Misery Loves Company: Two Guys Watch Baseball

Games 60 & 61 - Red Sox

Red Sox 11, Brewers 10
Red Sox 9, Brewers 1
Record: 35-26

No real excuse for the tardy blogging, really. I was at wit's end on Saturday night as the ESPN Bottom Line foretold the Sox' slow, painful demise. I stopped caring when the score got to 9-4, Milwaukee, and concentrated on the Stanley Cup finals. The phone rang at 9:30, prompting my wife to give the "It's too late for the phone to be ringing" stinkeye. As soon as I heard Whitney's voice, I knew that something had happened with the Sox.

"Good news?", I asked.
"These guys are unbelievable.", he responded.
"They winning?"
"No, but they're only down 1. Millar just hit a grand slam."
"Sweet. I'm not following it - they pissed me off. Call me if anything else happens."

The phone rang about 45 minutes later, and I picked up to a chuckling Whitney.

"Hey. They win yet?", I asked.
"Not yet, but Nixon and Varitek just went yard to give them the lead."
"What inning?"
"Top of the ninth."
"They'll blow it. Call me when they do."
"Okay, later."

When I hadn't heard from him an hour later, I figured it was safe to venture to the ticker, where I found out that they had, indeed, come back to beat the BrewCrew after spotting them a 6-run lead. Truly, no lead is safe with this team, whether it's their lead or that of their opponents. The offense can score on anyone, and the pitching staff can implode against anyone. It's like 1979 all over again. And, not to be overlooked, I think that Whit may be developing a little bit of a crush on this Sox team. It's okay, buddy, we welcome all kinds here in the Nation. Just be prepared to suffer.

Big news from the first game was Casey Fossum's injury. He left the game after the first inning with shoulder soreness. Rut-ro. Also, of note recently, and related to the pitching staff, is the temporary resignation of pitching coach Tony Cloninger, who's battling cancer. I hope he gets well soon, but I have to wonder if his situation and the subsequent distraction for him and for his pitchers might have played a role in the abysmal start for the Sox' arms.

Second game was a boring beatdown, highlighted by Derek Lowe's fifth straight strong outing. He's got a 2.55 ERA in those starts, so I believe that the worm may have turned for D-Lowe. Keeping our fingers crossed as the Sox spend June 9th in first place.