Games 40 - 42 - Red Sox
Red Sox 12, Rangers 3
Angels 5, Red Sox 4
Angels 6, Red Sox 2 - in progress
Record: 26-16
I'm attempting to bring some reverse mojo to the Sox this afternoon, after a combination of awful bullpen pitching, miserable defense, and boneheaded miscues in the field and on the basepaths brought the Sox from a 2-0 lead to a 6-2 deficit. Derek Lowe pitched a very solid game, but Mike "Torch" Timlin left a 3-2 fastball up to Troy Glaus with two out in the 8th, and Brandon Lyon - with help from Bill Mueller (dropped foul pop) and Trot Nixon (freaking moronic tossing of the the second out into the stands because he thought it was the third) - handed the Angels 3 in the 9th.
This will make two crappy losses to the Angels - the Sox blew a 4-0 lead in yesterday's contest - when a win in either game would have tied the Sox with the Yankees for first in the division. Just when they seem to be ready to rip off a 12 of 14 streak, the Sox grind the gears and the party train lurches, gasps, and rattles to a stop. At the moment, I'm furious, because I'm watching this (well, leadoff single by Hillenbrand. hmmm) one on TV and it's making me crazy. After some calm reflection, which is truly not my strong suit, I'll probably (OH MY GOD does Jason Varitek suck in the clutch) realize that they remain only one game back in the division, and tied for the lead in the Wild Card. Then, I'll remember that the bullpen remains brutal, despite a brief glimmer of (oooh, first and third with 1 out after a Nixon single) success recently, and I'll go back to worrying some more.
The Red Sox last won a World Series in 1918, and some would say that the team has been "cursed" ever since by the memory of Babe Ruth's sale to the Yankees. Some, that is, that are trying to sell books and take the easy way out. The Sox were cursed by their horrible racial record, and by some awful management in the late 80s and early 90s, but now I wonder if 85 years of losing has conditioned the fandom to expect the worst, and it somehow rubs off on the team, with the media as conduit. I know this: I pity Yankee fans, because they will never, ever know joy like I will know when the Sox finally do win a World Series. That, and because they are a collective (nice effort, David Ortiz, looking at a perfect pitch for strike 3) of braying mouthbreathers who (tying run at the plate with the bases loaded and two outs) believe that the World Series championship can be bought and sold, and have no sense of shame when their team purchases another title.
Down to the last strike here, so stick a fork in the Sox. Three errors, awful clutch hitting, and a failure to gets outs from the bullpen (ballgame ends with the bases loaded - neat) make Robbie an unhappy boy.
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