Why you gotta make me look stupid, Manny?

I defended you yesterday. I said folks should just get off your back -- should stop obsessing over media hearsay, stop calling out your foibles, and just let you hit.

But how can we let you hit when you won't even play?

Turns out the reports that you want to be traded are true. So were you trying to do what Jay Payton did and hasten the process? Is that why you sauntered to first base on a grounder Tuesday night -- safe only thanks to a misplay -- when getting tagged out could very well have cost your team a win? Is that why you sat out yesterday's game?

You make it very, very hard to stick up for you sometimes. The time you were "too weak" pinch hit in Philly, l'Affaire Enrique, the grandma stories. All just Manny being Manny, right?

But yesterday was different.

After Tuesday's huge, emotional win, with Matt Clement laying in a hospital bed -- thank God he's OK -- and Trot Nixon gnashing his teeth at the very thought of not being able to play, your manager asked you to help out. Yes, he'd promised you a day off. But your team was in a bind. They needed you. And you would have had Thursday and Monday off anyway. But you said no.

The WEEI goons have sharpened their claws, and for pretty much the first time in my life I'm inclined to agree with them.

Edes and Mazz are sick of it all, too. And can you blame them?

"We asked Manny if he could play today because we were short handed ... he said he needed rest."

From the lips of Nice Guy Terry Francona, this is tantamount to throwing you under the proverbial bus. When even Tito, so famous for covering his players' asses, will call you out, that's really saying something.

(At the same time, one has to wonder what sort of control this manager really has over his players. If you were really unable to play -- if your hamstrings really were tight, or if you really were worn down after two days of playing in an air-conditioned dome -- he should have defended you to the hilt. But if he really thought you should play, he should have written your name on the lineup card. Is that not the manager's prerogative?)

Anyway, with John Olerud -- JOHN OLERUD! WITH A .139 AVERAGE IN JULY! -- batting clean-up in your stead, the Red Sox took the field with a patched-together lineup and gutted out a win. You sat on a bench in the dugout, scratching yourself.

Tim Wakefield, the epitome of team player, gave the tired bullpen exactly what they needed with seven and a third strong innings.

Alex Cora, with his .211 average and one homer on the season, went yard. And Dougie "Stud Who Hits Bombs" Mirabelli notched an infield hit (!) and his second-ever stolen base (!!). Is this Bizarro World?

Curt Schilling recorded his third save -- not before making it very interesting -- and we won. Did you at least have the energy to high-five your teammates?

Look, your privacy complaints have some merit. I can't imagine what it must be like to be you, unable to walk anywhere in this city without being mobbed by camera-flashing and pen-waving fans. But do you really think it will be different in any other city whose franchise is big enough to take on your contract?

And I can't really blame you if you're pissed that the Inside Track hags ($ req.) were nosing around to find out if your wife was "preggers." But if your privacy is so dear to you, why did you allow the Globe into your apartment to photograph your family?

Here's the thing: If you come back to Fenway on Friday and go three for five with a double and a home run, this will probably all be forgiven and forgotten. You're the best right-handed hitter in baseball. And most of us are thrilled to have you on our team -- peccadilloes and all. And if, by some weird confluence of events, you happen to get what you want and are traded in the next three days, we'll miss you.

But your team missed you yesterday, and you didn't really seem to care.

7/28/2005 12:04:00 PM by Mike Miliard | Comments [0] |  

First things first: Looks like Matt Clement is OK. The CAT scans were negative, he never lost consciousness, and he's "in good spirits." Thank God. I have to confess I feared for a few seconds that he might be dead. It seemed pretty touch and go for a while, there. What happens from here is anybody's guess, but Gordon Edes is optimistic: "Clement, who has rarely missed a start in his big-league career ... may miss a turn. It's possible he won't, despite the terror of the moment." Let's hope.

On the other hand, Trot Nixon, felled by a strained left oblique, could be out for a while. But, Trot being Trot, he says he'd like to try to play through it. Again, let's hope. Somehow, I'm not so confident.

Back to business: Last night's game? Wow. Just ... wow.

Who would have thought that the weirdest, most riveting, most emotionally draining 10 innings of the year so far would be against the freaking Devil Rays? (Actually, maybe no one should be all that surprised; strange things always seem to happen down there in the Trop.)

Time will tell if game number 100 was one of those galvanizing, shot-in-the-arm, circle-the-wagon type wins that cement a team's character and spur them on to greater glories. But one thing's for sure: This is a team. (And it's hard not to notice that it happened exactly a year and two days after last summer's pivotal July 24 win against the Yankees.)

On the other hand, if Clement and Nixon are both out for any significant time, it could conceivably mean the opposite: The moment when everything fell apart. Fingers crossed, we'll just have to see.

The injuries notwithstanding, last night had it all:

* An early-innings barrage that had us up 5-0 after two and a half.

* Aubrey Huff's grand slam, immediately after Clement was carried off the field, that erased the lead and tied the game.

* Powerful offense. (Renteria 2 for 3, Manny 2 for 6 with a homer, Tek 2 for 3 with a double and a homer, Damon 2 for 5 with a double and a homer, Bill Mueller 2 for 5 with two huge RBIs.)

* Some terrific defense. (I'm liking this Graffanino guy more every day, and if Olerud can't hit anymore, at least he can flash the leather. How's Petagine's glove?)

* More Dale Sveum brain farts. (You sent Olerud? Olerud?)

* Shaky Schilling -- yes, again -- even though he got the win.

He can thank Johnny Damon for that, thanks to his acrobatic, game-saving catch in the ninth followed immediately by that authoritative homer to right-center. (It was his fourth in the last seven games; he's "found something in his swing," he says. Let's hope he doesn't lose it soon.)

Somewhat overshadowed by all the drama was the perfect 1-2-3 eighth inning of Hyde Park's own Manny Delcarmen, pitching in his big-league debut. "If you squint you can see the for sale sign on [his] back," wrote one guy on SoSH last night. Hopefully that's not why he was in there. Hopefully he's staying on our team. Hopefully, he can keep it up. Hopefully he can help this bullpen.

And in re the other Manny: Can we all just shut up? Like, everybody? Please, let's have a moratorium on discussing and dissecting any and all nonsense unrelated to the batter's box or the box score. I'm sick of this, and it's getting very silly. And no one cares. Let the guy say what he wants, let the guy do what he wants, just as long as he hits. (Which he is.)

So, 98 games -- a club record -- without extra innings and then two and row? Weird.
(It's better when we win 'em.)

All things considered, it was a good night. And they did it for Matt. This afternoon, Wake goes against a guy with a 1-5 record and a 13.50 ERA when facing us ... let's do it for Matt again.

7/27/2005 10:13:00 AM by Mike Miliard | Comments [0] |  

This is not good at all.

Matt Clement had less than half a second to react to Carl Crawford's hurtling line drive, and when it hit the right side of his head he dropped a like a stone and barely moved for at least five minutes. The sound of the impact, immediately echoing the crack of the bat, was sickening. So was the sound of Tropicana Field: silent as a tomb.

The good news is that his eyes were open and blinking as he was carried away, and a friend from Tampa/St. Pete tells me there's a hospital very close by. Word just in from NESN is that Clement was conscious and alert when he was whisked away from the field, aware of where he was and what had happened. But I pray he wasn't hit in the temple, which is where it looked like it did.

Of course, the first things that come to mind are this and this and this.

Damon's obviously doing fine now, but it took him months to get over the lingering headaches and vision problems. Florie wasn't so lucky. He came back to the Red Sox, but was never quite the same and it never really happened for him. And Tony C's story is almost too sad for words.

Please let this time be different.

(Oh yeah, Trot's hurt too.)

7/26/2005 8:44:00 PM by Mike Miliard | Comments [0] |  

Fatty had the skinny on how to beat the D-Rays at Fenway.

7 IP, 6 H, 2 R

(He's also apparently getting paid $130,000 every time he wears his PokerStars.com gear on camera...shrewd dude.)

But the batters were better. Or was it that just that Mark was off his mark?

0 IP, 4 H, 6 R

Maybe he shoulda stuck with the NBA.

The first inning was a laugher, the likes of which we hadn't seen in a while -- maybe not since that other team from Florida stopped by the Fens two years ago.

Johnny Damon singled. Edgar Renteria walked. David Ortiz singled, scoring Damon. Manny Ramirez doubled, scoring Renteria. Kevin Millar walked. Doug Mirabelli doubled, scoring Ortiz and Ramirez.

Mark Hendrickson was then relieved of his duties by our old friend Dewon Brazelton, who proceeded to throw a passed ball, allowing Millar to score. Finally, new utility guy Tony Graffanino recorded the first out of the inning -- da bum!!! -- before Bill Mueller grounded out to first, scoring Mirabelli, and Adam Hyzdu flew out to right.

Six - nuthin' good guys. Tack on one more in each of the third, fourth, and fifth, and you got yourself a win.

Complaints? Few. Graffanino sprayed the wall with some hard-hit graffiti in the fifth, and Chad Bradford pitched a spotless eighth to keep his ERA at an immaculate 0.00. But count Sox Blog as not a fan of the John-Halama-as-closer era. Why did we keep this guy instead of Embree again?

So tonight we take on the toughest team in baseball. (Save the sad-sack act, please, Chi-town.)

Our ace goes against theirs. He'll have to pitch a whole lot better than he did last time. We all know he can. Having Manny in the line-up would probably help too.

And if worse comes to absolute worse, at least we know we've got Contreras on Sunday.

7/21/2005 12:14:00 PM by Mike Miliard | Comments [0] |  

Well wouldya look at that? The Boston Red Sox have won a ball game! Of course, when one's opponent is the proud possessor of a 32-62 record, that should be expected. But it's a start. Baby steps, people.

And if it wasn't an especially riveting victory, it was decent enough, and a team effort, all around.

Sure, there were lowlights. Kevin Millar was caught stealing on John Olderdude's strikeout the fourth. E-dgar had another error, his 18th of the year. And Mike Timlin looked shaky, surrendering three hits before working his way out of the mess and escaping eighth unscathed.

But interim second baseman Alex Cora -- welcome, Tony Graffanino (and Adam Hyzdu ... again!) -- had some incredible glovework, throwing himself all over the field for a few amazing diving saves.

And in the Battle of the Beanpoles, Arroyo v. Fossum, Bronson did his job, lasting seven innings and ceding five hits. Fossum went just four and two thirds, leaving the game not long after Manny hammered him his 25th homer of the season.

In the wall? Over the wall? Who cares? What would we do without a guy who vanishes into the Green Monster during games to "piss in a cup"? You can't make this stuff up. ("Jose is all in favor of random, unannounced steroid tests," writes Jose Melendez, "but having them in the middle of the game? That just seems extreme, unnecessary and more than a little bit silly.")

Of course you've also heard about this

And, yes, Curt Schilling recorded his first save since George H. W. Bush was president and grunge ruled Seattle. Can he do it again?

By the time the last Hummer had pulled out of the players' parking lot, the Yankees had fallen to Texas and we were back on top in the East. Let's keep it that way.

The players just need to play well. Is that so hard?

In about an hour, David Wells -- the only guy who pitched really well against the Yankees this past weekend (on the only night we didn't really need great pitching) -- takes the mound against the D-Rays and tries to win us our first series in God knows how long. Word is, he doesn't like pitching in the daytime heat. Tough luck, Boomer. Just throw.

Trade winds blow
I know I've bitched about the guy more than once, but I admit that I was pretty bummed out and a little perplexed when it was revealed yesterday that Alan Embree had been designated for assignment. Yeah, there was a stretch not long ago where he was a walking disaster -- and he never did anything less than take full responsibility for his failures -- but he'd been throwing the ball better lately. And is he really a less effective lefty than John Halama? I suppose a 12.00 ERA over 25 appearances doesn't do anyone any favors.

The real question is what this means. Are we gonna trade him to Atlanta to allow us to keep Rule 5 guy Adam Stern? Or will he be part of some before-the-deadline package deal with Billy Mueller or Kevin Youkilis for Twins lefty J.C. Romero? (Should Mark Bellhorn really fear for his job, or do they aim to use Graffanino at third?)

We'll know within 10 days. But Tek reminds us to take it all with a grain of salt.
(More on trade rumors here and here.)

In the mean time, let's never forget Embree's '03 and '04 post-season heroics: 14 innings pitched in 19 games ... and two runs allowed.

And it was Embree who was standing on the mound when the final out was recorded in the early morning hours of October 21, 2004. It was he who finally drove the stake in the heart of the Yankee beast.

He'll always be one of the 25. And he will be missed. Hope to see you and that big chunk of chaw in the NL soon, Alan.

7/20/2005 11:50:00 AM by Mike Miliard | Comments [0] |  

Well, that sucked.

Three measly hits. Two of 'em from Alex Cora (?!) who's got his average all the way up to .206.

Wade pitched well again -- but again not well enough.

Meanwhile we were handcuffed by Scott freaking Kazmir, yet another in a long line of mediocrities who somehow have our number. (ERA: 4.59. ERA against us: 1.69)

At least Curt's big mouth is good for something -- reversing a call and getting Sweet Lou all hot under the collar, despite his best intentions. But it was too little, too late.

The streak is over and done with.

We have no second baseman.

And whadya know, the MFY are in first.

As of this moment, it looks like we're the ones who've forgotten how the game is played.

What say we try to, like, win a game tonight, and really give Lou something to scream about? Because the Tampa Bay Devil Rays are, uh, THE WORST TEAM IN BASEBALL.

Meanwhile, the trade deadline approaches. Open that wallet, Mr. Henry.

7/19/2005 11:05:00 AM by Mike Miliard | Comments [0] |  

Of course. Down just two runs, with no outs and the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, against the best closer in baseball, who else should we expect at the plate but Alex Cora, our new utility infielder, a guy who's had a grand total of eight at-bats for the Red Sox, who's never faced Mariano Rivera, and who's hitting below the Mendoza line (.199).

At least Bellhorn would've just struck out.

But, of course, Cora hit into a double play.

And, of course, he was actually safe at first.

And, of course, Johnny Damon had to pick his previous at-bat to smack the double that kept his hit streak alive, rather than hit one here that actually would have won us the game.

It was another loss, and it sucked.

But there's a lot of fight in this team! We showed it on Saturday, and again last night. Problem is, it just wasn't enough. Their sluggers slugged better than our sluggers slugged. And the bad guys are now just a half-game back.

This despite Curly-Haired Boyfriend's ill-advised proclamation that the race is already won.

It's not.

Let's just hope cast-off Al Leiter -- three hits and one run over six and a third innings?! -- turns back into a pumpkin soon. That just-activated Kevin Brown has another reason to smash his fist into a clubhouse wall tonight. And that that other Yankee pitcher, TBA, is far from letter-perfect.

Meanwhile it would be all too easy to pin Wake's woes on his rocking and rolling at Hot Stove, Cool Music on Saturday night. But he told us as he stepped off stage at barely 9 p.m. that he was "going home to get some rest." And anyway, it's not like he made many mistakes last night. Nine full innings of five-hit ball against the New York Yankees is nothing to sneeze at. It's just that when three of those hits are home runs -- two of them with men on -- you're gonna run into some problems. Live by the knuckler, die by the knuckler, as they say.

Tonight, it's our old friends, the Devil Rays, who we haven't seen in nearly three months. (And Trot Nixon is fighting mad.) Good teams beat up bad teams. Let's do just that.

All we gotta do is make sure Wade Miller keeps the first few frames scoreless, and don't let young'un Scott Kazmir (3-7, 4.49) dominate us like he has in the past.

Etc.
Bellhorn's thumb injury might be serious. Time to see if this Pedroia kid can hack it in the bigs?

With the trade deadline looming, ProJo debunks the, uh, bunk.

Gabe Kapler, meanwhile, is happy to be back. Can you blame him?

7/18/2005 11:29:00 AM by Mike Miliard | Comments [0] |  

At least Schilling pitched a perfect inning. (Even if "Wild Thing" Williams doesn't think he has the guts to do it again.)

The bad news is that his old compadre Randy Johnson also got a win, even if -- with three walks, eight hits, and four runs, including two homers from Bellhorn and Manny -- it wasn't all that pretty.

The worse news is that Matt Clement, our ostensible ace, turned in the shortest outing of the season so far, lasting just two and two thirds innings while coughing up six runs off of five hits and five walks.

One of those hits, a double to set up A-Rod's homer to center -- yes, just like Thursday night off of Schilling -- came courtesy of our old nemesis Gary Sheffield. (Who, even if he doesn't blame Clement for that accidental brushback a pitch earlier, sure didn't look too happy as he seethed in the batter's box.)

All told -- solid work from Jeremi Gonzalez notwithstanding -- it was a pretty uninspiring day.

And we coulda won it too, if it wasn't for Big Papi's long, long, long fly-ball, hammered to the deepest, darkest part of the ballpark.

And, of course, Dale Sveum shares some blame, too. Yes, again.
(But, "The Worst Third Base Coach in Major League History"? Still not so sure.)

Meanwhile, the streak is alive.

Tim Wakefield looked good with cowboy hat and acoustic guitar as he chugged his way through Chuck Berry's "Promised Land," "Hey Bo Diddley," and a Peter Gammons original with the Hot Stove All-Stars at Fenway last night. (He also auctioned off his sweaty cleats for $3500.)

Let's hope the Yankee killer looks as good tonight as he takes on newly-acquired Al Leiter (a deal for the "fan favorite and fellow Republican" was apparently brokered by NYC mayor and Medford turncoat Michael Bloomberg) and tries to earn us a split.

7/17/2005 3:15:00 PM by Mike Miliard | Comments [0] |  

Sox Blog told you yesterday that whenever he wears his David Ortiz t-shirt with the picture of Esther Rolle to Fenway, the Sox are undefeated.

Those four extra runs Big Papi tacked on with an exclamation-point grand slam in the sixth made absolute sure the streak would stay alive last night.

But I just as easily could have worn my Trot Nixon t-shirt with a picture of ... I dunno, who looks like Trot Nixon? Morgan Spurlock? ... for the same effect. (Actually, no such thing exists.)

Christopher Trotman drove in two with his double in the first, and then, incredibly, drove in four more in the second with an inside-the-park homer -- his first ever, and our first since Pokey Reese's last May 8. (Pokey's a little bit speedier on the basepaths than the little engine that could.)

Anyway, thanks, Melky!

And thanks to Tim Redding and Darrell May. With four starters on the DL, Brian Cashman better charge that phone.

David Wells -- whose unjust suspension should rightly be appealed -- did alright by himself, too allowing just a run on five hits in seven innings. (Thanks to the jackass behind me in the bleachers for jinxing his perfect game after two inning by blabbing about it to his buddy.)

Etc.
Welcome back, Kotter.

''I've got some friends over there," Alex Rodriguez said. ''Manny. Johnny Damon. David Ortiz. I'm friends with those guys." That's what he thinks. They just use him because his parents let them party in his house.

Never been to Fenway two nights in a row, but tonight I'll be at Hot Stove, Cool Music, the proceeds of which will go to Paul and Theo Epstein's A Foundation to Be Named Later. With the score 6-1 at the moment, I hope we can pull it together in the next five innings to pull out a win and put the lyric little bandbox in a better mood by evening time.

7/16/2005 3:01:00 PM by Mike Miliard | Comments [0] |  

"The untalked about here is if I go out there and suck at it," Curt Schilling admitted to WEEI's Dennis and Callahan a few days ago.

Well, it's being talked about now.

Count Sox Blog as more than a little surprised that our brand new "closer" was used the way he was last night. Like a kid on Christmas morning who can't wait to play with his new toy, and rushes to put it together without reading the instructions, Terry Francona threw Schilling -- a guy who hasn't faced major league batters in three months and hasn't pitched regularly from the bullpen since 1992 -- into a tie game, in the ninth inning, against the heart of the New York Yankees' line-up on the very first night he was available.

Sure, the screaming crowds and coruscating flash bulbs made for great drama, and great TV. But the mission here is to win ball games. Should anyone be all that terribly surprised that Gary Sheffield pounded a double to deep center, before Alex Rodriguez drove him home with a homer to almost the same spot? (Of course it had to be A-Rod, who has now apparently earned his pinstripes as a "True Yankee." Finally!)

At least Chad "Don't Call Me a Submariner" Bradford didn't give up a hit.

The big shame is that at several earlier junctions, the game had looked very winnable. Trot Nixon got things started early, hammering a homer to right to drive in three runs and give the good guys a 4-0 lead. (He almost went deep again in the third, but settled for a single.)

But, uh, Bronson: You sang Toad the Wet Sprocket's "Something's Always Wrong" and Pearl Jam's "Black" quite beautifully at Avalon two nights ago. But when you crooned "Down in the Hole" by Alice in Chains, no one expected that to be a description of where you'd be the next night. Sox Blog asked you nicely: if you were going to live out your rock and roll fantasies the night before a start, to please at least pitch well. Five and two thirds innings, 10 hits, five runs (four earned) and three home runs does not quite pass muster. Remember: Girls don't just scream and throw themselves at you when you stride the stage like an alt-rock god, they love you when you win games, too. After Hot Stove, Cool Music tomorrow night, let's have less studio sessions and more side sessions, eh? You are a baseball player, not a rock star.

Thing is, we had Mussina on the ropes on more than one occasion, too, but eased up every time. He lasted six innings and left with the score tied. David Ortiz welcomed Worcester's own Tanyon Sturtze with a home run to reclaim the lead in the seventh, but in the eighth Mike Timlin does what Mike Timlin is wont to do, allowing an inherited runner -- bequeathed to him by Alan Embree, of course -- to score.

The two runs Schilling allowed lost us the game, of course. Mariano Rivera -- who has not screwed the pooch since those two blown saves against us in April (remember those halcyon days?) -- came in and struck out Damon, Renteria, and Ortiz, all swinging. "Enter Sandman," indeed. Good that he and A-Rod could get some Fenway "redemption."

So, not the best way to start the second half. The creeps are creeping up on us.

But the good news is that there's another game tonight. Chien-Ming Wang, the AAA call-up who's been the Yanks' best arm in the first half was supposed to pitch but is now on the DL, and in his stead will be Tim Redding, a dude with an 0-5 record and a 9.10 ERA. Sox Blog will be there in the bleachers, wearing his "David Ortiz Fan Club" t-shirt with the picture of Florida Evans. The Red Sox are undefeated when I am at Fenway and wearing it. So shall it continue.

7/15/2005 12:14:00 PM by Mike Miliard | Comments [0] |  

Sox Blog met Kevin Youkilis last night at Bronson Arroyo's record release shindig at Avalon. (Johnny Damon was there, too -- batting .500 in Detroit one night, belting out "Dirty Water" in Boston the next; truly a force of nature is he -- and so was Pawtucket southpaw Lenny DiNardo, wearing his World Series ring as he asked directions to the bathroom.) But Youk, hacking a butt in the alley outside, didn't seem too happy, having just gotten the bad news that, for the umpteenth time, he's being shipped down to the PawSox. Poor guy. On any other team, he'd be a starter. But he's gotta get those at-bats, and he's not getting them here. And we gotta make room for Schilling. Tough break.

In addition to our newest bullpen ace -- who took the red-eye back from Tinseltown last night after accepting three statuettes at the ESPY Awards (live feed of Bronson's screaming lady fans projected behind him) -- we got reliever Chad Bradford from the A's for malcontent Jay Payton. Intereresting move, a righty submariner to complement Mike Myers (and when they say the guy's got a knuckle-dragging delivery, they ain't kidding).
He can only help. Right?

So, here we go, once more unto the breach. It's them. Again.

Bronson played the rock star role to the hilt last night (say what you want about his choice of cover material, but the guy can carry a tune). But he better be ready to play ball tonight. He's gotta pitch well. So do Boomer, Clement, and Wake, of course. Because in case you hadn't noticed, the Yankees don't suck quite as much as they did just a month or so ago. They've won seven of their last eight, and Jason Giambi has finally turned it on, with five homeers 10 ribbies and a .556 average in his past six games. But they are not as good as we are.

It's gonna be an interesting second half, and we're gonna be spending it a lot of it at home.
Let's win.

7/14/2005 12:29:00 PM by Mike Miliard | Comments [0] |  

Eh. At least it wasn't a tie. All in all, the 2005 All-Star Game was a bit, shall we say, lackluster -- solid performances from the sizable Sox contingent notwithstanding. But, in case you hadn't noticed, at least there were a lot of players from other countries playing! And it was the good ol' boys from the USA who got shelled.

In a night of "uneasy alliances," perhaps the biggest disappointment (Manny's 0 for 2 notwithstanding) was being deprived of the chance to see Jason Varitek -- who was catching Mark Buehrle in the bullpen -- have to shake A-Rod's hand during the pre-game introductions ... maybe he could have also given him a little playful jab on the cheek for good measure. But hearing Kenny Rogers get booed lustily, with Joe Buck pausing for several seconds to let the opprobrium rain down, almost made up for it.

Anyway, we won. Again. (Psssst: the NL sucks!) And we had reason to be proud of our boys. Johnny Damon grounded out to short in the first, getting nailed only thanks to an incredible throw by David Eckstein, but then singled to short in the third. He ended 1 for 2 with a run scored.

David Ortiz -- someone on ESPN last night (I forget who) has taken to calling him the "Barry Bonds of the AL" -- was David Ortiz. He went 2 for 3 with an RBI, roping a single to right in the first then doing the same in the third, scoring Damon. And, for the first time now or ever, Tim McCarver actually said something I agree with: "They just don't know how to pitch to this guy. He keeps getting better and better and better." In the fifth, we got to see Big Papi face Roger Clemens for probably the last time. But the Rocket got him to fly to deep left.

Manny, alas, was a non-factor. He grounded into an inning-killing double play in the first, then struck out swinging in the third. Terry Francona made the wise decision to sit Manny and Damon after just two at bats. We'll need them this weekend.

Tek, on the other hand, was rock solid behind the plate for five innings, in the last of which he guided our own Matt Clement to a scoreless frame. (Matty induced Luis Castillo and Eckstein to fly out, walked Bobby Abreu, and struck out Carlos Beltran. Not too shabby.) At the plate, Tek batted 1000, singling to short in the second and walking in the fourth before coming around to score.

Miggy Tejada deservedly won the Ted Williams MVP award. His authoritative solo homer in the second, those two RBIs, and that sick fall-down double play with teammate Brian Roberts in the second made sure of that.

But if there was an award for team contribution, the Sox would undoubtedly have it in the bag. Our line-up was 4 for 8. Clement pitched a clean inning, and Terry Francona and his staff managed a solid game. (How great was it seeing Papa Jack standing on the top step of the dugout, or watching Dave Wallace trotting out to the mound for a chat with Jon Garland?)

And Sox Blog couldn't help but notice that the game was a 7-0 laugher -- until all Red Sox players were done for the night. After which point Kenny Rogers blew the shutout when Andruw Jones took him deep in the seventh (in a bit of poetic justice) and AL pitching gave up a run in the eighth and two in the ninth -- don't you wish you could see Tito pulling B.J. Ryan when we're playing the Orioles? -- before Mariano Rivera closed it out.

Savor it. It's not often that you'll cheer a Tejada-/Roberts-turned DP, an Ichiro RBI, or a save by Mo Rivera.

Because it counts, y' know. That home field advantage should really come in handy when we repeat this October. Last night's game thread starter on Sons of Sam Horn -- read SoSH at its new home here from this day forward -- claims that he posted this prior to last year's All-Star Game: "I want to thank Torre for putting his best hitter in cleanup, and getting us 4 games at fenway in late october. Not that more than 2 will be necessary..."

Let's hope he's just as on the money this year.

7/13/2005 2:41:00 PM by Mike Miliard | Comments [0] |  

Things you may or may not have known already:

* David Ortiz likes the long ball.

* But apparently not as much as Bobby Abreu.

* Manny being Manny may have cost him five grand.

* Johnny Damon is a rock star! Too bad he likes such crappy music.

* He'll also be batting lead-off tonight. (Ortiz hits third, Manny cleans-up, and Tek bats eighth.)

* Terry Francona, in addition to knowing how to make a line-up card -- even when Mirabelli is batting third -- is a genuine people person and a funny guy to boot.

* We rule the school.

* Bronson Arroyo is not in Detroit, but will be at Avalon tomorrow night for the release party for his new CD. And he likes Lynyrd Skynyrd.

* This kid makes me fear for my job.

7/12/2005 10:54:00 AM by Mike Miliard | Comments [0] |  

Who is Rodrigo Lopez? The guy has a 4.47 ERA. He's lost three of his last five starts. The last time he faced the New York Yankees he was hammered for 10 runs in three innings.

Yet nearly every game he pitches against the Boston Red Sox, our lineup makes him look like the second coming of Cy freaking Young. Yesterday only continued the trend as he hyponotized our hitters with his slurve and his slow fastball. Tim Wakefield was decent enough, but Lopez outdueled him. Over eight easy innings, he allowed just three hits -- with our only run coming from Trot Nixon's homer to right. (It was another eight innings, with zero earned runs, the last time Lopez faced us, on May 30.)

Where does he get it from? Sox Blog scoured the Web looking for answers, but biographical details that might offer insight into his mastery over us were hard to come by. He was born in 1975 in a Mexican town called Tlalnepantla. He has a wife, Romy, and a son, Rodrigo, Jr., who is two. In 2004, he was one of three Lopezes (sp?) on the Orioles (along with Javy and Luis, both no relation; this season, only Javy remains, and he's on the DL.)

And, uh, that's about all I could find. He's a taciturn sort, apparently. Anyway, none of that quite explains why he makes us look so foolish every single time.

Maybe some day we will figure it all out. (Meanwhile, David Borges looks for answers of his own.) But know this, Rodrigo Lopez: If the Red Sox miss the post-season by just a game or two, I will blame you.

Sean McAdam blames the Red Sox offense for dropping three out of four to a close divisional rival. We really should be hitting this pitching, after all.

It was the same rotation that combined to pitch 5 2/3 innings in the three games previous to this series but somehow managed to limit the Sox to three measly run in three Red Sox losses.

The Red Sox must also contend with the knowledge that the same club that had been 0-4-1 in its last five series -- Baltimore -- managed to take three out of four from them just before the All-Star break.

Hey, at least Johnny Damon, "the Farrah Fawcett of baseball," kept that 25-game hit streak alive. He's modest about it, too. (''I think 90 percent of America knows who I am and probably 75 percent of the world knows me," he tells the Globe. "It's pretty much a global thing.")

So, here we are, half-way through. In a way, it's hard to believe this post was written three whole months ago. (On the other hand, with all the drama of the past few weeks it also feels, in a way, like we've already played a whole season already.)

At the dailies, David Lefort and Tony Mazz hand out mid-term grades, and Gordon Edes and Jeff Horrigan look to the half ahead.

We may be dragging our asses into the All-Star break having won just four of our last 10, but we'e also in first place at the mid-point for the first time since the last time we won the division, 1995.

And if you'd been told at the beginning of the season that Curt Schilling would be a non-factor, that Keith Foulke would suck, and that our bullpen would be pretty much the worst in baseball, you'd be pretty pleased to be two games up.

The fact that we've got five guys heading to Detroit -- six, if you count Tito -- is nothing to sneeze at, neither. (Nice profiles here of Tek and Big Papi.)

The Yankees, meanwhile, have but three All-Stars. (What?! No Captain Intangibles?)

And this Thursday, they come to our house. Schilling will be back, albeit in a very different role than anyone anticipated at the beginning of the year. We must beat them. And beat them we shall.

Etc.
Bill Simmons is writing about baseball again. Yea!
But now that Peter Gammons is Hall of Fame-bound, he's apparently subscription-only. Boo!!!

7/11/2005 1:31:00 PM by Mike Miliard | Comments [0] |  

Per WEEI, Terry Francona has announced that Curt Schilling will pitch out of the bullpen when he returns to the Red Sox roster, and may even be used as closer occasionally. (In the mean time, he'll be pitching out of the pen for the PawSox.) No word yet on when that return will be, or how long this novel state of affairs will last.

Still not quite sure what I think of the idea, but I suppose it makes sense. In a way, I'm of the mind that Schilling shouldn't be coming back at all until he's ready to last a full six or seven innings, effectively and pain free. But if this is what's needed to stretch him out over a period of weeks while simultaneously bolstering our beleaguered bullpen, so be it. "For an inning or two, he might be one of the best in the game,'' Tito said on 'EEI. "For now, I think this is the way to get him back and impact our ball club.''

God knows we could use him.

As long as it's not a season-long solution -- a pretty egregious misallocation of resources, it would seem -- I'm excited to see how this works. (One also wonders if the dearth of quality relievers on the market has anything to do with this.)

It's an interesting idea, but at least it's not as kooky as this one:

Casey Fossum won't start Wednesday. After watching his bullpen struggle again tonight, manager Lou Piniella said he plans to use a reliever initially and then bring in Fossum later on.

''I've made up my mind and that's what we're going to do,'' Piniella said. ''People are going to think I'm crazy, but we're just going to try it. Starting tomorrow, I'll bring in whatever reliever I feel like starting the game with, and I'll bring my starter in the third inning and we'll play nine innings of baseball that way.''

I hate to keep quoting SoSHers for witty and barbed analysis, but redsox13's take on this was too perfect in its simplicity and hilarity to ignore:

[T]his makes no sense at all. Instead of blowing the game in the late innings they'll have to start off the fourth inning down by 8. What does it matter who gets beat up on first?If somebody beat you up, then shaved off your eyebrows it would be no worse than if they shaved off your eyebrows and then proceeded to beat you up. Either way you end up looking like an idiot.

Nuf ced.

7/6/2005 1:49:00 PM by Mike Miliard | Comments [0] |  

1) The Red Sox won a ball game!

2) Wake got weak for two, but was strong for six. Those three homers sure did help.

3) Look out, Lou ... Manny hits grannys, too.

4) Keith Foulke is back in Boston to get his knees checked out, and may soon go on the DL. First Mantei, now this. Fantastic. But Bob Ryan sees a silver lining: "good news.... he can't blow any more games until further notice." It's funny because it's true. (Not funny at all is Ryan's "serious" joke that we roll Heathcliff Slocumb out of retirement.)

5) Meanwhile, Mike Timlin knows how to turn in a 1-2-3 ninth inning. What a relief.

6) See you soon, Curt. Maybe against these guys next weekend?

Etc.: In the Globe, Bill Griffith wonders whether the price is too dear. In the Herald, Howard Bryant ($ req.) reports that players are "unified against their manager," pissed that Terry Francona didn't fight harder to get Timlin and Matt Clement on the All-Star roster. Certainly, they deserve to be there. But players should realize that Tito's hands were tied by MLB's childlike, no-hurt-feelings rule that every team be represented. Cut him some slack: with the bullpen in such shambles, he's got bigger problems to worry about. (And suppose Mike Timlin were to injure himself in the All-Star game; what would we say then?)

7/6/2005 10:22:00 AM by Mike Miliard | Comments [0] |  

Sox Blog had a very pleasant and relaxing Fourth of July weekend -- except for the baseball. Guessing yours was similar.

Maybe it's 'cause they're Canadians. As the sole team left north of the border, perhaps the Toronto Blue Jays feel it incumbent upon themselves to take the wind out of our red, white, and blue sails. At any rate, they sure know how to beat us.

The weekend seemed to be off to a fine start Friday evening. Fenway Park was beautiful, bathed in golden dusk. The flag snapped in the breeze, the hot dog vendors hollered lustily, and the beer flowed freely. Fans wore Burger King crowns. Is this a great country or what?

But before long, something was amiss. Matt Clement, uncharacteristically, gave up four runs in the third. Johnny Damon hammered a rare homer in the fifth to bring us within three, but in the sixth and seventh innings the floodgates opened. Apparently our much-maligned bullpen misread the calendar, because Mike Myers, soon-to-be-DLed Matt Mantei, and John Halama decided to light the fireworks three days early. (Reed Johnson, why do you mock us?) By the time the night was over, the score was 15 to 2 and the park was two thirds empty. Let's speak of it no more. At least Keith Foulke was blameless in this one.

Saturday was something of a tease. Manny was just being Manny when he broke the 4-4 tie in the seventh with Big Papi on base. And, surprise, surprise, Foulke got the job done. Beet-red David Wells, exploding at second base umpire Chris Guccione after having words with infuriating home plate ump Larry Poncino, wildly gesticulating with eyes bulging and spittle flying was good for some comic relief. (Why do umps insist on injecting themselves in situations where they don't belong, on making themselves the center of attention? Is it an ego thing? It should stop.) Hearing Wells utter an unbleeped "fucking asshole" on NESN post-game was pretty great, too.

But by Sunday, we were up to our old tricks again. Bronson Arroyo pitched well, but Roy Halladay pitched much better. And it's not like we didn't have our chances. In the fifth, we had men on first and second and no outs but couldn't plate a run. In the sixth, we had 'em jacked with no outs, but Trot Nixon's medium-depth fly was only deep enough to get Edgar Renteria thrown out at home -- credit where credit's due to Vernon Wells's perfect throw -- before Jason Varitek flew out to the warning track to let Doc off the hook. We might have done it in the ninth, too. But, as is their wont, the bullpen had made sure any late inning rally would be exceedingly unlikely. A poster on Sons of Sam Horn summed it up perfectly:

It's like they're rehearsing a script from a really bad movie. Squander several opportunities. Check. Use Embree for the third straight day after many days off, who then promptly puts runners on base. Check. Timlin lets inherited runners score. Check. Bellhorn K's in multiple key situations. Check. Umps screw us. Check. Reed Johnson nails the coffin shut. Check. Seriously, it's deja vu all over again, and again, and again.

Add one more 'again' to that list. Monday night, the venue had changed but it was more of the same. Wade Miller battled hard against the Rangers -- striking out eight over six innings after allowing three runs in the first -- to keep us in the game. Trot doubled deep to tie it up. Manny homered to give us the lead. Jeremi Gonzalez, John Halama, and Mike Timlin combined to pitch, if not brilliantly, then effectively enough. Timlin gave up a run, but held the line. We had it in the bag.

Then Keith Foulke arrived to cough it all up. Beautiful.

Sure, it was "only" his fourth blown save of the season. But it was the latest in a long, long string of really bad pitching. This cannot continue. (And I'm not the only one who thinks so.)

Put him in lower-leverage middle innings till he gets his act together. DL him. Anything. But something has to change. We can't keep sticking with him hoping things will just work themselves out. Baseball teams do not win championships with 6.23-ERA closers. Closers should not have another bullpen arm warming up behind them. Closers are supposed to, uh, close.

But when Keith Foulke enters a game trying to protect a one- or two-run lead, opposing line-ups are suddenly flush with confidence. They have a chance, and they know it. When even eternally-supportive Varitek concedes that hitters are "seeing blood" -- or at least seeing his change-up before it's thrown -- that means that Keith Foulke is no longer an effective closer. The results were there last night for all to see. You knew he was gonna blow it last night. And he did too. You could see it on his face.

At least the Orioles lost, allowing us, miraculously, to maintain our two and a half game lead in the East. Too bad they had to lose to the Yankees. Surprise, surprise, the Yanks are coming -- only four games back. And we've got a four game series with the O's coming up, this weekend, and then the MFY come to Fenway right after the All-Star break. We've. Got. To. Play. Better. To indulge in two hideous cliches: we could have made hay, but instead we're treading water. Pity, that. As another SoSHer puts it: "Imagine what the AL East standings would look like if we even had a marginally effective bullpen." Um, in Theo, we trust?

(More glad tidings: Don't expect the big guy back any time soon.)

On a separate note, Sox Blog seldom pontificates, but while I'm on my soapbox, I'll say it: Kenny Rogers must not pitch in the All-Star game. Sure, he's 9-4 with a 2.45 ERA. He's also a dick. You saw it, I saw it. And the fact that appeals are automatic in Major League Baseball doesn't mean he should be allowed to represent the game's best in Detroit. Moreover, the $50,000 purse he would collect for his All-Star appearance would effectively negate the $50,000 fine he's been assessed for manhandling that cameraman. Most significantly, if he cedes his roster spot, someone who really does deserve to play will get a shot. I don't care if you built Tito a spitoon, Kenny. Know when to fold 'em ... know when to walk away. Give Matty a chance.

7/5/2005 1:09:00 PM by Mike Miliard | Comments [0] |