Misery Loves Company: Two Guys Watch Baseball

Game 13 - Red Sox

Red Sox 6, Devil Rays 5
Record: 8-5

First, the good news. Casey Fossum tossed seven innings and only gave up one run, striking out 4 and allowing no walks. He showed a glimpse of his promise and potential, and should have walked away with a win. The bad news, though, was that Ramiro Mendoza gave up 4 runs on 9 PITCHES in the 8th inning, allowing the Rays to tie the game, 5-5. Shea Hillenbrand's bases-loaded single in the bottom of the 9th sent the home crowd away happy with a win, but grumbling ever louder about the state of the bullpen.

Mendoza's ERA after this game stands at 16.71. That's not a misprint. Perhaps he's still holding on to vestiges of his Yankeedom, and doesn't know that he's supposed to help the Sox and not destroy them. Maybe, as many are suggesting, he's trying to pitch through some discomfort and it's impacting his delivery. Maybe he's just done. Regardless, the Sox need to shelve him for a while and help him figure out what's wrong, because he is killing the team at the moment.

All these bullpen disasters and the squad is still 8-5. Today I'm in the optimist camp.