were not so lucky.) Pawtucket's victory came with help from one
Trot Nixon, who went one for two with a walk and a sac fly. He could be back in the lineup on Tuesday.
So things are looking up. (For the team as a whole, if not for
Kevin Millar or
Mark Bellhorn.)
Kansas City, here we come. It's a favorite place of
this fat guy and
this one. Let's nip their two-game
win streak in the bud.