Wednesday, May 25, 2005

At first, I was afraid you were gonna make me eat my words. And I would've, too. This is a stand-up kind of blog, never afraid to admit mistakes. But you made it easy -- both for Sox Blog to escape having to look like a hypocrite, and for the Blue Jays to score four runs in the fourth inning.

You actually looked pretty decent out there for those first three scoreless frames. Then came The Inning.

We were sitting pretty with a 3-0 lead. But that was a situation you just had to remedy. Alex Rios doubled. Our old buddy Shea Hillenbrand -- when the hell did he get so good? -- grounded into a fielder's choice (erasing Rios). Then he stole second, and moved onto third thanks to Tek's throwing error. Vernon Wells walked. Aaron Hill tripled, scoring Hillenbrand and Wells. Then, with Hill on base, Greg Zaun (who looks to have recovered from his frightening injury) hammered a homer to deep left.

So long, lead!

Bill Mueller reclaimed it with his two-run homer in the seventh inning. (With two HR and 5 RBI in the last five games, he seems finally to be getting his stroke back. Good thing he's not hurt.)

But then Mike Timlin surrendered his first home run of the year, to Reed Johnson, in the seventh, giving up the lead once again. (And breaking his 15 2/3 inning scoreless streak.)

Edgar Renteria led off the eighth with a triple -- 2 for 4! credit where credit's due! -- and was promptly knocked in by David Ortiz's authoritative single to right field to tie it .

Alas, Alan Embree emulated his buddy Timlin a bit too much, also giving up a homer (this time a three-run job), also to Reed Johnson.

Game.

All in all, Boomer allowed five runs off seven hits in six and a third innings. Horrific? No. A success? Certainly not. And certainly not enough to erase the bad taste left by that stinker in Oakland. Better luck next time. Seriously.

In happier news, Oil Can Boyd has cemented his place on the Brockton Rox roster, and signed with the team. He'll pitch against the Worcester Tornadoes -- his first professional outing since 1997 -- on Memorial Day.

Campanelli Stadium is nice, but he's got Fenway dreams.

"I'll go to Pawtucket for a couple hours," he said of Boston's Triple-A team, "and then let's go get the Yankees."

Funny. But if Wells keeps on giving up five runs per start, and our bullpen keeps on giving up multiple home runs, maybe that's not such a kooky idea. Could he be any worse than Cla Meredith or Blaine Neal?

And speaking of the Yankees... Don't look now, but they're in our rear view mirror, and they are, in fact, as close as they appear. Just a game an a half back from us.

Meanwhile, Murray Chass, the New York Times's resident Red Sox hater, penned this ridiculous piece in yesterday's paper. The Red Sox may have finally vanquished the Yankees via the greatest comeback in the history of baseball, they may have finally won the World Series after 86 long and torturous years, but, quoth (Ch)ass: "Exorcism is not Complete Until Red Sox Win the A.L. East."

True, we haven't won the division in ten years, and it sure as hell would be a nice thing to do this season, especially since the wild card is far, far from guaranteed. But when decades have passed, which Red Sox team will be more fondly remembered: that underachieving 2004 squad, or that crazy cast of characters who captivated New England with their thrilling division title in 1995?